The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at Stevens Institute of Technology

THE SOCIETY OF HISPANIC PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AT STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Stevens Institute of Technology

Article I NAME OF ORGANIZATION

The name of this organization shall be The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at Stevens Institute of Technology, hereafter referred to as “SHPE@SIT”.

Article II PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE

Section 1 – Purpose

The purpose of this student organization is to unite and organize Stevens students based on needs to promote professionalism and academic development by means of social and intellectual interaction.

Section 2 – Objective

1 Promote the advancement of Hispanic engineers and scientists at Stevens Institute of Technology and in our community. 2 Develop and participate in programs with industry and the university, which benefit students seeking technical degrees. 3 Improve the retention of Hispanic students enrolled in engineering and science. 4 Provide a forum for the exchange of information pertinent for Hispanic engineering/science students enrolled in Stevens Institute of Technology.

Article III ASSOCIATION

Section 1 – Affiliation

This chapter will be an affiliated chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Inc. (SHPE Inc.). The organization possesses the right to adopt its own rules and procedures within the framework of rules and regulations set forth by SHPE Inc. and the University. This student chapter will be part of the “local” as defined by the Regional Vice-President and the local professional chapter presidents.

Section 2 - Non–Discrimination

No person shall be denied membership in this organization because of race, color, sex, handicap, nationality, religious affiliation or belief, or any other factor that is not outlined in Article IV of this constitution even though the name, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, was chosen.

Article IV MEMBERSHIP

Membership shall be open to all Stevens Institute of Technology undergraduate students.

Section 1 - National Membership

National members are defined as members that are fully paid members, are in good standing with the institution, and are in good standing with SHPE Inc. Paid in full regular members are defined as those fulfilling the SHPE Inc.’s payment. Benefits of Regular members are as follows:

a The right to vote in election. b The right to attend any and all conferences. c The right to run for the executive board (Only if criteria are met, outlined later.) d The right to attend any and all events.

Section 2 - Regular Membership

Regular members consist of any undergraduate student that is not paid that wishes to be a member. Benefits of regular members are as follows:

a The right to attend any and all events.

Section 3 – Honorary Membership

Honorary membership shall be given to those individuals who do not fulfill the requirements of being regular member but whose support of the objectives of The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at Stevens Institute of Technology merits them special recognition. The process of being inducted as an honorary requires that a regular member nominates the individual and that the executive board approves the membership.

Section 4- Membership Dues Membership dues will be determined by the executive board at the beginning of the academic year and shall remain the same until the new academic year begins. All membership dues collected shall go towards the national membership fees and to the operating budget of the chapter. All membership dues shall be paid directly to the chapter Treasurer.

Article V Executive Board

The executive board shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Corporate Relations Officer, External Relations Officer, Internal Relations Officer, Public Relations Officer, Chief Web Officer, Recruitment Chair, and Academic Chair.

Section 1 – Selection of Officers

Selection for the Executive board will completely follow the guidelines set forth by the Student Government Association. These will not be followed in the event a conference is earlier than the timeframe set by these guidelines, which requires the presence of the new executive board. The nominated officials will meet all requirements set forth by these guidelines and must be paid members in good standing.

Section 2 – Officer Duties

A) President 1 Be the official representative and spokesman of the chapter at all public functions. 2 Organize and conduct the executive board meetings. 3 Appoint all committee chairpersons 4 Organizes the preparation of the National Reporting Program on the organization’s goals and accomplishments. 5 Delegate roles and responsibilities to executive board members. 6 Oversees changes made to the constitution. 7 Register the new officers of the organization with the Office of Student Life. 8 Requirements: The equivalent of two (2) academic years of experience as a member of a collegiate Executive Board. Exceptions will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the incumbent executive board.

B) Vice-President 1 Performs all duties of the President in the event of an absence, or as needed. 2 Supervises committees and consults with committee chairpersons. 3 Assist the President in all business concerning the chapter. 4 Coordinate the participation of the SHPE@SIT chapter in National and Regional conferences. 5 Be responsible for managing all permanent and temporary committees and shall preside as Head Chairman of all the committees. 6 Requirements: At least one (1) year of experience as a member of the Executive Board:

C) Treasurer 1 Have absolute supervision over the annual budgeting of funds. 2 Keep books and records on money received or disbursed. 3 Make semesterly financial reports listing all liabilities and assets of the organization. 4 Render a final account of the finances of the club at the final meeting. 5 Responsible for registering new members and keep track of payments to the Office of Student Life and Nationals. 6 Creates Fall and Spring Budgets, including conference spending amounts. 7 Tracks p-card and all receipts and submits them to Student Life 8 Attends RSO Summits each semester and relays new information to E-Board 9 Performs all duties of the President in the event of an absence of President and Vice President, or as needed.

D) Secretary 1 Maintains accurate minutes for all meetings. 2 Document all necessary records pertaining to the organization in an organized manner. 3 Keep a list of all members and their information. 4 Handle all club correspondence. 5 Responsible for communication between officers. 6 Write and send out a weekly email/newsletter to members. 7 Send weekly minutes to the officers. 8 Research employment opportunities and scholarship opportunities for the newsletter. 9 Maintain the Gmail members alias.

E) Corporate Relations Officer 1 Responsible for all correspondence between club and corporate contacts. 2 Organizes the distribution of the chapter’s funding proposal to the corporations and sponsors. 3 Ensure all funding proposal offerings are delivered to corresponding sponsors. 4 Review and update the funding proposal on a yearly basis. 5 Maintain and update a list of contacts of corporate representatives. 6 Requirements: At least one (1) year of experience as a member of the Executive Board or one semester equivalent of co-op/intern experience.

