Constitution of Tau Beta Pi

BYLAWS / CONSTITUTION OF THE CALIFORNIA RHO CHAPTER

OF THE TAU BETA PI ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE I:NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Section 1The name of this organization shall be Tau Beta Pi, California Rho Chapter.

Section 2The purpose of this organization is to honor engineering students at California State University, Fresno who have distinguished scholarship and exemplary character.

Section 3This organization is recognized by California State University, Fresno and adheres to all regulations as set forth in the Handbook for Student Organizations and Use of Campus Facilities and Grounds.

Section 4This document shall govern the proceedings of this chapter in all matters not expressly provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Tau Beta Pi Association, Inc.

Section 5In the event of conflict between the Constitution and the Bylaws of The Tau Beta Pi Association, Inc. and the rules and regulations of CSUF and/or the College of Engineering, the rules of CSUF and/or the College of Engineering shall prevail, and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association shall be notified of the circumstances of the conflict.

Section 6Abbreviated references herein to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association and to the various sections of this document shall be made in the form illustrated by the following examples:

1. C-VI, 1 – National Constitution Article VI, section 1
2. B-V, 5.02 – National Bylaw V, section 5.02
3. CR-I, 6 – California Rho Constitution Article I, section 6.

ARTICLE II:REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP AND MEANS OF SELECTION OF MEMBERS

Section 1Membership in this organization shall not be denied to any student of California State University, Fresno on the basis of race, creed, religion, gender, political affiliation, physical disability, sexual orientation or age.

Section 2There shall be two type of membership in the organization: voting members and inactive members.

Section 3Voting membership is limited to regularly enrolled students at California State University, Fresno.

Section 4The Chapter shall be composed of members chosen from eligible students and alumni on the basis of distinguished scholarship or professional attainment and exemplary character, as enunciated in C-VIII and in the Eligibility Code of the Association.

Section 5Only currently enrolled California State University, Fresno students who are scholastically eligible in the following curricula shall be considered for membership in the Chapter: Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Geomatics Engineering.

Section 6Any member may be suspended or expelled from the organization for conduct obviously contrary to the Constitution of this chapter, or the National Constitution or Bylaws. After the alleged offense has been submitted to the organization, the accused member shall have a right to a hearing before the organization at a regular meeting and may be reported in writing to the Executive Council only upon the affirmative vote of the majority of the chapter’s voting members and the Advisory Board. Further discipline will be determined by the Executive Council in accordance with C-IX, 4 & 5.

Section 8Any member removed by such a vote may file a grievance with the University Student Grievance Board by contacting the Dean of Student Affairs Office. A member of the Dean’s staff will review the procedures with the student.

Section 9Voting members may become inactive under the provisions of B-VI, 6.06. Also, voting members who fail to attend at least one regular meeting during either the fall or spring academic semesters will automatically become inactive members for future semesters. Members who are unable to attend at least one meeting, but would like to remain active members, must set up a meeting with the President or Vice President to discuss the business conducted during the meetings and how they may remain involved. Inactive members will automatically return to voting member status at the beginning of the next meeting they attend. Only voting members shall have the privilege of voting.

Section 10Candidates for initiation shall be selected in the Fall and Spring semesters as soon as possible after grades for the previous term become available.

Section 11All provisions of C-VIII and B-VI shall be strictly followed.

Section 12Transfer students shall be eligible for consideration at the third regular election after their registration, subject to CR-II, 13.

Section 13The cases of students whose scholastic eligibility is in doubt because of irregularities in standing or curriculum shall be determined by the Advisory Board of the Chapter.

Section 14As stated in B-VI, 6.02(e), the Chapter may elect to specify scholastic requirements higher than those stated in C-VIII, including the establishment of a minimum cumulative G.P.A. for election. This chapter does not currently have a minimum cumulative G.P.A.

Section 15The membership committee shall periodically consult with the chairs of the various engineering departments to determine the names of graduate students, alumni, faculty members, and others who may be eligible for membership under the provisions of C-VIII, 3-6.

Section 16Candidate Character Evaluation:

1. Letters shall be sent or personally delivered to scholastically eligible candidates inviting them to an informational meeting and a “get acquainted” meeting.
2. Candidates must attend the informational meeting or express their interest in writing if they are unable to attend.
3. A “get acquainted” meeting shall be held at which the Chapter members will meet the candidates. The candidates shall be introduced to the purposes and activities of Tau Beta Pi.

