Constitution of
the East Carolina University Biology Graduate Student Association
Preamble
The Mission of the East Carolina
University Graduate Student Association is to promote
professional development in biological research and education, and to
facilitate communication
between its members and the University community.
Article I- Name
1. The name of this
organization shall be East Carolina University Biology Graduate Student
Association, hereafter
known as the BGSA
Article II-
Membership
1. Any graduate
student pursuing a degree within the Department of Biology, the Program
in Coastal Resources
Management, or the Interdisciplinary Program in the Biological
Sciences, shall be considered as active
member upon registration with and payment of dues to the BGSA.
Article III-
Officers
1. Any member of
the BGSA may serve as an officer.
2. Officer-level
positions shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and
Historian; elected
representatives shall be Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC)
Representative and Faculty/Staff
Representative.
3. Election of
officers and representatives for the subsequent year shall be held
during the spring
semester. If a
current office becomes vacant, a special election shall be held to fill
the position for the remainder of the
current term.
4. Nominations for
officer and representative positions shall be submitted to the current
Secretary, in
writing, during the first week of
February. At the next general assembly, these nominations shall be
presented to the
BGSA. During a period of one week from this assembly, nominees may
decline or
accept their nominations.
5. Final election
ballots shall be distributed, via electronic ballot, to all current
members of the BGSA, after which time,
completed ballots must be returned to the current Secretary for vote
tallying.
6. A transition of
power from current officers to new officers shall take place on the
last day of spring
semester of each year.
7. The term of
office for all elected officers and representatives shall be one
calendar year. Individuals
may be re-elected only once.
Article IV-
Executive Committee
1a. The President shall act as
Chief Executive and Administrator at all meetings and perform all
functions of the office consistent
with the policies and by-laws of the BGSA.
1b. The Vice-President shall be the
second in charge of the Executive Committee, with such duties as:
(1) Assuming the responsibilities
of Chief Executive in the absence of the President.
(2) Assuming the responsibilities
of the GSAC and/ or Faculty/Staff Representative in the event one
of these cannot perform their prescribed duties.
1c. The Secretary shall be
the organizational coordinator of the BGSA, performing such duties as
the BGSA may assign, including:
(1) Recording the minutes of the
meetings of the BGSA and circulating these minutes to the
members
(2) Overseeing nominations and
balloting for BGSA elections
(3) Ordering and distributing
supplies for the BGSA
1d. The Treasurer shall be the
financial officer of the BGSA, performing such duties as:
(1) Receiving, dispersing,
managing, and recording all financial transactions of the BGSA
consistent
with the policies and by-laws of the BGSA
(2) Reporting the financial status of the BGSA at
each general assembly of the BGSA and delivering a
comprehensive
financial report at the first and last yearly assemblies of the BGSA.
1e. The Historian shall be the
webmaster of the BGSA, performing such duties as:
(1) Maintaining a current website with pictures and
student information to serve as an informational
center
on current and past students and their research projects, current and
past BGSA activities,
and current and past
Department information.
1f. The GSAC Representative shall be
a representative of the BGSA at the meetings of the Graduate Student
Advisory Council, performing such duties as:
(1) Attending all GSAC meetings and reporting the
events of these meetings to the BGSA at its next
general
assembly.
(2) Raising pertinent suggestions
and concerns of the BGSA at GSAC meetings.
(3) Collecting all GSAC funding
requests from BGSA members needing these funds.
(4) Preparing the budget for ht
BGSA and submitting it to GSAC.
1g. The Faculty/ Staff
Representative shall act as a representative of the BGSA to the faculty
and staff of the Department of
Biology, performing such duties:
(1) Attending all faculty/staff
meetings
(2) Reporting and faculty/ staff decisions pertinent
to the BGSA and/its members at the next general
assembly
of the BGSA
(3) Raising pertinent suggestions and concerns of the BGSA a these
meetings
2. All officers and
representatives are required to attend the meetings of the BGSA. In the
event an officer cannot attend a meeting, it is
their responsibility to notify another officer and ensure their duties
at the meeting are fulfilled.
3. Failure of an officer or
representatives to carry out their duties in a satisfactory manner
shall result in a meeting of the
elected officers and representatives to address this problem. The month
following this meeting shall be a
probationary period, If, in the estimation if the other officers and
representatives,
satisfactory improvements have not been made by the
individual by the probationary period, a secret
ballot shall be circulated to all current members of
the BGSA to decide if the individual should be r
removed from
their position. The decision shall effective with a majority vote of
the BGSA.
4. When an officer or
representative is removed from office, nominations shall be accepted
for a
replacement for a period of one
week following the dismissal. After this period, there shall be a vote,
by secret ballot, to elect a new officer or
representative to the vacant position to serve out the remainder of
the current term.
Article V-
Meetings
1. General Assemblies shall be
held at the beginning and end of each semester, and at such times as
the Executive Committee may deem
necessary.
2. The times and dates of General Assemblies shall be determined
by the Executive Committee
3. Executive Committee meetings may be called by the President of
the BGSA
4. At Executive Committee meetings, each member of the committee
shall have one vote, except the
advisor, who is non-voting, and the President,
who votes only in the event of a tie. No votes by proxy
shall be permitted.
Article VI-
Finances
1. All active members of the
BGSA shall pay annual dues determined by a three-quarters vote of the
membership.
2. The BGSA shall raise funds at least once per academic year.
3. Funds shall be distributed and utilized through the oversight
of the Executive Committee or appointed
officers.
Article VII-
Amendment
1. Revision of the
constitution shall be made effective upon the approval of two-thirds of
the voting
members.
Article VIII-
Faculty Advisor
1. The Director of Graduate Studies
for the Department of Biology shall act as the advisor of the BGSA.
In the event
that this position is declined, another advisor shall be drawn from the
faculty of the
Department of Biology.
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