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Constitution for the Duke University Biomedical Engineering Society

Article I: Name This organization shall be known as the Duke University Biomedical Engineering Society, which has been granted a charter by the national Biomedical Engineering Society – and shall be abbreviated as BMES when space or context dictates.

Article II: Mission The object of this chapter shall be to promote the profession of Biomedical Engineering through organized study, research, social, and industry immersed activities. These activities will work to further the dissemination of information on the topic and profession of biomedical engineering, as well as its interaction with the other science disciplines. The chapter shall promote membership in the BMES by acquainting the student body with the ideas, purposes and objectives of BMES.

Article III: Members All undergraduate students at Duke University are eligible for membership. Members must notify the Secretary in order to be listed on the official roster. Only members on the official roster are eligible to vote on organization business. The official roster shall be maintained on the DukeGroups student organization database website.

Article IV: Non-Discrimination BMES shall not discriminate on the basis of political ideology, race, color, national and ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation or preference, gender, or age in its membership, activities, and projects. BMES and Duke University shall not tolerate harassment of any kind.

Article V: Officers 5.1. The officers of this chapter shall be elected in a manner that coincides with the bylaws that are put forth by this chapter. 5.2. The following are the officer positions which shall be elected on an annual basis, and the position shall be held for one year, not withstanding extenuating circumstances; President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Webmaster.

5.2.1. President

- Calls and presides over official meetings of the organization

- Responsible for supervising the affairs and activities of the organization

- Acts as the tie-breaking vote in matters of business

- Maintains organization in good standing with Duke University via communication with the Office of Student Activities and Facilities and/or :other interested University entities

- Serves as an ex-officio member of any committee that is created through by-law

5.2.2. Vice President

- Serves as BMES’s chief officer in the absence of the President

- Official liaison amongst the Executive Board members (see Article VI):

- Aids in function planning and execution and works with the President on administrative activities

- Oversees alumni and public relations

- Oversees publicity of the organization’s activities and events

5.2.3. Secretary

- Keeps minutes of all general and business meetings and puts them into a format accessible to all members of the organization

- Record attendance at all meetings

- Send, receive, and answer all outside correspondences addressed to BMES

- Maintains the membership registry

5.2.4. Treasurer

- Responsible for management of chapter finances and for disbursement and documentation of funds

- For each executive meeting, proposes a detailed budget for upcoming events

- The official BMES representative at PSAC meetings

- Keeps President informed of all budget and finance issues

5.2.5. Webmaster

- Maintains the BMES webpage in a timely fashion (updated after each executive meeting before the next executive meeting at the minimum)

- Works with Secretary to keep current on planned events and organizational developments

5.3. Removal of Officers: Officers may be impeached and removed with two-thirds (2/3) vote of the general body, after presentation of evidence deemed sufficient by the faculty advisor (see Article XII). The officer in question must be notified of the vote of the removal at least one (1) week in advance and shall have the opportunity to speak before the general body prior to the vote.

Article VI: Executive Board The Executive Board of BMES shall be composed of the organization officers, the advisor, and any appointee deemed appropriate by the President. The Executive Board shall generate and present recommendations to membership for approval that effect and promote the mission of the organization.

Article VII: Committees Committees of the organization shall be created by the Executive Board in order to organize and distribute the workload of the organization. Committees shall be governed by bylaw and shall not have authority over the Executive Board or the general body.

Article VIII: Elections Elections shall be structured by the Election of Officers bylaw: 8.1. Elections will be held every academic year. 8.2. Members of the club can nominate in writing any other member, including him or herself. The President will then interview these nominees and place them on the ballot. 8.3. Any existing club member, who has been in the club for at least one semester, is eligible to run for office, with the exception of the introductory semester. 8.4. The election will be determined by closed ballot, popular majority vote. In cases of a tie, the committee chairs and the President will decide. 8.5. Nominations will occur 2 weeks prior to the elections and the results will be announced to the elected member first and after written confirmation by the elected member of their acceptance of the position, all the members will be informed via the listserv and a formal introduction will be conducted at the next meeting.

Article IX: Meetings 9.1. The Executive Board will meet at a schedule of its own choosing but not less than once per month. 9.2. Formal meetings, which include all members and at times various speakers, will be held once every month. 9.3. Members will be notified of such meetings via the listserv, flyers, and/or the webpage. 9.4. The executive board will make organizational decisions. 9.5. Attending members will be eligible to vote at meetings. 9.6. 3 members of the executive board and 40% of attending members constitute a quorum at meetings.

Article X: Amendment of Constitution and Bylaws 10.1. Members of the Executive Board can propose Amendments to the constitution. Amendments must be ratified unanimously by the executive board. The amendment will be incorporated into the Constitution by the President. 10.2. Bylaws shall be created to dictate the structure and procedures of the organization. Bylaws may be proposed by any member and must obtain a majority vote of the membership. No bylaw shall infringe on the authority of the constitution. Required bylaws, which shall be ratified annually, include: - Organization committees - Parliamentary modification - Election of officers

Article XI: Parliamentary Authority Meetings and voting shall be governed by a modified version of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, tenth edition. Modifications to Robert’s Rules of Order shall be described in the Parliamentary Modification bylaw: 11.1. Amendments to parliamentary procedure can be proposed following the current procedural rules by any member of the organization. 11.2. Amendments must receive a two-thirds (2/3) vote. 11.3. Amendments do not go into effect until the next general body meeting.

Article XII: Advisor A full-time faculty or staff member of Duke University shall be selected by the Executive Board and serve as the organization advisor. The advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the organization and all of its committees. Advisor duties: - Interpret University policy for the organization - Direct membership to appropriate campus resources to accomplish organization goals - Act as the official university contact in matters of policy violation

Document history:

Created August 20, 2009 by Jarey Wang P’12