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Constitution and Bylaws
Article I. Name
This organization shall be known as the
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Biomedical
Engineering Society Student Chapter, hereinafter
called the “Chapter” which shall have been
granted a charter by the Biomedical Engineering
Society.
Article II. Objectives
The object of the chapter shall be to promote
the profession of biomedical engineering through
the organized effort of this group in study,
research, and discussion of the fields of
biomedical engineering and the dissemination of
knowledge thereby gained. The chapter shall
promote membership in the BMES by acquainting
the student body with the ideas, purposes, and
objectives of Biomedical Engineering.
Article III. Membership
3.l Any person who is a registered
student enrolled in an undergraduate college
curriculum in engineering, engineering
technology, or pre-medicine, which culminates in
a bachelor’s or associate’s degree, or in any
graduate level degree program which will enhance
professional competence is eligible for
membership in the student chapter.
3.2.All members of the student chapter
are subject to the Constitution and Bylaws of
the Biomedical Engineering Society which can be
accessed through the societies website (http://www.bmes.org/)
3.3. All requirements must meet the
Institutions policies regarding
nondiscrimination on the basis of race,
religion, sex, or national origin.
3.4. Additional eligibility requirements
of new members include completion of the
national BMES membership form, the payment of
national BMES dues, and all members are expected
to make their best effort to attend all general
meetings.
3.5. A member may be expelled for any of the
following reasons: Poor attendance at general
body meetings (less than 30% attendance in one
academic year), lack of involvement in BMES
activities (less than one event/year),
inappropriate use of BMES materials and funds,
and general misconduct.
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3.5.1. A recommendation for expulsion can be
made by any BMES member in good standing (a
student in good standing is one who has paid
their yearly dues), and it shall be made
directly to the President. If the President
deems the recommendation legitimate, the
expulsion shall be discussed in an open forum at
the next general meeting. Announcement of
expulsion proceedings will be made to ensure
maximum member attendance. Once all arguments
have been voiced, all members present shall vote
by secret ballot at the same meeting. The person
in question is invited to be present in the room
at this time as well as take part in the voting.
The entire voting process as well as the count
of the votes shall be done by the secretary. For
the member to be expelled, a majority vote (50%
+ 1) must be reached.
A new applicant who has been expelled may not
reapply for one year from the date of the
expulsion.
3.6. There shall be two levels of
membership: officers and general members.
Further membership levels shall be delineated as
needed as the society grows, and as further
amendments are made to the Constitution.
3.6.1. Officers: the role of an officer
is defined in Constitution Article V and Bylaws
Article VI.
3.6.2. General members: all BMES members in
who are not officers are considered associate
members.
Article IV. Student Council
The chapter is classified as a professional
organization and is to be registered with the
Student Government Association. The Chapter is
directly represented in the Student Government
Association and decisions shall be binding upon
this organization as long as they are not in any
way conflicting with the BMES Constitution and
Bylaws.
Article V. Officers
5.1. The officers of the chapter shall be
President, Vice President, Secretary, and
Treasurer as described in Article VI/Section I
of the bylaws.
5.2. The officers of the chapter shall be
elected in the manner prescribed by the Bylaws
of the chapter. They shall hold office for a
period of one year if possible. If the officer
is unable to hold the office for any reason, a
new election for that office shall be called.
Article VI.
Constitution
This Constitution may be amended by a
three-fourths vote of all the general members
present at any regular or special meeting,
provided that written notice of the amendments
have been posted on the Biomedical Engineering
Society Bulletin Board at least ten days prior
to the date of the meeting. In order for the
vote to be valid, a minimum of ten members must
be present. Upon passage, an amendment should be
submitted to the Society headquarter and changes
to the Constitution should be done immediately.
Bylaws
Article I. Dues
l.l. The annual dues for the national
BMES for Student members have been established
at $30.
l.2. The chapter
membership shall be authorized to suggest a
voluntary contribution to the chapter treasury;
beyond the amount collected as national dues.
This amount shall not be remitted by the chapter
members to the national Society, but shall be
given directly to the chapter treasury for use
by the chapter for use at the treasurer’s
discretion.
l.3. Student applications for membership
are evaluated at Society headquarters. Students
will individually be notified of their
acceptance for BMES membership.
Article II.
Nominations
2.l. At least two meetings (or ten weeks)
prior to the scheduled election meeting, the
President shall appoint three members to the
Nominating Committee. Members are taken on a
volunteer basis. Members can include current
officers.
2.2. Any member may nominate themselves
without a second nomination.
2.3. The Nominating Committee will
prepare a ballot consisting of at least one
member for each office. Permission of the
candidates to have their names on the ballot
will be obtained. Students on the Nominating
committee are not permitted to be on the ballot.
Any student may run for more than one office,
but may not hold more than one office at a time.
2.4. At the last meeting before the
annual election meeting, the Nominating
Committee will make known the ballot. At this
meeting, additional nominations will be accepted
from the floor and included on the ballot.
Article III. Elections
3.l. To be qualified to run for any of
the officer positions, a member must have been a
member of the BMES in good standing for at least
one year and meet the criteria for membership as
described in Article III of the Constitution.
3.2. Elections shall be held in
February.
3.3. New officers shall take office on
March l and continue through February 28 of the
following year.
3.4. Special meetings will be called to
elect new officers to fill any vacancies which
may occur, provided that written notice of this
meeting, its purpose, and office to be filled
has been posted on the Biomedical Engineering
Society Bulletin Board at least l0 days. These
meeting are not mandatory. Nominations for
vacancies will be done in the same manner as
specified for general elections in Article II.
3.5. No student shall be elected to
office if graduating before completing at least
one-half academic year in office.
3.6. No officer may hold the same office
for more than one year. However, they are
permitted to be elected into a different office.
