BYLAW I
1.0 NAME. The name of this organization shall be The Central Texas Alumni Chapter of The
Tau Beta Pi Association, hereinafter referred to in these Bylaws as the “Chapter.”
1.02 PURPOSE. The purpose of the Chapter shall be:
(a) to uphold the principles and ideals of The Tau Beta Pi Association,
(b) to advance the causes of the engineering profession,
(c) to provide opportunities for alumni members to meet and discuss common interests,
(d) to assist the TX Alpha and TX Mu collegiate chapters when applicable with their respective programs and the selection of suitable alumni and eminent engineers for election to membership in the Chapter.
BYLAW II
2.01 MEMBERSHIP. Membership in this Chapter is open to any member of Tau Beta Pi who is not an undergraduate student. Anyone eligible for membership may become a member by expressing his or her desire to become affiliated with the Chapter, his or her willingness to comply with these Bylaws, and by paying annual dues to the Treasurer of the Chapter. A member is considered an Active Member as long as these qualifications are met. A member will become an Inactive Member if he or she does not participate in any Chapter events or elections and does not pay dues for at least one calendar year. Any Inactive Member may regain Active status by paying current dues and expressing his or her desire to participate.
BYLAW III
3.01 OFFICERS. The officers of the Chapter shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer, and Directors, who shall comprise the Board of Directors. Quantity and titles of
Directors may change with the needs of the Chapter each term. The President, Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors shall serve a term of one year.
3.02 NOMINATIONS. A nominating committee composed of the officers shall contact possible nominees and, with the nominees’ permission, nominate members for each office except that of President. The Vice President shall automatically succeed to the Presidency. The names of those persons nominated are to be sent to members with the notice of the election meeting by the Secretary. Further nominations may then be made from the floor at the election meeting.
3.03 ELECTION OF OFFICERS. An election of officers shall be held at the election meeting in May of each year, with the term of office from June 1 through May 31.
3.04 RESIGNATION OF OFFICERS. In the event of the resignation of an officer, the Board of
Directors shall elect a replacement from the membership (with the member’s approval) to fill the office for the remainder of the term, except that the office of President shall automatically be filled by the Vice President, and a new Vice President shall be elected at the next meeting of the
Chapter. Should the Vice President choose not to serve in the role of President, only a current officer may be elected as a replacement, and a new replacement for that officer shall be elected from the membership at the next meeting of the Chapter.
3.05 COMMITTEES. The President shall appoint members to serve on committees, as deemed necessary by the officers.
3.06 DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. It shall be the duty of the President:
(a) to preside over all meetings of the Chapter and of the Board of Directors;
(b) to direct, supervise, coordinate and have general control of the ordinary affairs of the
Chapter;
(c) to propose, cause to be prepared, and execute any amendments to these Bylaws on behalf of the Chapter, as attested by the Secretary, following authorization or approval of the particular amendment, as applicable.
(d) to make certain that other officers perform their duties in accordance with these Bylaws.
3.07 DUTIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT. It shall be the duty of the Vice President:
(a) to assist the President;
(b) to preside over Chapter meetings in the absence of the President;
(c) to prepare for the Presidency; and
(d) to coordinate and facilitate Chapter programs and activities that align with the Chapter purpose.
3.08 DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. It shall be the duty of the Secretary:
(a) to maintain records of the Chapter’s membership, keep the roll, and take the minutes of the
Chapter meetings and to keep them up-to-date;
(b) to preside over Chapter meetings in the absence of the President and Vice President, in which instance he or she shall appoint another member to take the minutes;
(c) to send notices of the time, date, and place of meetings to members at least two weeks prior to a meeting;
(d) to send to the SecretaryTreasurer of the Association a copy of the Chapter’s Bylaws within two weeks of their adoption or amendment;
(e) to send to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association the names and addresses of the
Chapter’s official Convention delegate and alternate delegate on the official credentials form; and
(f) to carry on such other correspondence of the Chapter as the President or officers may direct.