Section 17Voting Procedures

1. A quorum for the election meeting shall be three-fourths the total voting members of the chapter. The election meeting shall follow all instruction in the B-VI, 6.03.
2. At the Election Meeting, the Eligibility Code shall first be read.
3. The Chapter members shall be asked to make recommendations on the candidates they met during the get acquainted meeting at the Chapter’s election meeting.

1. Candidates must receive at least three-fourths affirmative vote of the voting members present at the election meeting, except as specified in C-VIII, 4 and 5. In any case, which candidates must receive at least one-half of the total voting members, to be elected.
2. All candidates will be voted on simultaneously by secret ballot. There shall be discussion and a second ballot for any candidates who failed the first election.
3. No student who fails election on the second ballot shall be considered further unless one-fourth of the members present so request. No candidate who fails election on the third ballot shall be considered again at this election. He/She may be considered again at the next election if he/she is then eligible.

Section 18Official election letters shall be sent to the initiates within one week following the election meeting.

Section 19All members shall keep the election results in absolute confidence so that no candidate shall learn of his or her election except by means of the official letter. Likewise, no candidates shall be informed of the details of the vote, especially concerning personal matters discussed at the time of voting.

Section 20Each electee who refuses initiation due to financial reasons shall be interviewed by the Advisory Board, as required by C-VIII, 10(a).

Section 21Each electee shall be required to take part in an activity recommended or approved by the Chapter officers to foster a spirit of liberal culture as specified in B-VII, 7.01. They shall also be required to read the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association and the chapter’s bylaws/constitution.

Section 22The Chapter may assign additional duties to electees, subject to the provisions of B-VII, 7.02.

ARTICLE III:OFFICERS

Section 1The elected officers of the organization shall be the President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Cataloger, Technology Officer, and Historian. Each of these officers, excluding the President, shall be elected near the end of each Fall and Spring semesters to be in office during the next semester.

Section 2The powers and duties of officers shall be those prescribed by the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association, those prescribed in the following clauses a-h, or by those assigned by the Chapter’s action.

1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the organization and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. He/She shall be the official spokesperson and representative of the organization in its relations with the campus and community at large, including but not limited to representing Tau Beta Pi in the Engineering Joint Student Council. The president shall, along with the Vice President, meet with the Dean early in each semester to discuss ways in which the Chapter may be of service to the college. The president shall cooperate/communicate with the Director of Tau Beta Pi District 15 and shall encourage the chapter to participate in district activities. He/She shall pickup and complete all annual paperwork for California State University, Fresno Associated Students. He/ She shall request rooms for meetings, create and publish the agenda for meetings and notify all members of the organization’s meetings.He/She shall have such further powers and duties as may be prescribed by the organization. He/She shall see that each officer and committee chair is provided with a written list of specific duties for which each is responsible, and that a copy of these duties is placed in the Recording Secretary’s notebook and in the Presidents’ book. He/She shall also have the power to assign any additional duties to the other officers not expressly mentioned in the Constitution.

1. The Vice President shall preside at organization meetings in the absence of the President. He/She shall conduct all correspondences with new initiates. He/She shall be responsible for the advancement of the technical and professional education of active members. He/She shall be responsible for organizing/planning all initiate meetings and events. He/She shall assist the Corresponding Secretary in preparation of all initiate related Reports.

1. The Corresponding Secretary shall serve as the communicator between the chapter at Fresno State and the national headquarters. He/She shall send the names and addresses of the organization’s officers to the national headquarters in October, whenever there are any changes in officers and/or changes in their contact information. He/She shall complete and submit the Report of Eligibility, Report of Election, and Report of Final Action. He/She shall submit to the national headquarters, the credential for the convention delegate and alternate, the amended Bylaws along with written approval from the Advisory Board within two weeks of the approval of any amendments, and all actions taken by the Chapter’s Advisory Board. He/She shall serve as the secretary of the Advisory Board.

1. The Recording Secretary shall keep the roll and record books of the Chapter, the minutes of the meetings, and issues from the last three years of THE BENT and THE BULLETIN. He/She shall see that each candidate accepting election receives copies of the Constitution and Bylaws and Eligibility Code of The Tau Beta Pi Association, information about Tau Beta Pi, these Bylaws, and such other materials as the Chapter may deem desirable. He/She shall see that each active member receives the minutes of the previous meetings.