3.7. A majority vote of all members
present shall be necessary to elect an officer.
A vote is considered only if it is made by a
current member of the BMES Chapter. This meeting
is not mandatory, but the results will only be
considered valid if 10 general members are in
attendance. The vote is conducted, read and
announced by the leaving Secretary.
3.8. All elections shall be by secret
ballot.
3.9. Impeachment of any officer may be
accomplished only upon presentation, by any BMES
member, of just and reasonable cause for such
action to the Faculty Advisor of the chapter
and, upon the Faculty Advisor’s approval, with a
two-thirds vote of all enrolled members of the
chapter, subject to review by the BMES national
office.
Article IV. Meetings
4.l. The chapter shall hold regular
monthly meetings each month during the school
year, with the exact date determined by the
officers.
4.2. Notice of all
meetings shall be posted on the Biomedical
Engineering Society Bulletin Board at least ten
days prior to the date of the meeting, and may
be further publicized in any manner the
Publicity Committee deems necessary and proper.
4.3. Special meetings may be called by
any officer or by any current BMES member.
Should a special meeting be requested by general
member, the request should be made directly to
the president. It is then the president's
decision to call the meeting based on the
associate member's request. If a special meeting
is called, it should be held no earlier than 10
days after the initial request. Efforts to
inform all society members should include, but
are not limited to, posting the meeting on the
Biomedical Engineering Bulletin Board or other
acceptable alternatives such as email.
Article V. Programs
5.l. Regular meetings each month shall be
devoted primarily to the profession of
biomedical engineering and may be accomplished
in connection with a dinner or refreshments.
5.2. A field trip for educational
purposes may be scheduled in lieu of a regular
monthly meeting.
5.3. At least one field trip shall be
scheduled each academic year and must be
approved and supervised by the Faculty Advisor.
5.4. Social functions, which are not for
educational purposes, may not be scheduled in
lieu of a regular monthly meeting.
Article VI. Duties of
Officers
6.l. The President, as Chief Executive of
the organization, shall supervise the
organization’s affairs and activities. The
President is the executive administrative,
presiding and reporting officer. The President
shall be responsible for public relations,
publicity, and promotion of the organization’s
activities. The President will work with the
Faculty Advisor and Society national office in
all council and Society matters. The President
calls general meetings and votes, organizes
meetings and is in communication to BMES
national.
6.2. The Vice President, who shall
preside at meetings in the absence of the
President, shall also supervise membership
promotion. The Vice President’s primary
responsibility will be program planning and
execution. The Vice President shall also serve
as the student representative in faculty
meetings of the ABET accreditation process.
6.3. The Secretary shall be responsible
for posting notices of all regular and special
meetings and shall keep a permanent record
(minutes) of such meetings. The Secretary shall
be responsible for maintaining a current roster
of members and for timely communications with
the Society national office. The Secretary will
be responsible for maintaining a continuous
Campus Mailbox and checking it frequently for
correspondence. The Secretary will be
responsible for updating the bulletin board,
accepting emails, and producing all flyers.
6.4. The Treasurer shall be responsible
for the financial records of the organization,
for the disbursement of funds with the approval
of the Faculty Advisor, and for reporting in
detail when requested by anyone in the general
membership. Income will be received through
income producing functions approved by the
membership and Faculty Advisor.
Article VII. Awards Program
The chapter shall encourage its qualified
members to apply for the Young Investigator
Award, Graduate Student Awards, and
Undergraduate Design Awards, sponsored by the
Biomedical Engineering Society.
Article VIII. Rules of Order
Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall
govern the proceedings of all meetings for the
organization and its committees unless they are
in conflict with a currently existing BMES rule,
a BMES national rule or a SGA Rule where these
rules would take precedent.
Article IX. Faculty Advisor
9.l. The Faculty Advisor shall be
appointed by the Chapter at the last meeting of
each academic year. This will be done by a
majority vote by the officers.
9.2. The Faculty Advisor must be an
Associate member, Member, or Senior member (in
good standing) of the BMES National Society.
He/she shall serve the chapter and the BMES as
an intermediary and resource person.
9.3. The Faculty Advisor shall be a
full-time faculty or academic staff member at
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
9.4. The Faculty Advisor is not permitted
to take part in general voting.
9.5. The Faculty Advisor must maintain a
30% attendance rate at all general meetings and
special programs.
9.6. The faculty advisor may be dismissed
from the position if his or her actions become
detrimental to the BMES chapter. This dismissal
is accomplished through the unanimous vote of
the officers and a two-thirds or more vote of
the active general membership at a mandatory
meeting called for such purpose. It must then be
approved by the Dean of Students.
Article XI. Amendment
Process
12.1. Amendments and revisions may be
proposed by any BMES member in good standing.
Proposals for amendments and revisions should be
made directly to either the President. The
proposal should be reviewed and/or revised and
then submitted to a vote at the next general
meeting. The Constitution shall be reviewed with
outgoing and incoming officers each year or as
changes occur within the organization.
12.2. These Bylaws may be amended by a
three-fourths vote of the any members present at
any regular or special meeting, provided written
notice of the proposed amendment has been posted
on the Biomedical Engineering Bulletin Board at
least ten days prior to the meeting. The meeting
is not mandatory, but a minimum of 10 general
members must be present for the vote to be
valid.
12.3. The president shall be responsible
for initiating the revision process of a newly
ratified amendment or revision. The secretary
shall be responsible for informing and
distributing the new document to all current
BMES members. Upon passage, an amendment should
be submitted to the Society national office and
immediately placed into the Constitution.
These amendments shall govern
this organization in all cases to which they are
applicable and in which they are not
inconsistent with this constitution and any
special rules adopted by the organization. |
