Constitution of the Inter-Fraternity Council

Constitution of the Inter-Fraternity Council Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Chartered by the North American Interfraternity Conference: February 2016 Revised and Passed: October 2013

Article I. Name The name of this organization shall be the Shippensburg University Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC).

Article II. Mission The object of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be to promote fraternity life and positive interfraternity relations within the construct of the University and the town community.

The mission of the Inter-Fraternity Council is to promote positive fraternity relations betwixt men and organizations; while providing support for the fraternity community through marketing, programing education, recruitment.

Article III. Membership There shall be two classes of membership REGULAR and PROVISIONAL.

The REGULAR membership of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be comprised of all chapter members of chartered IFC fraternities.

The PROVISIONAL membership of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be composed of all members of IFC colonies and interest groups.

Both Regular and Provisional membership have full access to the Inter-fraternity Council and their resources.

Members holding provisional membership will not be permitted to vote on matters of expansion.

Article IV. Meetings Regular meetings of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be held weekly at a time and place agreed upon by the Executive Board at the beginning of the current semester.

Special meetings may be called at the direction of the President or upon written request of any member fraternity. It shall be the duty of the Recording Secretary to notify all member organizations no less than 24 hours in advance of any special meeting.

Article V. Advisor The Inter-Fraternity Council Advisor shall be the Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life, their official designee, or similar position as designated by Shippensburg University.

1 Article VI. Officers The officers of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Recruitment, Marketing, and community service. These offices shall comprise the Executive Board.

The officers shall serve for a term of one year, the term of office to begin in December and finish in November.

It is the responsibility of the Executive Board of the Inter-Fraternity Council to:  Act in the best interest of the Council and its member organizations.  Maintain a complete and up-to-date file for their office, which will include a copy of the current Inter-Fraternity Council Bylaws, Standing Rules, and other material pertinent to the office.

Article VII. Selection of Officers The offices of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, recruitment marketing, and community service shall be elected by ballot.

Nominations and Elections Nominations for officer candidates will be accepted based on the timeline established by the Executive Board of the Inter-Fraternity Council by the first meeting in October.

 Each fraternity is encouraged to nominate candidates for each office, however, no fraternity will be limited in the number of candidates they nominate.

 Nominations may come from any officer, delegate or member at large. Individuals may nominate members from their fraternity or any other University recognized fraternity. Individuals may self-nominate.

 A speech is required of all candidates. Nominees will give speeches in alphabetical order by officer position, starting with President.

 If a candidate is not able to be present at the meeting a written speech will be accepted and read in their absence.

 Each fraternity will cast one vote, this vote should be cast by the fraternity delegate, and however, the vote may be cast by an alternate.

 The President of the IFC will be the tie breaker. If the President is ineligible because he is running for office the Vice President will serve as the tiebreaker. If the Vice President is also ineligible the next officer in order of reporting will serve as the tiebreaker and so on after that.

Qualifications

2 In order to run for office candidates must:  Have been an initiated member of their fraternity for one semester.  Meet with the current officer before speeches to review position responsibilities.  Be in good standing with the IFC, their individual fraternity and Shippensburg University. Good standing is confirmed by the IFC Advisor.  In order to run for President, one must have previous experience on the executive board or served as a delegate for the Inter-Fraternity council.

Candidates running for the office of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Marketing must exhibit additional qualifications in order to run for office. Evidence to these qualifications must be presented in their speech.  President – previous leadership experience and have a term filled on executive board or as a delegate for the Inter-Fraternity Council  Vice President – previous leadership experience, knowledge of judicial hearing processes and committee structures.  Treasurer - previous experience in a Treasury position, the ability to balance a checkbook and prepare a budget.  Marketing – previous experience in a marketing or public relations position must provide examples of applicable flyers, graphics, website design, etc.

Officer Vacancies/Removal from Office In the case of a vacancy in an officer position an election or appointment shall take place as soon as is practicable. In the case of an election, the process outlined above should be followed. In the case of an appointment, a unanimous agreement must be reached by all officers and the IFC Advisor. If this agreement cannot be reached the election process should be followed.

Any officer may be removed for cause, including but not limited to, unexcused absences from Executive Board or Council meetings, poor standing in their fraternity, not meeting position expectations or conduct unbecoming an officer. If it is necessary to remove an officer from his position, the following steps should be followed.  1st Offense – the officer will meet with the IFC President and Advisor.  2nd Offense – the officer will meet with the Executive Board to explain their situation/the Executive Board will vote to determine whether the officer may maintain their position or must step down). A 4-2 member vote must be required.  3rd Offense – immediate dismissal from office.

If a situation should arise where the conduct of an officer is so severe that removal from office is the only acceptable response, the Executive Board officers and the IFC Advisor will act immediately.

Article VIII. Officer Duties Officers of the Inter-Fraternity Council and their duties are as follows:

3 The President shall: a. Have overall responsibility for the operation of the Inter-Fraternity Council. b. He shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the Inter-Fraternity Council. c. He shall review weekly reports from his fellow officers.

The Vice President shall: a. Perform the duties of the President in his absence, inability to serve or at his call. b. Serve as the Chairman of the Judicial Committee. c. Oversee the planning and implementation of all Inter-Fraternity Council philanthropic activities.

