CHAPTER BYLAWS
California Gamma
Of
TAU BETA PI
I.
General
Section 1. These Bylaws shall govern the proceedings of this Chapter in all matters
not specifically provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws, and in the
Convention Acts of the Tau Beta Pi Association.
Section 2. This Chapter shall conform to such rules and regulations of the School of
Engineering and of Stanford University as may apply to honor societies.
Section 3. In the event of a conflict between the Constitution and Bylaws of the Tau
Beta Pi Association and the rules and regulations of the School of Engineering or
Stanford University, such action shall be taken as deemed advisable by all parties
concerned.
II.
Government
Section 1. The officers of this Chapter shall be a President, Vice President,
Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, and Cataloguer, who
shall all be active members, as well as a Tutoring Director, E-advising Director,
Corporate Liaison Relations Director, Webmaster/System Administrator
Communications Director, Courseguide Director and SEA Representative, who
need not be active members, but must either be candidates or members of the
Chapter. In addition, there will be four or more alumnus Advisors as specified in
C-VI of the National Constitution. At least one of the alumnus members of the
Advisory Board shall be from the faculty of the School of Engineering.
Section 2. The Chapter President shall be the delegate to the National Convention.
The Chapter officers shall be alternates in the order listed in Section 1 above.
Section 3. The duties of the officers shall be as outlined in B-V of the National
Bylaws, and in the Bylaws of the Chapter.
Section 4. The following extra duties shall be required of the officers:
a. The Chapter President shall be a member, ex-officio of all committees.
b. The President shall notify the Advisory Board of the time set for election of
new members at least one week in advance.
c. The Corresponding Secretary shall keep an accurate, up-to-date list of the
names and addresses of all active members of the Chapter. He or she shall
send out notices of all meetings at least one week in advance.
d. The Recording Secretary shall see that each new member is provided with an
up-to-date copy of these Bylaws for his or her permanent keeping.
e. The President and one active member appointed by the President shall be
members of the Stanford Engineering Association.
III.
Meetings
Section 1. The following regular meetings shall be scheduled and held once each
year: informational meeting for candidates, election of officers, and installation
of officers. Active members are required to attend all but the installation meeting.
Section 2. At least one formal initiation shall be held each year at the end of Spring
quarter.
Section 3. The Tau Beta Pi Banquet shall be held once each year in the Spring
quarter.
Section 4. Meetings shall be held at such times that a majority of the active
membership can be present.
Section 5. Special meetings may be called at any time by any member of the
Advisory Board or upon written request to the President signed by five active
members.
Section 6. Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the Parliamentary Guide of this Chapter
on all points not provided for in these Bylaws and the Constitution and Bylaws of
the Tau Beta Pi Association.
IV.
Election of Officers
Section 1. Officers shall be elected in the spring no later than two weeks prior to the
first day of Spring quarter final exams. At this election, the new alumnus
members of the Advisory Board shall be elected. The new officers shall take
office at the Installation meeting.
Section 2. Nominations for officers may be made by any active member, candidate,
electee, or initiate of the Stanford chapter of Tau Beta Pi.
Section 3. The election of officers shall be by secret ballot. Three-quarters of all
active members shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of this quorum shall be
required for election. If no nominee receives a majority on the first ballot, a
second ballot shall be held between the two leading candidates.
Section 4. The Tau Beta Pi Installation Procedure shall be used at the installation
meeting, as described in the President’s Book.
Section 5. If any office shall become vacant between regular elections, a special
election shall be held at the next meeting to fill any and all vacancies created
thereby. The officer(s) elected at that time shall serve until the next regular
elections.
V.
Election of New Members
Section 1. The Election of new members shall be held in the Fall and Winter quarters
as soon as possible after grades for the past term become available.
Section 2. All the provisions of C-VIII and B-VI shall be strictly followed.
Section 3. Regular students in good standing in the following departments and only
those departments shall be eligible for membership in this Chapter: Aeronautics
and Astronautics, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil
Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Systems Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,
Petroleum Engineering, and any other Individually Designed Major approved by
the School of Engineering which meets the criteria listed in Constitution Article
VIII Section 2(a).
Section 4. To be eligible as a Junior a student must have completed at least 85
quarter units and at most 120 quarter units. To be eligible as a Senior, a student
much have completed at least 130 quarter units. Students participating in a 3-2
AB/BS program shall be considered Seniors until completing 90 Stanford units.
Co-terminal BS/MS students with more than 180 total units shall not be
considered as part of the Senior class.
