American Society of Mechanical Engineers
University Of Massachusetts Amherst
Article I: Name of Organization
The name of this organization shall be hereafter declared as the American Society of Mechanical Engineer at the
University of Massachusetts in Amherst and will be referred to as “the Society” or “ASME”.
Article II: Objectives of Organization
The objective of the institute is to promote interest in the Mechanical Engineering major and the College of
Engineering. The society seeks to serve as a liaison between engineering students, faculty, and graduates in the field.
ASME intends to promote the art, science and practice of mechanical engineering and the allied arts and sciences,
support the exchange of information among member and others, stimulate originality in research, encourage
collaboration and innovation, and foster engineering education in the community.
Article III: Membership
A member of the UMass Amherst ASME student chapter is defined as any undergraduate or graduate students who
attends at least 2 general body meetings. All members of the section shall have the right to attend all in-person
section and body meetings. All currently and actively enrolled UMass Amherst students, regardless of race, religion,
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or physical disability, are able to become and remain a member of the
Society. No one shall be discriminated by the terms above.
All Student member have the option to become a member of national ASME but it is not required for chapter
membership.
Article IV: Officers
Section 1: Role of the Chair
1. Represent the institute before the public, preside at general body and officer meetings
2. Authorize distribution of funds within the budget approval of a unanimous officer decision
3. Coordinate activities and execute communication between professors and network between chapter
representatives
4. Provide oversight and assistance to all members and any engineers within the department upon reasonable
request
5. Perform other duties normally associated with the office of president or may be assigned by the officers or
faculty advisor
6. In the absence of a Chair, a Vice Chair will fill the vacancy
Section 2: Role of the Vice Chair
1. Assist in President’s endeavors, along with keeping the other officers and members informed of ongoing
responsibilities
2. Help promote an active line of communication with the Society members
3. Assist with new event ideas to assist members in succeeding as future Mechanical Engineers
4. Assume responsibility if the President is unable to perform his duty
5. When the Chair cannot run the meeting, the Vice Chair will run the meeting.
6. In the absence of Vice Chair, the Treasurer will fill the vacancy.
Section 3: Role of the Treasurer
1. The Treasurer must be a member in good standing and will be responsible for all Society financial affairs.
2. The Treasurer is responsible for:
a. Working with SGA and other university organizations to provide funding for upcoming semesters
b. Managing the ledgers and account books.
c. Preparing the annual allocation
d. Reimbursing club members for expenses and follows up on pending payments
e. Recording event expenses and assists in event funding
3. The Treasurer shall make all financial decisions only after presenting proposed spending to the executive
board and achieves a ⅔ majority vote.
4. In the absence of the Treasurer, the Secretary will fill the vacancy.
Section 4: Role of the Secretary
1. Record minutes at each general body meeting and distribute them to members through email and website.
2. Send emails to general body mailing list about upcoming events.
3. Update the organization’s event calendar as necessary.
4. Attend all officer meetings.
5. Assist with the budget.
6. In the absence of the Secretary, the Treasurer will fill the vacancy.
Section 5: Role of the Advertising Chair
1. Works with Event Coordinator and planners to inform the public of upcoming events
2. Sends appropriate information to the UMass Amherst community through means including but not limited
to E-mail, newsletter, Lorraine’s Newsletters, announcement TVs, and ASME site
3. Helps create or acquire flyers and information about each event to be sent out
4. Contacts newspapers, websites, magazines with summaries of the bigger events open to the public
5. Helps plan when flyers should be sent out or deadline of when they need to be sent out
Section 6: Service Terms and Tenure
A term shall consist of one semester, corresponding to the school calendar. Officers shall serve for a minimum of
one term, and will continue to serve until 1) the officer steps down or 2) the officer is removed by the Executive
Board vote as outlined in Article IX.
When an officer steps down or is removed, the vacant position will be filled by the next-highest ranking officer as
defined above. Any remaining vacancies shall be filled through voting as outlined in Article V. All officers are
required to register with the national ASME organization.
Article V: Deliverables
Upon the commencement of a new semester officers will engage in a period of planning and prepare a semester
plan, the “Plan” (a template is provided in Appendix 1). The plan should contain a dated list of goal, objectives and
events to be completed throughout the semester. Additionally, officers will explicitly account for all finances,
merchandise and officer memberships during this time and include it in the plan. The plan is to be approve and
delivered to the faculty advisor and filed in the Society’s office. The plan will be made available to the membership
body.;
Before the following semester, a similar document should be distributed and filed akin to the above. This “Semester
Summary” addresses all goals and objects contained in the Plan and include other points addressed in the semester.
Furthermore, the Semester Summary contains a updated accounting for all finances, merchandise and open/fulfilled
officer positions.
Article VI: Meeting
Meetings and events will be called by the Executive Board and will be announced via email, TV announcement, and
flyers. Meetings and events will be chaired by at least 2 members of the executive board. The planning of general
body meetings will be decided by the executive board based the urgency and the coordination of future events.
When planning an event, executive board will decide on the event as a whole during board meetings and contact the
necessary people and vendors in preparation for the event. Meetings and events are open to everyone regardless of
membership status. Special meetings will be held within the first month of each semester to introduce new students,
and notify the membership body of semester goals. At the beginning of spring semester, elections will take place
during the general body meeting. Other general meetings can include announcement of stress relief events, guest
speakers, workshops, volunteer events, and networking events. Members at the general body meetings are able to
RSVP to events and volunteer if needed to these events.
Article VII: Nomination/Election
Executive board members and officers will be elected through self-nomination of the Society and voted by in by
majority vote as described below. Nomination and Election will take place in the beginning of Spring semester.
Elected members shall shadow their respective officer until the following semester in which they will presume the
elected position.
Voting shall be done once a year at the beginning of the spring semester. Any member wishing to run for an officer
position should nominate themselves and the nomination must be seconded by a past officer. The running officers
are encouraged to make a quick speech preceding the vote. The vote will be done by a show of hands and counted
and recorded by the president and vice president. Selected officers will be reported to SGA before April 1.
Article VIII: Misconduct & Removal of Executive Board Officer
The officer will first be notified and put on a warning or probation for any type of misconduct or violation of the
constitution. If this issue or problem insists, the officer may be asked to step down and offered student membership.
Any officer on probation with insisting issues may also be removed for cause by a vote of two-thirds of the voting
members of the executive board responding to a recall vote. Such removal shall be effective immediately upon the
recording of such vote. Removal procedures not covered by law or these bylaws shall be developed and approved
by the executive council.
Article IX: Amendments
Articles may be altered or added by the executive board once proposed to the general body of ASME and approved
by 2/3 vote and the approvement by the Secretary of the Regstry within SGA before implementation. All changes to
the constitution announced and made available to all student members.
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