PACIFIC UNIVERSITY CHAPTER OF THE
NATIONAL RESIDENCE HALL HONORARY CONSTITUTION
Preamble
We, the members of the Donald P. Yackley Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary at Pacific
University, in order to promote residential life living, encourage, honor, and recognize outstanding members of the
residence hall system, and to promote a higher quality and standard of involvement and interaction in the residence
hall community do hereby establish and uphold this constitution.
Article I: Name
The name of the organization shall be Donald P. Yackley Chapter of the National Residence Hall
Honorary.
Article II: Purpose
NRHH is a leadership-based honorary comprised of exemplary residential students who value recognition
and service
Article III: Membership
Section I: Qualifications
A. Shall have resided in the residence halls during the year prior to induction.
B. Shall live in the residence halls the year following induction.
C. Shall have demonstrated outstanding service and leadership in the residence halls at Pacific
University.
D. Shall be a student in good standing with the university and shall have a minimum of a 2.5
cumulative grade point average at time of induction. If a member’s grade point average drops
below the minimum, she/he will become an inactive member until such time as when her/his
grade point average is restored.
Section II: Membership
A. Once an individual has shown dedication and commitment to NRHH according to their
chapter’s standards, they will become an NRHH member for life.
B. The organization Shall consist of five (4) types of members: active, early alumni, alumni, and
honorary.
1. Active members shall be defined as students currently living in the residence halls at
Pacific University. They shall be the only members with voting privileges. If an
active member fails to participate in one month of activity they will become early
alumni depending on their reason for absence and their plans for future involvement.
Temporary leaves from on-campus house such as, but not limited to, co-ops,
internships, or study abroad, will not affect the individual’s active status of NRHH.
In the case of temporary leave, the NRHH member should notify the Chapter
president in writing detail the reason for and duration of the temporary leave. An
individual being inducted, as an active member must meet the qualifications stated
above.
2. Early Alumni members are students currently living on campus that can no longer
meet the qualifications to be an active member. These members will not count
towards the 1% membership cap. They must complete the early alumni application,
which shall include signitures of: Chapter President, Chapter Advisor, and chapter
member for whom the form is being completed. The application shall be submitted
to the region’s AD-NRHH for approval. The number of early alumni members shall
not exceed 15% of chapter’s membership cap. The request may be denied, if but not
limited to, the following: application is incomplete, the region’ AD-NRHH does not
believe there was sufficient reason for the member to be inactive, or the chapter has
exceed its cap. The member or chapter may appeal the decision of the region’s ADNRHH by appealing to the NNB. The decision of the NNB is final.
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3.
Alumni membership shall be held by former active members who have left the
residence halls. They may choose to remain active with the organization. They will
have no voting privileges. When members leave the campus community they must
submit a letter to the chapter stating whether the leave is temporary or permanent. If
a member who stated they were leaving permanently returns and the membership cap
has been reached they must contact NAN to request a temporary capacity increase,
but will not receive voting rights until the regular capacity resumes.
4. Honorary membership is offered to faculty members, staff members, or students who
have shown outstanding service and devotion to the interests of the residence hall
program. Honorary members shall not have voting privileges. The number of
honorary members shall not exceed ten percent of the chapter’s membership cap.
C. NRHH Membership Transfer Policy
5. NRHH members that are transferring schools at any educational level, including
incoming graduate students and incoming doctoral students, are able to apply to have
their NRHH membership transferred from their outgoing institution to their
incoming institution
6. Each NRHH chapter is able to accept/reject transfer members at their own discretion.
If accepted, these members shall become active members of the new chapter. The
Membership Transfer Policy must be outlined according to the following:
i. The student applying to transfer their membership must be fully
matriculated at the new institution.
ii. The student seeking to transfer their membership must contact the chapter
president and advisor in writing detailing why they want to transfer their
membership, how they benefitted their previous chapter and residence hall
system, and how they hope to be involved in the new chapter.
iii. Each chapter is able to come up with their own processdetailing how letters
will be evaluated.
7. If approved, the student and/or new chapter must complete the membership transfer
application.
8. The membership transfer application may be obtained from the region’s AD-NRHH.
The membership transfer application shall include signatures from the following
individuals:
i. The incoming chapter’s President.
ii. The incoming chapter’s Advisor.
iii. The NRHH member who is seeking to transfer their membership.
iv. The completed application shall be submitted to the region’s ADNRHH for
approval.