Section 5. Others who may be overlooked under the above clarification scheme will
be considered individually.
Section 6. For each election, the top fifth of Seniors shall be eligible. No Senior shall
be elected who shall not have achieved a 3.100 out of 4.000 grade point average
unless by unanimous ballot. However, in no case shall a Senior whose average is
below 3.000 be elected.
Section 7. For each election, the top eighth of Juniors shall be eligible. No Junior
shall be elected who shall not have achieved a 3.300 out of 4.000 grade point
average unless by unanimous ballot, and in no event shall a Junior whose average
is below 3.000 be elected.
Section 8. Transfer students shall be eligible for consideration at the third regular
election after their registration. Such students may be eligible at the second
regular election after their registration, provided the consent of five-sevenths of
the Advisory Board is obtained.
Section 9. A student who is otherwise eligible may not be elected until completing at
least 40 graded Stanford units.
Section 10. The officers of the chapter shall periodically consult with the chairpersons
of the various Engineering Departments to determine the names of graduate
students, alumni, faculty members and others who may be eligible for
membership under the provisions of C-VIII, 3-6. Students in good standing in the
following departments and only those departments shall be eligible for
membership in this Chapter: Aeronautics and Astronautics, Biomedical
Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science,
Computer Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and
Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, and any other
Individually Designed Major approved by the School of Engineering.
Section 11. This Chapter’s procedure for evaluation of the exemplary character of
candidates shall be as follows:
a. Letters shall be sent to scholastically eligible candidates inviting them to an
introductory meeting
b. An introductory meeting shall be held at which time the Chapter officers shall
explain the purpose of Tau Beta Pi, and will answer questions from the
candidates.
c. The candidacy period shall begin at the time of the introductory meeting in
11(b) and shall end at the Chapter’s next scheduled initiation. The candidacy
period shall be a minimum of 10 weeks and a maximum of 30 weeks long
d. Over the course of the candidacy period, candidates shall be required to:
1) Attend an informational session/introductory meeting either at the
scheduled date or with the President or one of the officers
2) Attend at least one other chapter meeting, one inter-chapter event, one
fellowship event and participate in one project or external meeting
3) Assist the officers in planning/organizing/executing a project Includes
making/distributing flyers, publicity in classes/white plaza
updating/creating web pages, booking rooms for meetings, fundraising, sitting on the teaching award committee, writing
minutes, recruiting a speaker, cleaning the office, etc.
4) Interview at least one initiated member of the chapter, and submit a
short written summary of the interview
5) Participate in approximately a minimum of 1 hour per week of Chapter
approved activities during the candidacy period, including but not
limited to the items in 2), 3), and 4). Hence if the candidacy period
is 10 weeks, candidates will be required to participate in at least 10
hours of activities, whereas if the candidacy period is 30
weeks, candidates will be required to participate in a minimum of
30 hours.
e. Some requirements may be modified for candidates who are overseas or have
special needs. The President and Officers shall determine these changes on a
case-by-case basis.
f. While the requirements listed above are a minimum for the chapter’s
candidates, the chapter may choose to make the requirements more stringent
or introduce other requirements, such as interview panels, etc. provided such
changes are made in writing and approved by a majority of the active
members of the chapter.
Section 12. Election of new members shall be done as specified below:
a. Approximately 4 weeks before the scheduled initiation, candidates shall
submit a summary of their participation in chapter activities over the
candidacy period, including activities they expect to participate in over the
next four weeks but before the initiation ceremony
b. Submission may be done in-person, on paper, over the internet, etc. as
determined by the chapter officers
c. The active members and officers will then review the candidates’
participation records and determine if the individual candidates have met
eh requirements laid out in section 11 d).
d. Each candidate who has met the requirements will then be voted upon, in a
method deemed appropriate by the chapter (e.g. block vote, individual
vote, veto vote, voice vote, etc.)
Section 13. An electee may be notified of his or her election either orally, in writing,
or over email, and may state his or her acceptance in either way.
Section 14. Each electee shall be required to participate in the initiation ceremony
and banquet before gaining official membership. Each electee shall be required to
read the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association, and these bylaws.
VI.
Member Status
Section 1. A member in good standing shall be known as an active member from the
time of initiation until conferral of the Bachelor’s Degree, at which time, he or she
will be known as a graduate student member or an alumnus member. (See CVIII.) Graduate student and Alumnus members shall be known as active
members only if they so desire.
