St Lawrence Section Bylaws

St Lawrence Section Bylaws

Bylaws

1. Duties of Section Officers

• Chairman: Assume responsibility for the functioning of the Section; preside at all its Business Meetings; appoint its Special Committees; serve as an ex officio member of all its Committees; keep the Secretary of the Society and the Chairman of the Council of Sections, Zone I, informed regarding the activities of the Section; serve on the Executive Board of the Council of Sections, Zone I.
• Chairman-Elect: Succeed to the office of Chairman in case of a vacancy in that office; assume the duties of Chairman when the Chairman is not present for a meeting; aid in arranging the program and details of the Annual Meeting for the year of his Chairmanship; serve on the Executive Board of the Council of Sections, Zone I.
• Vice-Chairman: Act on behalf of the Chairman-Elect when that Officer is unable to undertake any of his duties.
• Past-Chairman: Serve as Chairman of the Nominating Committee of the Section.
• Secretary: Keep Minutes and current records of Section activities; serve as Editor of the Section's Newsletter in the absence of an officially designated Editor; perform other duties as assigned by the Chairman. Transfer Section files to his successor and transmit copies of appropriate documents to the Section's Historian.
• Treasurer: Collect and disburse all moneys authorized by the Section; present a financial report at its Annual Business Meeting; make a written financial report as of March 15 to its Executive and General Committees; prepare the written financial report required by Article VI of the Constitution.

2. Standing and Special Committees

• The Nominating Committee shall consist of the three most recent past Chairman of the Section who are willing and able to serve on it, commencing on July 1 of each year, the Past-Chairman serving as its Chairman. It shall present a slate of officers to the Chairman of the Section at least forty five days prior to the date of the next Annual Meeting, for inclusion in the Section's Newsletter or other mailing to members relating to the Meeting. It will present the slate of officers for consideration at the next Annual Business Meeting of the Section.
• The Annual Meeting Committee shall be responsible for arranging the program and all details of the next Annual Meeting of the Section. Its Chairman, who shall be appointed by the host Institution, shall appoint such members and sub-committees as may be appropriate.
• The Programme Co-Ordinating Committee shall consist of the Chairman of the Annual Meeting Committee and its two most recent past Chairmen who are willing and able to serve on it, commencing on January 1 of each year. The most recent past Chairman of the Annual Meeting Committee shall serve as Chairman of the Programme Co-Ordinating Committee, which shall be responsible for assuring continuity between the programmes arranged for the Annual Meeting of the Section and making recommendations to its Annual Meeting Committee for the short-term, and to its General Committee for the long-term.
• The Awards Committee shall consist of three members, each serving terms of three years which expire in different years, a new member being appointed annually by the Chairman of the Section; the longest standing member of the Committee shall serve as its Chairman. It shall aid the Chairman of the Section in the solicitation and receipt of nominations for awards made by the Section, select the recipients of such awards from amongst the nominees, and transmit their names to the Chairman of the Section in time for his subsequent action. It shall also promote the submission of nominations from amongst the Section's members for awards made by the Society for which its total membership is eligible.
• Special Committees may be appointed by the Chairman from time to time as may be required (i) to develop special projects approved by the General Committee or (ii) to conduct the affairs of the Section.

3. Responsibilities of Representatives to the General Committee

• Representatives to the General Committee are responsible for providing liaison between their organizations and the Officers of the Section and its Committees. They shall be responsible for arranging for the selection of their successors in any manner satisfactory to their organization.
• Representatives of Institutional and Industrial Members should take the lead in furthering the purposes of the Society in their areas and provide points of contact for its committees with their organizations.

4. Section Newsletter

Following the Annual Meeting of the Section, the Editor shall prepare, and distribute to all its members, a Newsletter summarizing the actions taken at the Meeting, together with any matters that might be of interest to the members of the Section. Additional Newsletters may be published at the discretion of the General Committee. The Editor shall be appointed by the General Committee, to normally serve for a term of three years. The Editor shall be an ex officio non-voting member of the General Committee.

5. Archives

The General Committee may appoint an Historian to serve for an indefinite term. The Historian shall maintain complete records related to elected officers; committee appointments, and other personnel matters, and shall serve as custodian of all material deemed to hold reasonable promise of future use to the Section. The Historian shall be an ex-officio non-voting member of the General Committee.

