AIChE Constitution | American Institute of Chemical Engineers

CONSTITUTION OF THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDENT CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

2008-2009

Article One: Name

This organization shall be known as the Texas A&M University Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Article Two: Purpose and Goals

The object of this organization shall be to promote interest in the study of Chemical Engineering and to expose students to industry.

Article Three: Membership

Section 1 All students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate work at Texas A&M University shall be eligible for membership in this chapter.

Section 2 In order to be regarded as a regular member of this chapter, a student must not be arrears in his duties.

(a) To be a voting member, he must pay dues at any point in the semester.

Section 3 Honorary members shall be members of the faculty who are teaching or conducting research in the field of Chemical Engineering.

Section 4 Any member engaging in deliberate acts to diminish and hurt the organization shall be removed from membership in the organization. A quorum of fifty percent plus one must be present at the meeting and a two thirds vote must be obtained in order to remove the individual. The individual will be present for the meeting and have the opportunity to share their perspective prior to the vote.

Article Four: Officers

Section 1 The officers of the A&M Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers shall fulfill the requirements established by University Regulations, Texas A&M University.

Section 2 Furthermore, the officers of this organization must meet the following requirements:

(a) For undergraduates, have at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point ratio and at least a 2.00 grade point ratio in the semester immediately prior to the election/appointment, the semester of election/appointment and semesters during the term of office. In order for this provision to be met, at least six hours must have been taken for that semester. In one limited circumstance, summer hours may be applied to this provision. In order for summer coursework to qualify toward a grade point ratio prior to election/appointment, at least six hours must have been taken during the course of either the full or two summer sessions(s).

(b) For graduate level students, the minimum GPR is a 3.00. In order for this provision to be met, at least four hours (half-time credits) must have been taken for the semester under consideration. In one limited circumstance, summer semester hours may be applied to this provision. In order for summer coursework to qualify toward a grade point ratio prior to election/appointment, at least four credit hours must have been taken during the course of either the full or two summer session(s) unless fewer credits are required as they complete final stages of their degree.

(c) Be in good standing with the university and enrolled in at least six credit hours (unless fewer credits are required to graduate in the spring and fall semesters) during the term of office.

(d) Failure to meet requirements (a), (b) and (c) makes member ineligible to hold officer position.

Section 3 The Texas A&M University AIChE Chapter officers and their minimum respective classifications shall be as follows:

President -Senior, previous officer

Vice Presidents: -Sophomore, previous officer

-Programs

-Finance

-Publicity

-Community Service

-External Activities

-Internal Activities

Mentor Program Coordinator -Sophomore, former/paying member

Secretary/ Historian -Sophomore, former/paying member

Membership Chair -Sophomore, former/paying member

Plant Trip Coordinator -Sophomore, former/paying member

Technology Chair -Sophomore, former/paying member

Intramural Chair (2) -Sophomore, former/paying member

Catalyst Publishers (3) -Sophomore, former/paying member

Additionally, two class representatives are elected from each respective class and may hold, but are not limited to, the following positions:

SEC Representative

Graduate Student Representative

Section 4 Classifications for all positions are defined as follows:

Senior -Completed or enrolled in a CHEN 400 level class

Junior -Completed or enrolled in a CHEN 300 level class

Sophomore -Completed or enrolled in CHEN 204 or 205

Freshman -Lower Division Chemical Engineering major (CHEL), enrolled in ENGR 111, or any student not meeting requirements for first three classifications

Section 5 Any graduate student may be elected officer as long as two thirds of the remaining officers are undergraduates. If a graduate student wishes to run for president, he/she must have been a previous AIChE officer.

Section 6 The hierarchy of officers shall be as follows:

President

V.P. Programs

-Graduate Student Representatives

V.P. Finance

-Membership Chair

-SEC Representative

V.P. Publicity

-Publisher

V.P. Community Service

-Community Service Chair

-Secretary/Historian

V.P. External Activities

-Technology Chair

-Plant Trip Coordinator

V.P. Internal Activities

-Intramural Chair

-Mentor Program Coordinator

-Class Representatives

Section 7 The election process will follow this procedure:

(a) General elections shall be held at the last regular meeting during the month of April.

i. In the case of an open position(s), elections shall be held at the soonest general meeting to fill the opening(s).