Section 2. A member may be declared inactive by affirmative vote of five-sevenths
of the Advisory Board if he or she fails to appear at any of the mandatory
meetings specified in Article III of these Bylaws, without informing one of the
officers prior to the meeting. An inactive member shall be declared active upon
receipt of a written petition by the Advisory Board. (See B-VI, 6.05).
Section 3. The Corresponding Secretary shall keep a separate record of all inactive
members, and the National Offices shall be informed of the status of such
members.
VII.
Records
Section 1. Records shall be kept up-to-date and in good order. (See B-V, 1c). The
complete records shall be turned over to the new officers before they assume
office. All duties of each office shall be documented and included with these
records.
Section 2. All records shall be open for inspection to any member of Tau Beta Pi in
good standing.
VIII.
Finances
Section 1. The expenses of the Chapter shall be borne by the initiation fee and by
such dues and pro-rata assessments as may be voted by the Chapter. A twothirds majority vote of the total active membership shall be required to change
any fees or levy assessments. Within one week, the Corresponding Secretary
shall inform the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association concerning the changes in
the amounts of these dues and assessments.
Section 2. The Chapter funds shall be deposited with the Student Organization Fund
of the Associated Students of Stanford University, and all expenditures shall be
made in accordance with the policy and rules of the Associated Students of
Stanford University.
Section 3. The initiation fee for all initiates shall be payable in advance of the
initiation. This shall include all National fees, and the cost of the Tau Beta Pi
Banquet as well as Chapter operational expenses.
Section 4. At the beginning of each quarter, the Treasurer shall draw up a budget
subject to approval of the Advisory Board.
IX.
Special Projects
Section 1. It shall be the policy of this Chapter to contribute to the campus welfare in
general and specifically to the School of Engineering. The quarterly Tau Beta Pi
Survey of Engineering Courses, the annual Tau Beta Pi Excellence in
Undergraduate Teaching Award, Tau Beta Pi tutoring, E-advising, and the Tau
Beta Pi Egg Drop Competition are examples of what are considered worthwhile
projects.
X.
Amendments
Section 1. These bylaws may be amended by a three-fourths vote of the total active
membership of the Chapter. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the
Chapter in a scheduled meeting at least one week before voting.
Amended Jan 29 2006
The following pages contained the fully revised Bylaws of the CA Gamma Chapter.
CHAPTER BYLAWS
California Gamma
Of
TAU BETA PI
I.
General
Section 1. These Bylaws shall govern the proceedings of this Chapter in all matters
not specifically provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws, and in the
Convention Acts of the Tau Beta Pi Association.
Section 2. This Chapter shall conform to such rules and regulations of the School of
Engineering and of Stanford University as may apply to honor societies.
Section 3. In the event of a conflict between the Constitution and Bylaws of the Tau
Beta Pi Association and the rules and regulations of the School of Engineering or
Stanford University, such action shall be taken as deemed advisable by all parties
concerned.
II.
Government
Section 1. The officers of this Chapter shall be a President, Vice President,
Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, and Cataloguer, who
shall all be active members, as well as a Tutoring Director, E-advising Director,
Corporate Relations Director, Communications Director, and SEA
Representative, who need not be active members, but must either be candidates or
members of the Chapter. In addition, there will be four or more alumnus
Advisors as specified in C-VI of the National Constitution. At least one of the
alumnus members of the Advisory Board shall be from the faculty of the School
of Engineering.
Section 2. The Chapter President shall be the delegate to the National Convention.
The Chapter officers shall be alternates in the order listed in Section 1 above.
Section 3. The duties of the officers shall be as outlined in B-V of the National
Bylaws, and in the Bylaws of the Chapter.
Section 4. The following extra duties shall be required of the officers:
a. The Chapter President shall be a member, ex-officio of all committees.
b. The President shall notify the Advisory Board of the time set for election of
new members at least one week in advance.
c. The Corresponding Secretary shall keep an accurate, up-to-date list of the
names and addresses of all active members of the Chapter. He or she shall
send out notices of all meetings at least one week in advance.
d. The Recording Secretary shall see that each new member is provided with an
up-to-date copy of these Bylaws for his or her permanent keeping.
e. The President and one active member appointed by the President shall be
members of the Stanford Engineering Association.
III.
Meetings
Section 1. The following regular meetings shall be scheduled and held once each
year: informational meeting for candidates, election of officers, and installation
of officers. Active members are required to attend all but the installation meeting.
Section 2. At least one formal initiation shall be held each year at the end of Spring
quarter.