3.09 DUTIES OF THE TREASURER. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer:
(a) to send promptly in December of each year to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association the annual Chapter dues; as provided in Article VII, Section 1(c), of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association;
(b) to collect the annual membership dues in May of each year; and
(c) to maintain the financial records of the Chapter.
3.10 DUTIES OF DIRECTORS. It shall be the duty of the Directors to serve as liaisons with the collegiate chapters listed in Bylaw I, 1.02.d, as leads in special interest programs, and with the other officers as an executive committee to administer the affairs of the Chapter between meetings.
3.11 CONVENTION REPRESENTATION. The Chapter shall be represented at the annual
Convention of the Association by an official delegate, if possible. It shall be the duty of the
Convention delegate to represent the best interests of the Chapter and the Association. The
President of the Chapter shall be the delegate. The other officers shall be alternates in the order given in Bylaw III, 3.01. If none of the officers are able to attend, they shall name a delegate from the membership.
BYLAW IV
4.01 MEMBERSHIP DUES. Annual dues in the amount of $10 shall be payable in May.
4.02 CHAPTER DUES. The annual Chapter dues to the Association shall be paid by the
Treasurer in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association, Article VII, Section
1(c).
4.03 FISCAL YEAR. The Chapter’s fiscal year shall be January 1 to December 31.
4.04 DISTRIBUTION OF NET EARNINGS. No part of the net earnings of the Chapter will inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, members, officers or Directors of the Chapter or to any other individual.
4.05 DISSOLUTION. In the event of dissolution of the Chapter, the residual assets shall be distributed to the Tau Beta Pi Association, a corporation organized and operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes and exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501
(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Any of such assets not so disposed of shall be distributed to a fund, foundation or corporation, organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious, educational or scientific purposes and similarly exempt from Federal income tax or to a Federal, State or Local Government for public purpose.
BYLAW V
5.01 BOARD MEETINGS. The President, as deemed necessary, or upon request of three officers, will call within ten days a meeting of the Board of Directors to plan Chapter activities or to act upon urgent business.
5.02 CHAPTER MEETINGS. The regular meetings of the Chapter shall be e-mailed in advance of the meeting date. Election of officers will occur at the regular meeting in May of each year. If a quorum is not present at the time of the regular election meeting, the election will be handled by an email ballot as specified in Bylaw 5.04. The time limit to vote is specified in Bylaw
VI, 6.03.
5.03 QUORUM. At least 10% of or 5 active members, whichever is greater, must be present at a meeting of the Chapter before any business may be transacted.
5.04 ELECTRONIC BUSINESS. In the event that a quorum is not present at a meeting of the
Chapter or to conduct minor business between meetings, electronic communications such as email may be used as a means for discussion and for official ballots. Decisions made by electronic communications must be unanimous between all responding chapter officers, except for the election of officers, which will be decided by a majority vote from all responding active members. Officers and active members that do not respond to electronic communications within one week of the original message forfeit their vote for that specific item of business.
BYLAW VI
6.01 PROPOSED AMENDMENTS. Amendments to these Bylaws shall be proposed either by an active member of the Chapter at a regular meeting; or by a majority of the officers at any time.
6.02 ADOPTION. Any amendment proposed in the manner specified in Bylaw 6.01 will be adopted if approved by the affirmative vote of at least 50 percent of the Chapter membership entitled to vote thereon, or 75 percent of the members voting. Ballots will be emailed to all members eligible to vote, if the matter cannot be handled at a regular Chapter meeting.
6.03 TIME LIMIT OF VOTE. Any member who fails to return his or her ballot to the Secretary within one week of the time the ballot was emailed to him or her shall forfeit his or her vote to the officers of the Chapter who shall be empowered to vote for him or her in a manner which they believe to be in the best interests of the Chapter and of the Association.
BYLAW VII
7.01 ENACTMENT. These Bylaws shall be in force when petition is signed by at least ten alumnus members of the Tau Beta Pi Association.
7.02 AVAILABILITY. These Bylaws shall be made available to any party upon request.
February 13, 2015