9. It is the right of the region’s AD-NRHH to deny requests for reasons including, but
not limited to:
i. The application form is incomplete.
ii. Adding new member(s) puts the chapter over its member cap.
10. If the member and/or chapter wish to appeal the decision of the region’s AD-NRHH,
they may appeal to the entire NNB. The decision of the NNB shall be final. In the
event of an appeal to the NNB:
i. Each AD-NRHH shall have one vote.
ii. A simple majority shall be necessary, with tie-breaking vote when
necessary.
D. Membership Capacity
1. The total active membership of a chapter may include up to, but not more than, 1%
of the total residence hall population that year, or 20 members, whichever is largest.
The total 1% membership does not include alumni, early alumni, or honorary
members.
E. NRHH Member Removal Policy
1. The Removal Policy may be enacted if an Active member can no longer meet
the chapter membership expectations.
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2.
If an Active member is removed, they no longer count towards the 1%
membership cap.
3. The following guidelines apply to the procedure for the removal of an Active
member.
1. The member and/or chapter must complete the NRHH Member Removal
Application.
2. This form can be obtained from the region's AD-NRHH.
3. The form must include the electronic signatures of the chapter President and
chapter advisor.
4. This form must be submitted electronically.
4. The completed Member Removal application shall be submitted to
the region's AD-NRHH for approval.
5. The amount of members for removal is up to the discretion of the
chapter.
6. It is the right of the region's AD-NRHH to deny requests for
removal for reasons including, but not limited to:
1. Submission of an incomplete application form.
2. The region's AD-NRHH does not believe that sufficient
measures have been taken by the chapter to address the
members's inactivity or ineligibility within the chapter prior to
submission of the application.
7. If the member and/or chapter wish to appeal the decision, they may
appeal to the Regional AD-NRHH through written request as to
why the Candidate deserves to continue as a member of NRHH.
Article V: Nomination
Section I: Nomination by Residence Hall Personnel
A. Active members, NRHH Advisor, Resident Assistants, Area Coordinators, the Director of
Residence Life, the Director of Housing, the Associate Dean, and the Dean of Students shall
have the privilege of nominating persons they feel deserve the recognition of being nominated
to membership of this honorary.
B. Active members and Resident Assistants can each nominate two (2) people, NRHH Advisor
and Area Coordinators can each nominate three (3) people, and the Director of Residence
Life, the Director of Housing, the Associate Dean, and Dean of Students can each nominate
one (1) person.
C. Nominees shall fill out an application form.
Section II: Selection Procedures
A. Selection Committee
1. The campus selection committee shall be composed of five (5) active members of the
Pacific University National Residence Hall Honorary Chapter including the CoChair.
2. These members Shall be elected by 2/3 majority of the total membership of the
chapter.
3. The chairperson for this committee shall be the Co-Chairperson of the chapter.
4. Honorary membership nominations shall be made by any voting member. All
nominations will be discussed by the Chairperson and Advisor(s) to NRHH. The
Chairperson will submit a list of candidates to the voting membership who will select
honorary members by a simple majority vote.
B. Selection Standards
1. At no time shall the active membership of the Pacific University Chapter of the
National Residence Hall Honorary exceed twenty (20) people, or the top 1% of the
on-campus student population, whichever is higher.
2. Each candidate must have contributed outstanding service, leadership, and
involvement for the advancement of the residence hall system.
3. The campus selection committee shall review all applications in the spring semester.
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Article VI: Executive Structure and Meetings
Section I: Executive Officers
A. Officer candidates for the Pacific University Chapter of the National Residence Hall
Honorary must be students in good standing with the university.
B. The officers of the chapter shall be the Advisor, Chairperson, Co-Chairperson, Scribe,
Finance Officer, National Communications Chair, and the OTM Chairperson.