1. The Treasurer shall handle all financial affairs of the organization, maintaining all necessary accounting records using the official bookkeeping system of The Tau Beta Pi Association. He/She shall maintain bank accounts in the organization’s name, requiring signatures of both the Treasurer or the President for authorized disbursements. He/She shall remit initiation fees to the national headquarters within two weeks after each initiation. He/She shall obtain and complete the necessary paperwork for any requests for funding through California State University, Fresno Associated Students. The Treasurer serving office during the spring semester shall prepare the financial report for the chapter at the end of the spring semester.

1. The Cataloger shall keep an updated catalog of the active and alumnus members with their full names, home addresses, college addresses, and the names of the officers of the organization and the Advisory Board. He/She shall distribute two catalog cards to each electee, make sure they are completed, and then properly store all cards.

1. The Technology officer shall be in charge of maintaining the organization’s website. He/She shall also be responsible for maintaining the Tau Beta Pi Listserve.

1. The Historian shall keep a photographic record of the Organization’s meetings and events. He/She shall keep the organization’s poster board up to date and prepare any press releases for the Collegian, Fresno Bee, THE BENT, etc.

Section 3Qualifications necessary to hold office in this organization are as follows:

1. Must be a voting member of the organization at the time the election meeting is announced. See CR-V, 5 for a possible exception to this rule.
2. Must be carrying a minimum of 3 units a semester at California State University, Fresno.

Section 4Petition by one-third of the total number of voting members shall be cause for recall election. The offense must be in writing and submitted by a member. After the offense has been submitted to the organization, the accused officer shall have at least 48 hours before the hearing. A recall election shall be held at the next regular business meeting after the presentation of the recall petition and shall be conducted as a special election. Recall will require a favorable vote of three-fourths of the voting membership in attendance.

Section 5In the event that an elected officer is unable to fulfill his/her term of office, there shall be a special election to fill the vacancy at the next regular meeting. Any eligible member, including those already holding office, may be nominated for a vacant office. If the President is unable to fulfill his/her term in office, the Vice President shall assume the Presidential position and will continue to hold the position of President the following semester as would have occurred had the prior President fulfilled his term. The position of Vice President shall be filled with an Interim Vice President, who will be elected as described above. An Interim Vice President will fulfill the duties of the Vice President until the next regular election, but will not be promoted to the presidency. All other new officer(s) will serve until the next regular election.

Section 6If an officer has two unexcused absences they will automatically be removed from their office, unless a majority of the officers votes to keep the officer in question in office. The officer position will be filled as prescribed in CR-III, 6. A class conflicting with a meeting, medical absence, family emergency, or individual cases as determined by the President shall be considered excused absences provided the President is notified prior to the meeting, unless extenuating circumstances prohibit the officer from contacting the President.

Section 7The President Shall be this chapter’s delegate to the Convention of the Association. The Vice President shall be the alternate delegate, followed by the Corresponding Secretary. If there is still a vacancy in either the position of delegate or alternate, the chapter’s officers must nominate and elect one of the officers to assume each vacant position. If all of the officers are unable or unwilling to be the delegate or the alternate, the officers will elect voting members of the chapter to these positions.

Section 8As prescribed in B-V, 5.02, the chapter shall hold the following committees: Membership, Initiation, Program, Social Activities, and such other committees as the Chapter shall desire and establish. The President shall be a non-voting member of all committees. Appointments to chair positions shall be made by the president at the next meeting following each initiation of new members. Each chair shall make a report on the progress of his/her group’s activities at each Chapter meeting.

ARTICLE IV:MEETINGS

Section 1Regular meetings shall be scheduled at least monthly during the academic year. The following regular meetings shall be scheduled and held once in the Fall and once in the Spring semesters: Organization, Candidate Information Meeting, Election of Candidates, Initiation of Electees, and Election/Installation of new officers, and one general meeting of a social, literary, or technical nature.

Section 2Special meetings may be called by any elected officer or by 5% of the voting members of the organization. All members must be given a minimum of 24 hours notice, weekends and holidays excluded, prior to the meeting time.

Section 3Business cannot be conducted unless a quorum of the membership is present. A quorum for this organization is defined as 50% +1 of the voting membership for consideration of routine business. A quorum shall be three-fourths of the voting members for the election of new members, the revocation of election, changing the initiation fee or Chapter dues, for passing an assessment on the members of the Chapter, for amending the Chapter Bylaws, and for approval or disapproval of a proposed amendment to the Constitution or Bylaws of the Association. A quorum shall be two-thirds of the voting members for election of new officers. A quorum for an Advisory Board meeting shall be five of members of the Board.