The Recording Secretary shall: a. Keep and promptly distribute the minutes of all Inter-Fraternity Council regular or special meetings, as well as a record of all actions taken by the Executive Board. b. Notify all member chapters in changes of regular meetings. As well as notify all members if a special meeting Is to be held. c. Be responsible for the official correspondence of the Inter-Fraternity Council unless provided for otherwise. d. Act as the scholarship chairmen from all member organizations. a. Coordinate activities addressing academic success and oversee the implementation of scholarship incentives.

The Treasurer shall: a. Be responsible for the general supervision of the finances of the Inter- Fraternity Council. b. Be responsible for preparation of the annual budget. c. Receive all payments due to the Inter-Fraternity Council, collect all dues and provide receipts. d. Maintain up-to-date financial records and give a financial report at each regular meeting.

The Recruitment Chairman Shall: a. Work with the IFC Advisor and the IFC to determine recruitment dates and regulations, inform member fraternities, and enforce regulations. b. Oversee the planning and implementation of all Inter-Fraternity Council recruitment activities in accordance with University and Inter-Fraternity Council policies. c. Work cooperatively with the Public Relations Chair in developing publications, posters, and advertisements to best represent the fraternities participating in recruitment.

4 d. Serve as a liaison to the recruitment chairs of member organizations to provide information and assistance. e. He is responsible for holding 1 recruitment workshop per term, whom must be attended by all regular and provisional members.

The Marketing Chairman shall: a. Coordinate all public relations efforts on behalf of the Inter-Fraternity Council including, but not limited to, campus and community publications and cooperative efforts with other organizations and departments b. Update Social media regularly with events and information pertaining to the Inter-Fraternity Council. c. He shall prepare one newsletter per term to which will be distributed by the secretary to all members.

The Community Service Chairman shall: a. Organize community service projects for all regular and provisional members to attend. b. Record the hours completed by each regular and provisional member as well as the Inter-Fraternity Council as a whole. c. Remain as a resource for the community service chairs of individual chapters.

Article IX. Delegates Each member fraternity is responsible for sending a delegate to each meeting. The presence of an Executive Board member does not equate the presence of a fraternity representative.

 Inter-Fraternity Council delegates shall:  Attend all scheduled meetings on time. Attendance is defined as being present at both the beginning and the end of each meeting.  Send a prepared representative in the event of their absence.  Prepare a chapter report for each meeting.  Serve as an active participant in meetings and report back to their chapter any information from the meeting. Special attention should be paid to matters concerning voting, dues, recruitment, deadlines, etc.  Be familiar with Inter-Fraternity Council and University policies.  Maintain a complete and up-to-date file, which will include a copy of the current Inter- Fraternity Council Constitution, Bylaws, Standing Rules and other material pertinent to the position.

Fraternity delegates are an essential part of the Inter-Fraternity Council and their attendance at meetings is required. Thus, member organizations are allotted one unexcused absence per semester. After this absence is used, violations of the attendance policy will be handled as follows:

5 First unexcused absence – the Inter-Fraternity Council President will send a warning letter to the chapter president and chapter advisor. Along with a loss of points at the next Greek Week as determined by the Executive Board of the Inter-Fraternity Council.

Second unexcused absence – letter to the international office and loss of voting privileges for the remainder of the current semester.

Further violations will be treated as fineable offenses with the amount and due date to be determined by the Executive Board of the Inter-Fraternity Council.

Article X. Finance FISCAL YEAR. The fiscal year of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be from July 1 to June 30 of the corresponding year. The President, Secretary, Treasurer, and advisor are those who are on the account.

CHECKS. All checks issued on behalf of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be signed by the Treasurer with the approval of the Inter-Fraternity Council Advisor. Checks must be deposited within 5 business days of being received by the Treasurer.

PAYMENTS. All payments due to the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be made to the Treasurer who shall promptly and accurately record them. All checks for payments shall be made to the Inter-Fraternity Council.

DUES. Each member organization shall pay dues in the amount of $10.00 per initiated brother each semester by a date designated by the Executive Board. Early bird dues may be paid at a discounted rate of $9.00 per initiated brother each semester by a date designated by the Executive Board. Dues will be waived for the chapter with the highest all member academic GPA from the previous semester.

Article XI. Voting The voting members of the Inter-Fraternity Council shall be the delegates of each fraternity holding Regular or Provisional membership. If a delegate is absent, the vote of the fraternity shall be cast by its alternate. If both delegate and alternate are absent the vote may be cast by a member of the fraternity in good standing.

To establish or change membership recruitment guidelines or determine matters of budget, two-thirds of fraternities holding Regular or Provisional membership must vote in favor of the proposed change. A majority vote shall be required to carry all other questions.

Moved to membership

Article XII. Rules of Order

6 The Inter-Fraternity Council shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, except in matters specifically provided for in this Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules.

Article XIII. Standing Committees The Inter-Fraternity Council shall appoint standing committees to carry out the work of the IFC as needed. Examples include, but are not limited to, recruitment, risk management or judicial.

Article XIV. Violations Any dispute rising out of the Inter-Fraternity Council Constitution and Bylaws, Standing Rules shall be addressed as stated in the Inter-Fraternity Council Judicial Procedure.

Issues individuals may have must be brought to the attention of the President and Advisor prior to being addressed in a council meeting.

Article XV: Amendments The Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the voting members of the Inter-Fraternity Council, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given in writing at the preceding regular meeting.

Article XVI. Standing Rules Inter-Fraternal Council Judicial Board Procedure Shippensburg University Guidelines for Joining a Fraternity or Sorority Shippensburg University Expansion & Recognition Policy Shippensburg University Policy on Hazing Shippensburg University Social Events Policy