Section 3. The Tau Beta Pi Banquet shall be held once each year in the Spring
quarter.
Section 4. Meetings shall be held at such times that a majority of the active
membership can be present.
Section 5. Special meetings may be called at any time by any member of the
Advisory Board or upon written request to the President signed by five active
members.
Section 6. Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the Parliamentary Guide of this Chapter
on all points not provided for in these Bylaws and the Constitution and Bylaws of
the Tau Beta Pi Association.
IV.
Election of Officers
Section 1. Officers shall be elected in the spring no later than two weeks prior to the
first day of Spring quarter final exams. At this election, the new alumnus
members of the Advisory Board shall be elected. The new officers shall take
office at the Installation meeting.
Section 2. Nominations for officers may be made by any active member, candidate,
electee, or initiate of the Stanford chapter of Tau Beta Pi.
Section 3. The election of officers shall be by secret ballot. Three-quarters of all
active members shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of this quorum shall be
required for election. If no nominee receives a majority on the first ballot, a
second ballot shall be held between the two leading candidates.
Section 4. The Tau Beta Pi Installation Procedure shall be used at the installation
meeting, as described in the President’s Book.
Section 5. If any office shall become vacant between regular elections, a special
election shall be held at the next meeting to fill any and all vacancies created
thereby. The officer(s) elected at that time shall serve until the next regular
elections.
V.
Election of New Members
Section 1. The Election of new members shall be held in the Fall and Winter quarters
as soon as possible after grades for the past term become available.
Section 2. All the provisions of C-VIII and B-VI shall be strictly followed.
Section 3. Regular students in good standing in the following departments and only
those departments shall be eligible for membership in this Chapter: Aeronautics
and Astronautics, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil
Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Systems Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,
Petroleum Engineering, and any other Individually Designed Major approved by
the School of Engineering which meets the criteria listed in Constitution Article
VIII Section 2(a).
Section 4. To be eligible as a Junior a student must have completed at least 85
quarter units and at most 120 quarter units. To be eligible as a Senior, a student
much have completed at least 130 quarter units. Students participating in a 3-2
AB/BS program shall be considered Seniors until completing 90 Stanford units.
Co-terminal BS/MS students with more than 180 total units shall not be
considered as part of the Senior class.
Section 5. Others who may be overlooked under the above clarification scheme will
be considered individually.
Section 6. For each election, the top fifth of Seniors shall be eligible. No Senior shall
be elected who shall not have achieved a 3.100 out of 4.000 grade point average
unless by unanimous ballot. However, in no case shall a Senior whose average is
below 3.000 be elected.
Section 7. For each election, the top eighth of Juniors shall be eligible. No Junior
shall be elected who shall not have achieved a 3.300 out of 4.000 grade point
average unless by unanimous ballot, and in no event shall a Junior whose average
is below 3.000 be elected.
Section 8. Transfer students shall be eligible for consideration at the third regular
election after their registration. Such students may be eligible at the second
regular election after their registration, provided the consent of five-sevenths of
the Advisory Board is obtained.
Section 9. A student who is otherwise eligible may not be elected until completing at
least 40 graded Stanford units.
Section 10. The officers of the chapter shall periodically consult with the chairpersons
of the various Engineering Departments to determine the names of graduate
students, alumni, faculty members and others who may be eligible for
membership under the provisions of C-VIII, 3-6. Students in good standing in the
following departments and only those departments shall be eligible for
membership in this Chapter: Aeronautics and Astronautics, Biomedical
Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science,
Computer Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and
Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, and any other
Individually Designed Major approved by the School of Engineering which meets
the criteria listed in Constitution Article VIII Section 2(a).
Section 11. This Chapter’s procedure for evaluation of the exemplary character of
candidates shall be as follows:
a. Letters shall be sent to scholastically eligible candidates inviting them to an
introductory meeting
b. An introductory meeting shall be held at which time the Chapter officers shall
explain the purpose of Tau Beta Pi, and will answer questions from the
candidates.
c. The candidacy period shall begin at the time of the introductory meeting in
11(b) and shall end at the Chapter’s next scheduled initiation. The candidacy
period shall be a minimum of 10 weeks and a maximum of 30 weeks long
d. Over the course of the candidacy period, candidates shall be required to:
1) Attend an informational session/introductory meeting either at the
scheduled date or with the President or one of the officers
2) Attend at least one other chapter meeting, one inter-chapter event, one
fellowship event and participate in one project or external meeting
3) Assist the officers in planning/organizing/executing a project Includes
making/distributing flyers, publicity in classes/white plaza
updating/creating web pages, booking rooms for meetings, fundraising, sitting on the teaching award committee, writing
minutes, recruiting a speaker, cleaning the office, etc.
