New York Institute of Technology National Society of Black Engineers Constitution and Bylaws

New York Institute of Technology National Society of Black Engineers Constitution and Bylaws

Table of Contents Preamble Article I: Name and Type Article II: Objective & Mission Article III: Membership Article IV: Voting Article V: Officers Article VI: Meetings Article VII: Chapter Advisors Article VIII: Committees Article IX: Conferences Article X: Amendments 2

PREAMBLE We, the members of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), hereby associate ourselves to the mission of the original founders of NSBE that is to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community. ARTICLE I: NAME & TYPE The name of this organization shall be: National Society of Black Engineers at New York Institute of Technology Manhattan Campus, and shall be hereafter referred to as, NYIT-MA NSBE ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES The goal of the NYIT-MA as part of the NSBE community is to provide a pipeline for students to continue to strive for success in their academics, profession and community. ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP Section 1 Definition Eligibility for membership of the NYIT-MA NSBE shall be defined as: (a) Any student undergoing matriculation at New York Institute of Technology Manhattan campus with a desire to fulfill the mission and (b) Has received a registered membership card issued after payment of annual national membership dues. Section 2 Application To be considered an active member of the NYIT-MA NSBE one must: (a) Fit both of the criteria outlined in the previous section and (b) Submit a reachable email address to the Membership Chair. (c) Miss no more than (3) General Body Meetings. 3

ARTICLE IV: VOTING Each member shall be entitled to one vote in all chapter meetings. ARTICLE V: OFFICERS Section 1 Definition (a) All NYIT-MA NSBE must have an Executive Board that consists of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Programs Chair and Senators (2). (b) All NYIT-MA NSBE Officers must be a member as defined in Article III. (c) All NYIT-MA NSBE Officers must have a GPA of at least 2.7. Section 2 Elections All officers shall be elected in the following manner, with the exception of Senator who will be appointed by the President: (a) Elections shall be held at the second to last general meeting for the month of April. (b) No officer can serve more than two consecutive terms in the same position. (c) Officers shall be elected in the following manner: i. At the meeting prior to the election, candidates for each position will come forth. ii. At the election meeting, candidates will give short speeches, 3-5 minutes in length and answer applicable questions presented by the general body. iii. A ballot shall be presented to each member at the election meeting. iv. The candidate who receives the majority of votes for each position shall be winner. v. The final meeting shall present the winners of the election. Section 3 Vacancy in Office A special election, using the same process as described in Article VI-Section 2, shall be held to fill any vacant offices occurring before the next regular election, except a vacancy in the office of President which shall be filled by Vice President until the next election. Section 4 Duties (a) President: i. Shall preside over all official meetings of NYIT-MA NSBE. 4

ii. Shall serve as the sole official representative of NYIT-MA NSBE, except in instances that require a Senator. iii. Shall appoint members of all permanent regulating, and special committees, with the advice and consent of the Executive Board iv. Shall establish chapter policies (b) Vice President: i. Shall preside in the absence or inability of the President ii. Shall be responsible for overseeing the Chapter Executive Board and all committees iii. Shall perform any activities, duties and responsibilities as assigned by the President (c) Secretary: i. Shall distribute chapter information to NYIT-MA NSBE members ii. Shall record accurately the minutes of the Chapter Executive Board meeting and make available the minutes to all members upon request iii. Shall report the minutes of the previous Chapter Executive Board meeting at it s present meeting iv. Shall maintain a membership roll of General Body and shall be responsible for maintaining an updated alumni listing (d) Treasurer: i. Shall produce and be accountable for a chapter budget ii. Shall keep accounts as well as control the expenditures and organizational funds of NYIT-MA NSBE iii. Shall oversee the planning of chapter participation in NSBE conferences iv. Shall oversee the activities of associated permanent committees. (e) Programs Chair i. Shall develop programs/activities of interest for NYIT-MA NSBE in cooperation with the Chapter Executive Board ii. Shall maintain a detailed record of activities for the presiding year 5

iii. Shall oversee the maintenance of ongoing programs (f) Senator i. Shall be the sole representative of NYIT-MA NSBE at Student Government Association Senate meeting ii. Shall appoint a stand in Senator iii. Shall represent NYIT-MA NSBE at Regional and/or National voting iii. Shall submit Senate reports to the President Section 5 Impeachment Elected and appointed Chapter Executive Board members can be impeached with submitted due cause by (a) A two thirds (2/3) vote of the chapter executive board or (b) A two thirds (2/3) vote of the NYIT-MA NSBE general body Section 5 Resignation In order to officially resign from the NYIT-MA NSBE Executive Board and remain in good character standing one must: (a) Verbally express their desire and motive for resignation (b) Have remained in attendance and communication with the NYIT-MA NSBE Executive Board prior to resignation, with valid reasons for absences and failure to communicate ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS Section 1 Definition (a) A general meeting shall consist of at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the active general body and at least two (2) executive board members. (b) An executive board meeting shall consist of the entire executive board unless otherwise excused and (c) General members may attend executive board meetings 6

