Constitution of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Association
(BMEGSA)
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
Purdue University
April 2006
Founded: April 2006
ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this organization shall be the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Association. It may also be referred to as Biomedical Engineering GSA, BME Graduate Student Association, and BMEGSA.
ARTICLE II
Purpose
The main goals of the BMEGSA are to facilitate networking and social interactions between students within the biomedical engineering (BME) department and to represent the interests of the students to the graduate committee for the BME department.
ARTICLE III
Definition of Membership
All graduate students (MS, PhD, and MD/PhD students) who are admitted to the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue will automatically become members of the graduate student association upon their acceptance. This includes students on the West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses.
All Purdue University graduate students are welcome to attend BMEGSA meetings and may apply for a non-voting affiliate membership to the BMEGSA. All students applying for affiliate membership must be sponsored by a current BME graduate student or faculty member. Affiliate members of the BMEGSA may attend all BMEGSA events.
Faculty advisors for this group will be given non-student membership status in the organization, with all rights and privileges therein, except for the right to vote or hold office.
Membership and participation in this organization are free from discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, disability, or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran.
ARTICLE IV
Division of Powers
Section 1. Branches
There shall be three branches within the BMEGSA: executive board, committees, and advisory.
Section 2: Executive Board
The executive board shall be elected by all BME GSA members and shall consist of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary, class representatives, and Webmaster. All BME graduate students are eligible to run for any position on the Executive Board. The only restriction imposed is that the office of class representative is held by a student within the class being represented. Additionally, it is asked of any student running for elected office that they have the ability to attend 75% of regular board meetings and 50% of BMEGSA planned events, and the ability to assist in the planning (event promotion, facility set-up or clean-up, or other organizational activity) of at least one event per term. Students not in compliance with the requirements will not be eligible for office during the current election but will be encouraged to reapply if their status changes. The term for each office is one calendar year. Elections will take place during the third week of April each year, with the official term beginning May 15th. Nomination to each office will be determined by a majority vote cast by the members of BMEGSA. The term limit for each office is two years. A student may hold different offices on the executive board but may not hold the same office for more than two consecutive years.
Section 3: Committees
Ad hoc committees will be formed as needed. The committee chairs shall be appointed by the President under the advice of the committee members. Committee chairpersons must be members of the BMEGSA and must have previously attended at least one BMEGSA sponsored event, but they need not be members of the executive board. Committee chairpersons will report to the Vice President and may be required to attend occasional executive board meetings to provide reports.
Section 4: Faculty Advisor
The faculty advisor will be chosen by the executive board. If the executive board is unable to find one faculty member that is able to attend the majority of their meetings, co-faculty advisors may be appointed to share in the duties. The term for faculty advisor will be one year, beginning and ending on May 15th. There are no term limits for faculty advisors.
ARTICLE V
Officers and Duties
Section 1. President
The President will preside over all executive board meetings and general BMEGSA meetings (If unable to attend, this duty will fall the Vice President, Treasurer, and Corresponding Secretary respectively). The President will be responsible for creating the agendas for these meetings. The President will also serve as the graduate student member on the BME graduate committee and will be required to report back to the executive board on these meetings. If the President is unable to serve the next officer in command will serve as the graduate committee rep. (2nd in command: Vice President, 3rd: Treasurer, 4th: Corresponding Secretary). The President is also responsible for appointing chairpersons for all ad hoc committees.
Section 2. Vice President
The Vice President will preside over all executive board meetings and general BMEGSA meetings in the absence of the President. The Vice President will also be responsible for monitoring the progress of all ad hoc committees. The Vice President will also serve as the graduate student member on the BME graduate committee if President is unable to serve.
Section 3. Treasurer
The Treasurer keeps accounts, deposits the organization’s funds, and makes expenditures in a manner approved by the Business Office for Student Organizations. The Treasurer will be responsible for creating and managing the budget and for writing funding proposals.
Section 4. Corresponding Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at all executive board and general BMEGSA meetings. The Secretary will also be in charge of all mailings. The Secretary will also be responsible for tracking the attendance at executive board meetings and verifying quorum at these meetings.
Section 5. Webmaster
The webmaster will be in charge of creating and managing the BMEGSA website. If more than one person is interested in this position, a team of students can be elected to fill this position.
Section 6. Committee Chairpersons
All committee chairpersons will be responsible for giving regular progress reports to the vice President and may be asked to occasionally attend executive board meetings.
Section 7. Representatives
To insure representation of all graduate students, one representative will be elected from each class of admitted students from the 1st – 4th year, as well as one representative from each degree pathway (MS, PhD, MD – PhD). The class representatives are elected officers and members of the executive board. The function of the representatives is to serve as the liaison between the students in their class or degree program and the executive board.
Section 8. Faculty Advisor
The faculty advisor will be responsible for attending the executive board meetings and advising the executive board when necessary.
ARTICLE VI
Amendments
Proposal of Amendments
Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by any member of the BMEGSA. Amendments may be proposed either in person at any executive board meeting or in writing to the executive board. Proposals submitted in writing to the executive board will be kept by the Secretary until the meeting at which they are voted upon. Proposals will only be voted on once per semester.
Approval of Amendments
All proposed amendments to the constitution will be discussed at BMEGSA general meetings. Voting and discussion of proposed amendments will be carried out no more than once per semester. Amendments will be adopted by a 75 percent vote of the BMEGSA members in attendence. Fifty percent of BMEGSA members must be present to achieve quorum for votes on amendments.
All amendments to the constitution and bylaws are subject to the approval of the Office of the Dean of Students and will not take effect until they have been approved.
Amendments may not be proposed more than once per calendar year.
Revised 5/22/06
[click here to download the Constitution and Bylaws]