Public Health Student Interest Group Constitution
Article I – Name: The name of this organization shall be the Public Health Student Interest
Group and may be hereinafter referred to as PHSIG.
Article II – Purpose/Description: The Public Health Student Interest Group (PHSIG) is focused
on exposing public health issues to students at IUSM. Through speaker talks and community
outreach events, we hope to showcase and highlight public health issues that students may
not encounter otherwise. Our ultimate goal is to provide greater public health awareness for
students and show the relevance and impact that public health issues have on society and
their future clinical practice, regardless of specialty.
Article III – Compliance Clause: We agree to abide all Medical Student Council policies, all
University policies, in addition to all federal, state, and local laws. We agree to communicate
all required information to the MSC as required by the MSC Bylaws.
Article IV – Non-Discrimination: Participation in the proposed organization and prerogatives
of membership must be without regard to arbitrary consideration of such characteristics as
age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual
orientation, or veteran status
Article V – Membership: Membership in PHSIG shall be open to any currently enrolled
student at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Article VI – Election of Officers:
A. The following officers shall be elected: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer,
International Public Health Liaison, Women’s Health Liaison, Education/Research Liaison
B. An election will be held during the last meeting where individuals will be nominated by
their peers and submit platform statements addressing how they would be serve the
position. The nomination process will occur through the open nomination process and will
occur at the second-to-last meeting. An individual will be endorsed by one member and
seconded by another member in order to be nominated for a position. New executive
board members will meet with their previous executive board member and learn the
state of affairs and other relevant information for their position. Any passwords or login
information will be changed after the last meeting and new passwords or login
information will be distributed to the new executive board by the previous president.
Article VII – Executive Board:
A. All elected officers shall serve on the Executive Board.
B. Members of the Executive Board can create and remove officer positions as the need
arises.
C. These changes must be submitted to and approved by the Faculty Advisors before they
become effective.
D. The duties of each officer shall be:
President: Oversee the development and progress of the group and maintain contact with
faculty through the medical school, school of public health and other IU affiliates. The
president is expected to provide opportunities to engage the student body that promote
public health awareness. The president is also expected to assist the liaisons with recruiting
faculty and speakers for lunch talk topics.
Public Health Student Interest Group Constitution
Vice-President: Assist the president with recruitment of speakers and development of new
opportunities to engage the student body.
Secretary: Assist the International and Regional Public Health liaisons in securing locations
and speakers for topics chosen for presentation. Record minutes for the meetings and send
group emails as necessary.
Treasurer: Assist the secretary, International and Regional Public Health liaisons in securing
funds to facilitate presentations and events.
International Public Health Liaison: Identify faculty through the Fairbanks School of Public
Health, IU Health System and other accredited affiliates with International Public Health
experience who are willing to speak about chosen topics. Liaisons are also expected to
coordinate with the speakers from initial contact to completion of a speaker’s presentation.
Women’s Health Liaison: Identify faculty through the Fairbanks School of Public Health, IU
Health System and other accredited affiliates with Regional Public Health experience who are
willing to speak about chosen topics. Liaisons are also expected to coordinate with the
speakers from initial contact to completion of a speaker’s presentation.
Education/Research Liaison: Identify research and volunteering opportunities based on the
selected topics chosen for presentation as well as perennial opportunities for members.
Article VIII – Removal of Officers:
A. Any member may make a motion for the removal of any officer providing that evidence is
presented to support the removal. Grounds for removal include the inadequate fulfillment of
duties or the violation of regulations described in University policies, or any federal, state, or
local laws.
B. A majority vote from student members is required to remove an officer.
C. The motion for removal must be submitted to and approved by the Faculty Advisors before
becoming effective.
D. An election for a new officer should be conducted at the next scheduled business meeting.
E. An officer that fails to attend more than 30% of the meetings without prior written notice
to the other executive board members will be immediately placed under vote for dismissal by
the executive board. Should the board choose to vacate the position, a notice will be
distributed to members and an election to fill the position will be held at the subsequent
meeting.
Article IX – Advisor:
A. The Advisor will be subject to the Faculty Advisor Guidelines set forth by the MSC and
Medical Student Affairs.
B. Future advisors may be recruited if necessary pending a meeting and vote by the
executive board. Recruitment of future individuals should only occur if an advisor is unable
to perform their duties, resigns their role as an advisor or if there is an explicit need for an
advisor role (ex. sustained contact is necessary for proper functioning of the group). Contact
to future advisors will be made one at a time and by one, and only one, executive board
member. A record of individuals contacted must also be kept, updated and reviewed prior to
contacting future advisors.
Article X - Meetings :
A. We will host, at a minimum, 4 meetings per year as outlined in the MSC Bylaws.
B. We will send a representative to the MSC SIG Orientation meeting held in the early
summer.
C. We will attempt to maintain a presence at the monthly MSC meetings
Public Health Student Interest Group Constitution
D. We will offer/organize at least 1 service/development opportunity (e.g. Student Outreach
Clinic Day, clinical skills day) for our members in accordance with the MSC bylaws.
E. Mid-year review meetings will be required from the executive board members to identify
any areas of improvement and provide written updates to faculty advisors.
Article XI – Amendments to the Constitution:
A. Any member of the organization may present amendments to the Constitution at any
regularly scheduled meeting. After reading the current Constitution along with the proposed
change, the change will be voted on. A majority vote from student members is required to
amend the Constitution.
B. Amendments to the Constitution must be submitted to and approved by the Faculty
Advisors before they become effective.