(b) Nominations will be accepted for the offices of President, Vice President of Programs, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Publicity, Vice President of External Activities, Vice President of Internal Activities, Vice President Community Service, Membership Chair, Intramural Chair, Catalyst Co-Publishers, Secretary/Historian, Technology Chair, Plant Trip Coordinator, and Mentor Program Coordinator. A quorum must be present. Elections shall be carried out in the manner outlined in the election procedure in the AIChE manuals.

(c) The Representatives to the Student Engineering Council shall be recommended by the President and Chapter Advisor to the Dean of Engineering for approval.

(d) Members wanting to run for President or a VP position are encouraged to submit a blurb to the current catalyst chairs stating anything that retains to running for the desired position. The blurb should be submitted at least a week before the general election meeting.

(e) Elections will be carried out as follows:

i. If a blurb from part (d) has been submitted, then a nomination is not required. These candidates are then required to speak to the meeting attendees and say what they feel appropriate in regards to the position they are running for.

ii. Once those that have completed part (d) present their speech, the floor will be opened to nominations for that particular position. A nomination will require someone other than the prospective candidate to nominate the individual. The nomination can further be accepted or denied by the prospective candidate.

iii. Once all the prospective candidates have presented their points, they will leave the room in order for the elections to occur. The elections will be conducted electronically via wireless communicators. Results will be projected on the screen and a winner will be declared based on a majority of the quorum. In the event in which a winner cannot be declared, a tiebreaker can be administered.

1.

iv. This procedure will be repeated for every elected position.

(f) All Class Representatives to the AIChE Student Chapter shall be elected or appointed by the President during the fall semester, subject to the President's discretion, and will serve as the Chapter's committee chairpersons not elected by the general membership during the spring semester. The President shall choose the number of representatives for each class and appoint them as committee chairmen when deemed necessary.

Section 8 The duties of the Chapter's officers shall be those delineated by the officers notebooks provided to each newly elected officer. These duties are outlined in the Organization's By-Laws.

Section 9 An officer may be removed from office by the members of the organization by a two-thirds majority vote of the total membership. A two-week notice must be given of intent to remove the officer. The officer will be present for the meeting and have the opportunity to share their perspective prior to the vote.

Article Five: Advisors

Section 1 The expectations of the advisors are as follows:

(a) The advisor to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers shall be a Texas A&M University employee as defined by the Human Resources Department. The advisor will be willing to obtain an appropriate level of experience, resource information and knowledge related to the mission, purpose and activities of the club.

(b) The advisor will regularly attend general meetings. They will be available for consultation outside of these meetings.

(c) The advisor will assist the organization with the development of goals and objectives for the academic year. The advisor will also assist the organization with event planning and facilitation. When necessary, the advisor will be willing to attend events when necessary as identified through the planning process.

(d) The advisor will be aware of the University Student Rules and will assist the organization with adherence to these expectations.

Article Six: Meetings

Section 1 Regular meetings of the Chapter will be held at least once a month during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Section 2 The President may call special meetings at any time.

Section 3 The agenda at the regular meetings shall be as follows:

Speaker(s) or discussion of the evening

Officer Reports

Old business

New Business

Adjournment

Article Seven: Finances

Section 1 Dues shall be determined per academic year and will be collected from all members of this organization.

Section 2 All moneys belonging to the Texas A&M University Chapter of AIChE shall be deposited and disbursed through a bank account established for the organization at the Student Organization Finance Center in the MSC and/or the Fiscal Office. All funds must be deposited within 24 hours of collection. The advisor to this organization must approve and sign each expenditure before payment.

Article Eight: Amendments and Revisions

Section 1 The Constitution and by-laws may be amended at any time by a two-thirds vote of the members present, subject to approval of the faculty.

Section 2 This document must be reviewed every year and resubmitted to the Department of Student Activities.

_______ ______________________ _____ _____________________

Date Faculty Advisor Date Chapter President, Fall '07

_______ ______________________ _______ ___________________

Date Faculty Advisor Date Chapter President, Spring '08

Approved

___________________________________________

Date Student Activities Representative

BY-LAWS OF THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDENT CHAPTER

OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

1. Aims of the Chapter:

To stimulate and maintain interest in chemical engineering.

To provide for participation in all engineering and scientific displays and activities of the campus.

2. Local membership dues shall be $10.00 per year, per person. The school year shall be construed as being from September 1 through August 31. Local dues for one semester shall be $5.00. The executive council and faculty advisor will decide any increases in local dues.

