University of Toledo Chemical & Environmental Engineering
By-Laws
of the
University of Toledo Chapter
of
Omega Chi Epsilon
Article I: Name and Objective
Section I. The name of this organization shall be "The _____________ Chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon, National Chemical Engineering Honor Society."
Section 2. The objective of this chapter shall be to recognize and promote high scholarship, original investigation, and professional service in Chemical Engineering.
Section 3. This society is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purpose including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).
Section 4. No part of the net earnings of the Society shall inure to the benefit of, or
be distributable to, its members, officers or other private persons, except that the
Society shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services
rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth in
the above Section 3 Article I hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the Society
shall be the carrying on of Propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation,
and the Society shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or
distribution of statements), any political campaign on the behalf of any candidate for
public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the Society shall
not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization
exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or
(b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170 (c) (2) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United
States Internal Revenue Law).
Article II: Officers
Section 1. The officers of this Chapter shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Faculty Advisor.
Section 2. All Active members of the Chapter shall be eligible to hold any office, except that no member may simultaneously hold more than one of the offices named in Section 1. The Faculty Advisor must hold rank of Assistant Professor or above.
Section 3. No member may hold the same office for more than one full term. A member succeeding to an unexpired term in any office is eligible for election to a complete term in that office.
Section 4. The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
a. The President shall preside at all meetings, act as an official representative of the Chapter at any function requiring such a representative, and shall see that the other officers of the Chapter perform their duties in accordance with the By - Laws. The President shall issue written orders for all disbursements. The President is the Chapter's member on the council.
b. The Vice President shall assume and fulfill the duties of the President in the absence of or in case of resignation of the President. In case the Vice President shall succeed to the Presidency of the Chapter, a successor shall be elected to fill the unexpired term as soon as it is practicable.
c. The Secretary shall issue all notices, and shall be responsible for all records of the Chapter, including an official copy of the Chapter's By - Laws. The Secretary shall furnish all members with an unofficial copy of these By - Laws, shall keep the roll of active members which shall be called at each meeting, shall keep the minutes of the chapter meetings, and shall handle routine correspondence of the Chapter with other Chapters and the National Officers. The Secretary shall promptly report elections of officers and of new members to the Executive Secretary. Upon leaving office, the Secretary should leave a written report of Chapter activities and recommendations for improving the Chapter operation for the incoming Secretary.
d. The Treasurer shall collect and care for all money, properties, and financial records of the Chapter and shall make payment only upon written order of the President.
e. The Faculty Advisor is an ex officio member of the Council. The advisor shall serve as a liaison between the Chapter and the school and shall guide the Chapter in their actions and activities.
Section 5. The Officers' Council shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Faculty Advisor.
a. The President shall be Chairman of the Officers' Council.
b. The Officers' Council shall conduct whatever business it deems necessary to facilitate the Chapter's regular business meetings.
c. The President shall have the authority to call meetings of the Officers' Council.
d. A majority shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Officers' Council.
e. The Officers' Council shall keep a record of its meetings and the business
conducted. This record becomes a part of the minutes of the Chapter.
Article III: Election of Officers
Section 1. Officers shall be elected each year in the 1st week of June and shall serve for one year.
Section 2. The new officers shall take office at the adjournment of the election meeting.
Section 3. Nominations for office shall be taken at a regular meeting directly preceding the date set for the election of officers. Only active members shall nominate or be nominated. Each nomination must be accompanied by the pledge of the nominee to serve in the office if elected.
Section 4. Three-fourths of active members shall constitute a quorum for the election of officers. A majority of votes shall be required for election. If no majority is held after one ballot, a second ballot shall be held to choose between the two leading members. All elections shall be conducted by secret ballot.
Section 5. The faculty advisor shall be elected in even years for a two-year term, and may be re-elected. Elections for this position shall be held at the same time as elections for the student officers.
Section 6. A recall election may be called for a position by action of the Officer's Council or by vote or written request of three-fourths of the active membership.
Section 7. A special election shall be held to fill any vacancies occurring before a regular election, with the exception that a vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the Vice-President, who shall serve as President until the next election.
Section 8. Rules on quorums and elections shall be the same for recall and special
elections as for general elections.
Article IV: Membership
Section 1. Membership shall be restricted to students pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toledo who have attained a high scholastic record and who have those traits of leadership and character which make them likely to succeed in their profession.
Section 2. Membership shall not be restricted on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, gender, religion, or handicap.