4) Interview at least one initiated member of the chapter, and submit a
short written summary of the interview
5) Participate in approximately a minimum of 1 hour per week of Chapter
approved activities during the candidacy period, including but not
limited to the items in 2), 3), and 4). Hence if the candidacy period
is 10 weeks, candidates will be required to participate in at least 10
hours of activities, whereas if the candidacy period is 30
weeks, candidates will be required to participate in a minimum of
30 hours.
e. Some requirements may be modified for candidates who are overseas or have
special needs. The President and Officers shall determine these changes on a
case-by-case basis.
f. While the requirements listed above are a minimum for the chapter’s
candidates, the chapter may choose to make the requirements more stringent
or introduce other requirements, such as interview panels, etc. provided such
changes are made in writing and approved by a majority of the active
members of the chapter.
Section 12. Election of new members shall be done as specified below:
a. Approximately 4 weeks before the scheduled initiation, candidates shall
submit a summary of their participation in chapter activities over the
candidacy period, including activities they expect to participate in over the
next four weeks but before the initiation ceremony
b. Submission may be done in-person, on paper, over the internet, etc. as
determined by the chapter officers
c. The active members and officers will then review the candidates’
participation records and determine if the individual candidates have met
eh requirements laid out in section 11 d).
d. Each candidate who has met the requirements will then be voted upon, in a
method deemed appropriate by the chapter (e.g. block vote, individual
vote, veto vote, voice vote, etc.)
Section 13. An electee may be notified of his or her election either orally, in writing,
or over email, and may state his or her acceptance in either way.
Section 14. Each electee shall be required to participate in the initiation ceremony
and banquet before gaining official membership. Each electee shall be required to
read the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association, and these bylaws.
VI.
Member Status
Section 1. A member in good standing shall be known as an active member from the
time of initiation until conferral of the Bachelor’s Degree, at which time, he or she
will be known as a graduate student member or an alumnus member. (See CVIII.) Graduate student and Alumnus members shall be known as active
members only if they so desire.
Section 2. A member may be declared inactive by affirmative vote of five-sevenths
of the Advisory Board if he or she fails to appear at any of the mandatory
meetings specified in Article III of these Bylaws, without informing one of the
officers prior to the meeting. An inactive member shall be declared active upon
receipt of a written petition by the Advisory Board. (See B-VI, 6.05).
Section 3. The Corresponding Secretary shall keep a separate record of all inactive
members, and the National Offices shall be informed of the status of such
members.
VII.
Records
Section 1. Records shall be kept up-to-date and in good order. (See B-V, 1c). The
complete records shall be turned over to the new officers before they assume
office. All duties of each office shall be documented and included with these
records.
Section 2. All records shall be open for inspection to any member of Tau Beta Pi in
good standing.
VIII.
Finances
Section 1. The expenses of the Chapter shall be borne by the initiation fee and by
such dues and pro-rata assessments as may be voted by the Chapter. A twothirds majority vote of the total active membership shall be required to change
any fees or levy assessments. Within one week, the Corresponding Secretary
shall inform the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association concerning the changes in
the amounts of these dues and assessments.
Section 2. The Chapter funds shall be deposited with the Student Organization Fund
of the Associated Students of Stanford University, and all expenditures shall be
made in accordance with the policy and rules of the Associated Students of
Stanford University.
Section 3. The initiation fee for all initiates shall be payable in advance of the
initiation. This shall include all National fees, and the cost of the Tau Beta Pi
Banquet as well as Chapter operational expenses.
Section 4. At the beginning of each quarter, the Treasurer shall draw up a budget
subject to approval of the Advisory Board.
IX.
Special Projects
Section 1. It shall be the policy of this Chapter to contribute to the campus welfare in
general and specifically to the School of Engineering. The quarterly Tau Beta Pi
Survey of Engineering Courses, the annual Tau Beta Pi Excellence in
Undergraduate Teaching Award, Tau Beta Pi tutoring, E-advising, and the Tau
Beta Pi Egg Drop Competition are examples of what are considered worthwhile
projects.
X.
Amendments
Section 1. These bylaws may be amended by a three-fourths vote of the total active
membership of the Chapter. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the
Chapter in a scheduled meeting at least one week before voting.
Amended Jan 29 2006