3. It shall be the duty of the President to appoint all committees with the power to remove from any committee any member deemed undesirable, approve for payment by the V.P. Finance all vouchers for current expenses, preside over the meetings, direct the activities of the Chapter, and act as ex-officio member of all committees. The President is automatically a representative of the Student Engineers Council. The President is responsible for all individuals shown under his/her title in Article 4 Section 6.

4. It shall be the duty of the Vice President of Programs to perform all the duties of the President during his/her absence. The Vice President of Programs shall be responsible for securing presentations for all general meetings. In the absence of the Vice President of Programs, the command continues to the V.P. Finance, V.P. Publicity, V.P. Community Service, V.P. External Activities, and V.P. Internal Activities, respectively. The Vice President of Programs is responsible for all individuals shown under his/her title in Article 4 Section 6.

5. It shall be the duty of the Vice President of Finance to keep an accurate record of the Chapter's financial transactions. These records will be kept in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth by the Student Organization Finance Center. The Vice President of Finance shall be responsible for preparing a Chapter budget for the upcoming year. The budget must be submitted to the President by September 31. The Vice President of Finance is responsible for all individuals shown under his/her title in Article 4 Section 6.

6. It shall be the duty of the Vice President of Publicity to inform the students and the Department of Chemical Engineering of all Chapter activities. This shall be done in a manner acceptable to the head of the department and the faculty advisor of the chapter. The Vice President of Publicity is responsible for all individuals shown under his/her title in Article 4 Section 6.

7. It shall be the duty of the Vice President of Community Service to find and organize all community service events for the chapter. The Vice President of Community Service is responsible for all individuals shown under his/her title in Article 4 Section 6.

8. It shall be the duty of the Vice President of External Activities to arrange the Chapter's academic events, departmental Open Houses, and any affairs outside of the Texas A&M Chapter of AIChE including but not limited to AIChE's involvement in the Annual Student Conference, the Regional Student Conference, and the Monterrey Tech Trip. The Vice President of External Activities is responsible for all individuals shown under his/her title in Article 4 Section 6.

9. It shall be the duty of the Vice President of Internal Activities to arrange the Chapter's general member social activities, not including the presentations for the general meetings. This includes, but is not limited to, lunch and learns, golf tournaments, and socials. The Vice President of Internal Activities is responsible for all individuals shown under his/her title in Article 4 Section 6.

10. It shall be the duty of the Mentoring Program Coordinator to organize and run a mentoring program for standing members and corporate and upperclassmen mentors.

11. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to record the activities of the Chapter meetings and to submit an annual report of the Chapter's activities to National headquarters with the President's approval. The Secretary will handle the Chapter's written correspondence and test files.

12. It shall be the duty of the Historian to record the Chapter's activities in photographs and prepare and complete a scrapbook.

13. It shall be the duty of the Membership Chair to promote membership for the Chapter as well as keep a record of all current members. Also, the Membership Chair shall coordinate and head the Academic Committee. In addition, the Membership Chair will be in charge of maintaining the wireless communicators.

14. It shall be the duty of the Plant Trip Coordinator to organize all aspects of plant trips for the Chapter. Also, the Plant Trip Coordinator shall coordinate at least one plant trip per semester.

15. It shall be the duty of the Technology Chair to organize the production of the Chemical Car to be submitted for competition in the National and Regional Competition.

16. It shall be the duty of the Webmaster to be in charge of maintaining and updating the Texas A&M AIChE website.

17. It shall be the duty of the Intramural Chair to organize all intramural activities of the Chapter.

18. It shall be the duty of the Catalyst Publisher to publish a monthly newsletter concerning Chapter activities.

19. It shall be the duty of the Representative to the Student Engineering Council to attend all meetings of the Council and to keep the Chapter informed of the Council's activities.

20. It shall be the duty of the Class Representatives to inform students in their classification of Chapter activities and to serve as chairmen of the various Chapters' committees.

21. The Chapter Advisors shall be faculty members appointed by the head of the department to supervise the activities of the chapter.

22. All officers and standing committee members shall be chosen for a term of one year. Positions vacated shall be filled by the President's discretion at the next general meeting.

23. Special committees and their chairs may be appointed at the discretion of the President.

24. All events hosted by AIChE-TAMU will respect University regulations, and no student consumption of alcohol on campus will be tolerated at any affiliated event.

25. The By-Laws may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the quorum.

_______ ______________________ _____ _____________________

Date Faculty Advisor Date Chapter President, Fall '07

_______ ______________________ _______ ___________________

Date Faculty Advisor Date Chapter President, Spring '08