Constitution

ARTICLE I - Name and Purpose

• The name of this organization shall be the St. Lawrence Section of the American Society for Engineering Education.
• Its purpose shall be to provide opportunities for local members of the Society, and others interested in Engineering Education, to meet periodically to discuss matters pertaining to Engineering Education, and otherwise to further the objectives of the Society.

ARTICLE II - Membership

• The membership of the Section shall consist of all Individual Members of the Society, who reside in that portion of the State of New York, lying above the New York-Pennsylvania line and its eastward extension, that portion of the Province of Ontario bounded on the West by the 82nd meridian, and the Province of Quebec.
• An Individual Member of the Society who resides in the Provinces of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, will be a member of the section if his Institution has chosen to be represented on its General Committee.

ARTICLE III - Officers

• The Officers of the Section shall be a Chairman, Chairman- Elect, Vice-Chairman, Past-Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer who are Individual Members of the Society.
• The Chairman, Chairman-Elect, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected at the Annual Meeting of the Section, with terms to begin concurrently with the beginning of the next following Society year.
• The Office of Past-Chairman shall be filled by the most recent past Chairman willing and able to serve concurrently with the new Chairman.
• The Chairman, Chairman-Elect, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary shall be elected from the membership at large of the Section and not normally from the next host Institution. The Treasurer shall be elected normally from the host Institution for the following year.
• The Chairman shall not be elected for two consecutive terms.
• The Chairman and Chairman-Elect shall be the representatives of the Section on the Executive Board of the Council of Sections, Zone I of the Society.
• Vacancies in any of the above offices shall be filled by the General Committee and appointments so made shall be effective until successors are elected by the Section. If the offices of Chairman, Chairman-Elect, and Vice- Chairman are vacant, the Past-Chairman shall convene the General Committee to fill the vacancies.
• The duties of the Officers of the Section specified in its By-Laws.
• Nominations for Officers shall be made by Nominating Committee specified in the By-Laws of the Section. Other nominations may be made from the floor at its Annual Meeting.

ARTICLE IV - Meetings

• There shall be an Annual Meeting of the Section at a location and time of year determined by the General Committee. The exact date(s) shall be fixed by the Executive Committee. Meetings other than the Annual Meeting may be called by the Chairman with the concurrence of the Executive Committee.
• The Chairman shall inform the headquarters of the Society and the Chairman of its Council of Sections, Zone I of the dates of all Section meetings, as soon as they are fixed.
• All members of the Section are entitled to attend Section Meetings, and other persons may be invited at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
• Notice of all Section Meetings shall be given to members of the Section at least two weeks in advance, either by means of individual notices or by notices given through appropriate persons at resident Institutions.
• Joint meetings of the Section with other organizations shall be held only after approval by the headquarters of the Society.

ARTICLE V - Voting

• All Individual Members of the Section present at its general business meetings shall be entitled to vote. A simple majority of those voting shall be required for action, except as indicated in Article IX.

ARTICLE VI - Finances

• There shall be no regular Section dues. Funds for defraying the expenses of the Section shall be raised by registration fees at Annual Meetings and by such other means as may be approved by the General Committee.
• Expenditure of Section funds shall be under the direction of the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall prepare a written financial report as of June 1 of each year, for submission to the headquarters of the Society and for presentation at the next Annual Meeting of the Section.

ARTICLE VII - Committees

• There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the Officers of the Section, the immediate past Secretary, and the immediate past Treasurer. The current Chairman and Secretary of the Section shall be the Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of the Executive Committee.
• There shall be a General Committee composed of the Members of the Executive Committee, the representatives specified in 3 and 4 below, and the Chairmen of all Standing and Special Committees of the Section. The Chairman and Secretary of the Section shall be the Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of the General Committee. This Committee is responsible for setting the policies and directing the general affairs of the Section.
• Each Educational Institutional Member of the Society belonging to the Section, and each Industrial Member of the Society with headquarters or malor operations in the Section territory may designate one representative to the General Committee.
• Each Division in the Professional Interest Councils may designate one representative from within the Section territory to the General Committee.
• All representatives to the General Committee, and all Chairman of Standing and Special Committees of the Section must be Individual Members of the Society.
• The official list of members to the General Committee shall be compiled in August of each year by the Chairman of the Section.

ARTICLE VIII - Publications

• Papers and discussions presented before the Section may be published as Society proceedings, if authorized by the Publications Committee of the Society.

ARTICLE IX - Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws

• The Constitution and By-Laws of the Section may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of its members present at an Annual Meeting of the Section, provided written notice of the proposed changes has been given to all its members at least two weeks prior to that Annual Meeting.