Section 3. The classifications of members shall be active and inactive.
a. Active members shall be those members who are registered students of the University of Toledo and who are working toward a degree in Chemical Engineering; those members who are registered students who have received a degree in Chemical Engineering, are pursuing a degree in another field, and have expressed an interest in remaining active; and those members who are no longer registered students but remain attached to the University in a professional capacity and have expressed an interest in remaining active. Active members may be expected to fulfill certain duties that shall be determined by a three-fourths vote of the current active membership. However, none of these activities should impose an undue burden on members.
b. Inactive members shall be those previously active members who no longer express an interest in remaining active.
Section 4. Members of other Chapters who transfer to the University of Toledo and who
express an interest in becoming active at the University, shall be accepted into the
Chapter upon presentation of evidence of membership to the officers of the Chapter.
Article V - Election of Members
Section 1. There is to be at least one but no more than two election meetings per year.
Section 2. The determination for eligibility of persons for election to the chapter shall be as follows:
a. Examination of the scholastic records of the members of the junior, senior, and graduate classes in chemical engineering shall be conducted by an Eligibility Committee, which is appointed by the president, to determine those scholastically eligible for election. If the students are not able to access the appropriate records, the Faculty Advisor shall supply a list of members of the junior, senior, and graduate classes who are scholastically eligible for election. No members shall be elected in the Chapter who have not completed at least 60 semester hours towards a degree in chemical engineering, including 6 hours of chemical engineering courses. Those undergraduates having completed between 60 and 90 semester hours, including 6 hours of chemical engineering classes shall be classified as juniors. Those having greater than 90 hours who have not yet received a Bachelor's degree shall be classified as seniors.
b. Juniors: Those juniors who have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25/4.00 or are in the upper one fourth of their class (with a minimum GPA of 3.0) shall be eligible for election.
c. Seniors: Those seniors who have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0/4.0 or are in the upper one fourth of their class (with a minimum GPA of 3.0) shall be eligible for election.
d. Graduates: Graduate students shall be eligible for election upon the completion of 12 semester hours of courses including 9 hours in chemical engineering, counting towards a graduate degree in chemical engineering. Their grade point average, based on their graduate work including completed research, shall be a 3.8/4.0 or higher.
e. The scholastic average of each candidate shall be as follows:
The letter grades given at the University of Toledo shall be given the following values: A=4.0, A-=3.667, B+=3.333, B=3.0, B-=2.667, C+=2.333, C=2.0, C-=1.667, D=1.0, and F=0.0. The total hours for each grade received shall be multiplied by the number value assigned to each grade. The sum of these products shall then be divided by the sum of the course hours to obtain the average. If a course has been repeated, the average grade shall be considered.
Section 3. New members shall be elected as follows:
a. The Chairman of the Eligibility Committee shall distribute the eligibility list to the active members of the chapter at least three days prior to the election meeting. The eligibility list must not be displayed to anyone who is not an active member and must be returned to the Secretary at the end of the meeting. All copies of the eligibility list shall then be destroyed, except one copy for the Chapter files.
b. The presiding officer shall read Article V of the By-Laws, "Election of Members", as the first act of the election meetings.
c. Each candidate shall be considered individually, and must be discussed before being elected or declined before the next candidate must be considered. Free discussion is permissible, however, the proceedings of the election meeting must be kept secret.
d. Each candidate shall be considered from the standpoint of both scholarship and personality. The candidate shall not be elected, unless acceptable of both points.
e. Three-fourths of the active members shall constitute a quorum for members to be elected. The candidate must receive at least 80% of the votes cast by active members to be elected to membership.
f. In the event that a student is overlooked, he/she shall be considered at the next regular election meeting either upon the basis of the scholastic average that the student had at the time the candidate should have been considered, or upon the basis of the candidates later scholastic average if it should be higher. If the student should graduate before the next election meeting, the candidate shall be considered at a special election at a regular business meeting.
g. Failure of a person to be elected does not bar him/her from future consideration at election meetings.
h. Those students who have been selected for membership shall be notified by letters
delivered personally by members, preferably by friends of those elected.
Article VI: Initiation
Section 1. Each candidate must formally accept the invitation to membership in writing.
Section 2.
a. Pledges may be expected to fulfill certain duties that shall be determined by a three-fourths vole of the current membership, but none of these activities should put an undue burden on the student.
b. Each candidate shall read the Constitution of Omega Chi Epsilon and the Chapter By-Laws and make a written statement to that effect.
c. No joint initiation exercises with any other organization shall be held.
d. No offenses to personal dignity or decency shall occur.
Article VII: Finances
Section 1. The Chapter expenses shall be met by the initiation fee and by any other dues and fund raisers deemed necessary by the Chapter.
Section 2. No changes in dues or fees may be made without a three-fourths vote of the
total active membership.
Article VIII: Amendments
Section 1. A proposed amendment must be initially read at one meeting but not voted on until the following meeting.
Section 2. For an amendment to be passed, two-thirds of the active members must be in favor.
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