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Omega Chi Epsilon
The National Honor Society for Chemical Engineering

 

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How to Start a New Omega Chi Epsilon Chapter

Does your chemical engineering department have an OXE Chapter? Are you interested in forming one? If so, read on, the following information will guide you through the process. We are very grateful to past National Officers, especially Prof. Angelo Perna, for developing these guidelines.

Constitutional Requirements:
The National Constitution (Article V) stipulates the following requirements for formation of a new OXE chapter:

Section 1 - A Chapter may be established at any institution whose curriculum leading to the first degree in Chemical Engineering has been accredited by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

Section 2 - A petition for a charter for the establishment of a new chapter shall be sent to the National President. Upon unanimous approval of the Executive Committee, the petition or a condensation thereof shall be referred to the Council for consideration. The petition will be considered as approved unless negative votes are received from at least five (5) members of the Council within five (5) weeks of the date the petition is distributed. If a petition is disapproved, the submitting group shall be told of the reason for disapproval and invited to resubmit the petition as soon as the cause of disapproval has been resolved.

Section 3 - A charter for a new chapter shall be issued by the Executive Secretary, according to the following form:

Be it hereby known that a charter for the establishment of a chapter of the Society at (NAME OF UNIVERSITY), to be known as the (NAME OF CHAPTER) chapter, is hereby granted to the following persons as charter members, conveying to them and their duly elected associates and successors all the privileges conferred by the Constitution of the Society.

(NAMES OF FOUNDING MEMBERS)

In witness thereof the signatures of the National President and Executive Secretary and the seal of the Society are hereunto affixed on this (DAY) day of (MONTH) in the year of our Lord (YEAR)

Section 4 - For the charter which each chapter receives at the time of its installation, a fee established by the Executive Committee shall be paid into the National Treasury.

Section 5 - The chapters shall be named with single Greek letters, in alphabetical order, according to the time of their installation. When all single Greek letters have been used, chapters shall be named in alphabetical order with double Greek letters, as Alpha Alpha, Alpha Beta, Alpha Gamma, etc.

General Guidelines:
Formation of a new chapter commonly proceeds along the following steps:

  1. Form an honor club within your university along the lines of an OXE chapter. Your club should be recognized by the university as a student organization. It should have a club constitution based upon the Model Chapter By-Laws. Note that within OXE the National organization has a Constitution but no National By-Laws (although they are provided for in the Constitution) whereas the Chapters have By-Laws but generally no Constitution.
  2. Normally, early in the first academic term (Fall Semester or Quarter), assemble a faculty advisor and members who are juniors and seniors meeting the club constitution requirements in order to elect club officers. It is important that the Faculty Advisor be able to remain with the Chapter for a number of years after its inception to provide continuity.
  3. Accomplish the above steps early in the academic year so that new members from the Junior Class can be initiated into the club later in the academic year and assure a viable organization for the next year.
  4. Operate your club for at least one year. The club should perform service activities for the department during this time (see Chapter Activities).
  5. Petition National by early March for a Chapter Charter. This will normally lead to a formal installation of your chapter in late April depending on the progress of your petition. The petition must contain the following items:
    1. A cover page with title, date and address.
    2. A list of present members of the honor club, identifying the officers and the Faculty Advisor.
    3. A section entitled PROOF OF EXISTENCE outlining the history of your club, its contributions to your ChE department, its activities, meetings, initiations, elections, etc.
    4. A summary of the history of your university with current information, such as enrollments.
    5. A similar summary of your college of engineering.
    6. A similar summary for your department of chemical engineering.
    7. A copy of your Club By-Laws (based on the Model By-Laws).
Incomplete petitions will be returned for completion. Copies of previous successful petitions can be obtained from the Executive Secretary or the President. Students have found that the chartering ceremony is especially rewarding when scheduled as a banquet where one of the National officers presents the charter and the presentation is followed by an Initiation Ceremony for new members.