Section 2 Frequency (a) The frequency of meetings shall be determined by the President and (b) General meetings must be held at least six (6) times a year (c) Executive board meetings shall be held once at least once a week. Section 3 Attendance (a) Executive Board meeting attendance is mandatory and (b) Three (3) absences will result in the impeachment procedures outlined in Article VI, Section 5 ARTICLE VII: CHAPTER ADVISORS Section 1 Definition (a) The advisor of this organization shall be an NYIT Manhattan Campus full-time faculty, administrator, or staff member and (b) Must be a paid member of the National Society of Black Engineers ARTICLE VIII: COMMITTEES Section 1 Definition There shall be seven (7) permanent committees whose officers will be considered Extended Executive Board. They are (a) Finance Headed by the Finance Chair (b) Membership Headed by the Membership Chair (c) Pre-Collegiate Initiative Headed by the Pre-Collegiate Initiative Chair and the T.O.R.C.H Chair (d) Public Relations/Publications Headed by the Public Relations Chair (e) Communications Headed by the Telecommunications Chair (f) Academic Excellence Headed by the Academic Excellence Chair (g) Professional Relations Headed by the Professional Relations Chair Section 2 Duties 7

(a) Finance: i. Solicit, develop and implement fundraising ideas to support the performance of NYIT-MA NSBE ii. Develop events and activities geared toward maintaining positive relationships between corporate partners and NYIT-MA NSBE iii. Maintain an updated list of corporate contacts and positive relationships with said contacts iv. Submit monthly reports to Treasurer (b) Membership: i. Verse prospective members on NSBE S goals, objectives and history ii. Provide membership opportunities at all general meetings iii. Organize membership drives for the fall iv. Cultivate healthy interest within new members about NYIT-MA NSBE through information on chapter history and pairing up of old members with new ones v. Provide periodic membership updates to Chapter Executive Board vi. Submit monthly reports to the Vice President (c) Pre-Collegiate Initiative : i. Coordinate mentoring between NYIT-MA NSBE Jr. chapters and chapter membership ii. Develop tutoring, counseling, and other support FOR NYIT-MA NSBE Jr. chapters iii. Maintain NYIT-MA NSBE Jr. chapter information and seek out NSBE Jr. chapters iv. Coordinate activities geared towards NYIT-MA NSBE Jr. chapters v. Visit NSBE Jr. schools and support the NSBE Jr. Chapter Executive Boards vi. Submit monthly reports to the Programs Chair (d) Public Relations/Publications: i. Produce forms of advertisement in order to promote for NYIT-MA NSBE events ii. Produce and distribute chapter brochures iii. Maintain records of all upcoming events 8

iv. Shall prepare and review material for the official NYIT-MA NSBE website as needed v. Submit monthly reports to the Secretary (e) Communications: i. Facilitate communication between Chapter Executive Board and NYIT-MA NSBE members ii. Maintain the NYIT-MA NSBE social media outlets iii. Submit monthly reports to the Secretary (f) Academic Excellence: i. Responsible for developing and maintaining programs geared toward assisting NYIT-MA NSBE members increase grade point averages ii. Develop and implement ideas that reward members who excel and improve academically iii. Support and promote all national and regional academic excellence programs iv. Develop and implement Academic Excellence workshops v. Responsible for researching information on scholarships that NYIT-MA NSBE members can submit applications for vi. Submit monthly reports to the Vice President (g) Professional Relations Chair: i. Responsible for maintaining communication between NYIT-MA NSBE and NYIT Alumni ii. Responsible for maintaining relationship between NYIT-MA NSBE and the NYC- XL Chapter iii. Coordinate events and programs in which NYIT-MA NSBE collegiate members can interact with alumni iv. Maintain an updated list of all NYIT-MA NSBE alumni v. Work with the treasurer to develop, maintain and distribute a Corporate Sponsorship Packet vi. Submit monthly reports to the Vice President 9

ARTICLE IX: CONFERENCES Section 1 Attendance In order to be in attendance of any given conferences, under SGA coverage: (a) Be in good academic standing (b) Fill out the required application before the submission deadline (c) Be in good character standing with the NYIT-MA NSBE Executive Board (d) Be selected to attend by the conference committee ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS Section 1 - Proposal Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by: (a) A verbal expression of the desired amendment followed by (b) A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Executive Board or (c) One half (1/2) consensus of NYIT-MA NSBE active membership. Section 2 Ratification Ratification of any amendment to this constitution shall be subject to a three-fourths (3/4) vote of active members. The above constitution and bylaws are meant serve as a foundation and reference for the future governance of NYIT-MA NSBE. 10

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