C. All officers except the Advisor shall have voting rights.
D. All officers must meet the active member qualifications and regularly attend meetings.
E. Officer status will supersede alumni status.
Section II: Executive Officer Responsibilities
A. The Chairperson shall:
1. Preside over called meetings and distribute agendas.
2. Appoint ad hoc committees and the chairpersons of these committees.
3. Act as official spokesperson for the organization.
4. Reside in on-campus housing as an active member to attain position.
B. The Co-Chairperson shall:
1. Sit as the chairperson of the Selection committee.
2. Preside over called meetings in the absence of the Chairperson.
3. Act as Parliamentarian at called meetings.
4. Head the Rezzis Recognition Ceremony.
5. Oversee program planning.
6. Collaborate with NCC in chapter renewal process.
C. The Scribe shall:
1. Take minutes at called meetings and distribute minutes to members.
2. Handle all correspondence not directly related to the National Organization.
3. Manage and delegate publicity responsibilities, including but not limited to bulletin
boards.
D. The Finance Officer shall:
1. Formulate a budget at the beginning of the year with the Chairperson and revise it as
necessary.
2. Manage all financial transactions for the organization.
3. Provide an itemized account of all transactions for the minutes.
4. Hold a meeting at the beginning of the year to discuss budget with RHA Financial
Coordinator.
E. The National Communications Chair shall:
1. Renew the chapter’s membership as a registered campus organization with the
National Organization along with the RHA National Communications Coordinator.
2. Handle all correspondence with the National Organization.
3. Attend weekly open forums of RHA.
4. Not be held by an RHA President or NCC.
F. OTM Chairperson shall:
1. The OTM chairperson shall contact the Resident Assistants, RHA members, and Hall
Council members to inform them of how to submit an OTM nomination. Decide
with the committee upon finalists for the OTM awards and present the nominations
at the chapter meetings.
2. Submit nominations to the OTM Database monthly, prior to the nomination deadline.
3. Once a semester hold an OTM writing informational session.
Section III: Election and Term of Office
A. Election of officers shall be held spring semester following the selection of members.
B. The officers shall be elected by a simple majority of the voting members.
1. Members must be present to be nominated for an office.
C. The term of office shall be one (1) year.
D. In the event of a resignation of an officer, an election will be held to fill the vacancy with the
exception of the Chairperson.
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1.
In the event that the office of Chairperson is vacated, the Co-Chairperson will
become Chairperson.
2. A general election will be held to fill the Co-Chair person’s vacancy.
E. Impeachment of an officer can happen if an officer is not fulfilling their duties or is not
coming to meetings. The chairperson will call for a vote on the subject, and if there is a
majority vote to impeach the member who is not fulfilling their duties, the member will be
notified. This member will then have a meeting with the advisor to discuss their status within
the group.
Section IV: Advisor(s)
A. The Pacific University Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary Shall be advised by
an individual recommended by the Director of Residence Life and confirmed by a 2/3 vote of
active membership.
B. The advisor will attend all meetings of the chapter.
Section V: Meetings
A. Chapter meetings will occur weekly. Special meetings may be called or cancelled by the
Chairperson as deemed necessary.
B. Parliamentary Procedure shall serve as a guideline for business procedures at all meetings.
C. Regular attendance is necessary unless prior arrangements have been made with an advisor.
Voting privileges may be revoked at the discretion of the Advisor.
D. All members are required to attend meetings to be considered active members.
a. Members shall not be absent more than twice a semester without just cause as
determined by chair and advisor.
Article VII: Finances
A. NRHH will receive an annual budget from RHA
B. The Chapter will remain in good standing with PACURH/NACURH offices.
Article VIII: Non-Campus Affiliation
A. This honorary is a university affiliate of the National Residence Hall Honorary.
B. In order to remain a member of the National Residence Hall Honorary, this chapter must
follow the rules and bylaws of the National Hall Honorary constitution.
Article IX: Amendments to the Constitution
A. Amendments must be submitted to the Executive Officers council in writing one (1) week
prior to voting by active members.
B. Amendments to this constitution may be adopted or amended by a 2/3 vote of active
membership.
Article X: Nondiscrimination Clause
A. The National Residence Hall Honorary Shall not discriminate on the basis of race, creed,
national origin, ancestry, gender, age, religion, disability or sexual orientation in the selection
of its members or in its programs.
Article XI. University Records
A. The National Residence Hall Honorary Shall maintain a list of current officers, their
addresses, the name of the required Advisor, and the most recently amended constitution with
the Division of Student Life.
Constructed 9.11.02
Revised 10.10.15
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