F) External Relations Officer 1 Organize community service opportunities throughout the academic year. 2 Manage volunteers for SHPE-related events on and off campus and keep track of records for the point system to be submitted to the secretary. 3 Maintain contact with alumni and continuously update the Alumni Contacts List and the Alumni database. 4 Once a semester newsletter to alumni updating the accomplishments of the chapter. 5 Establish contact with other nearby SHPE chapters and continue communication with events and important updates from other chapters. ○ Share all major events (i.e SHPE-Net, Mock Interviews) with neighboring chapters.

G) Internal Relations Officer 1 Manage all correspondence and activities related to the chapter’s SHPE Jr. chapter(s). 2 Responsible for the ACE Mini Grant Proposal for the academic year. 3 Manage SHPE Jr. funds and distribute them accordingly. 4 Complete a SHPE Jr. Chapter Report.

H) Chief Web Officer 1 Securing room reservations for all events pertaining to the organization on campus. 2 Complete DuckLink event registration procedures including but not limited to posting events on the Community Wide Calendar, completing Student Life Newsletter forms, and other forms of advertisement done through DuckLink. 3 Update SHPE alias with IT. 4 Update and maintain the chapter’s website and DuckSync page. 5 Work with the Public Relations Officer to distribute and post event flyers around campus

K) Public Relations Officer 1 Take responsibility of publicizing the organization’s meetings and events. 2 Update all forms of social media the chapter uses. This includes but is not limited to the SHPE at Stevens accounts for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 3 Provide assistance to the Chief Web Officer and be in charge of distributing and posting event flyers around campus. 4 Responsible for taking pictures/film of events and posting them on social media as well as DuckLink. 5 Responsible for creating flyers promoting SHPE related events.

L) Academic Chair 1. Hold academic events throughout the semester (includes, but not limited to: review sessions, study sessions, and preparations for midterms and finals) 2. Organize graduate school information sessions once a semester. 3. Uphold and maintain archive of resources for the members to access for academic support 4. Responsible for providing scholarship opportunities to the membership, including, but not limited to, SHPE Inc. scholarships. 5. Work closely with the advisor to monitor the academic success of the chapter membership.

M) Recruitment Chair 1. Accurately keep track of points system for member participation. 2. Organizes all chapter retreats (at least once a semester focusing on chapter bonding) 3. Facilitates the chapter’s mentorship program. Conducts 3 mentor/mentee events per semester.

Section 3 – Impeachment

A complaint about an officer shall be stated at an executive board meeting or general body meeting. Before impeachment is carried out, the president and/or vice president shall determine the validity of the accusation and place the officer on probation for a minimum of one week at which time a vote to impeach is carried out. This voting shall be conducted by the use of ‘yays’ and ‘nays’. In order for the impeachment to be carried out, a two-thirds vote is required. In the event of a tie there shall be no impeachment. Impeachment can only be carried out by a two-thirds vote.

If the officers fail to not meet their requirements as stated above or miss more than 3 executive board meetings with an invalid excuse or no excuse, they may be up for impeachment. Failure to attend general body meetings consistently will be at the discretion of the chairman.

Section 4 – Vacancies

In the event of any vacancies of any executive position, the organization shall ensure that there are at least two officers at any given time. The president shall appoint a member of the organization to fill the vacancy temporarily, which must then be approved by the executive board. The officer will then remain in office until a new officer can be elected for by the general body at which time the interim officer will step down or run for the office. The length of the interim officer will not exceed further than the end of the academic calendar.

Article VI Committee on Student Interests Representative

The Committee on Student Interests Representative (also known as the “RSO Representative”) is responsible for attending meetings of the sub-committee of the Committee on Student Interests to which the organization belongs. Also, they must submit a complete transition report of position’s duties/accomplishments upon the completion of their term to the incoming CSI Representative and perform all duties assigned by the President.

Article VII Meetings

Regular meetings of SHPE shall be held twice a month during the academic year. Officer or committee meetings shall be held as needed or at the President's request. Other meetings may be called in addition to regular meetings. An official meeting can only be conducted under the supervision of either the President or Vice-President and one other officer.

Article VIII Quorum

The Quorum for the regular meetings shall be determined according to the member list. Quorum is defined as 25% of members plus 1.

Article IX Committees

To carry out the purpose and aims of the organization, the president shall create committees and appoint chairpersons as often as required. The committee will not be existent after the end of the academic year unless the new board deems it otherwise necessary at which point the new President will appoint new chairpersons and oversee the transition.

Article X Chaos Claus

Procedures not specifically defined in this constitution or bylaws shall be adapted from the latest publication of Robert’s Rules of Order.

Article XI Amendments

This section is reserved for future changes to this constitution. If at any point is it deemed necessary to amend this constitution the bill will be recommended by any person, then must be sponsored by a board member. Then it will be voted on in the form of ‘yays’ and ‘nays’. Majority of quorum will be required for passage.

I. Sponsorship Money A. Sponsorship money is defined as any donations to the chapter. II. SHPE National Conference Requirements for Sponsorship by the Chapter: A. Paid national membership. B. Attendance to minimum of one event per pillar starting from January 1st of the conference year in question. C. For incoming freshman, attendance to a minimum of two pillar events and the mandatory information session. D. Must provide proof of attendance to these events. E. Pillar events do not include executive board information sessions or elections.