2013-2014
Student Alumni Association Constitution
Rockafield Alumni Center
Office of Alumni Relations
3640 Col. Glenn Hwy.
Facebook.com/saa.wsu
wrightstatealumni.com/saa
937-775-2620
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... 2
SAA Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Who We Are .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Our Mission ............................................................................................................................................... 3
SAA Goals .................................................................................................................................................. 3
SAA Logo ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Constitution .................................................................................................................................................. 4
SAA Advisors ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Graduate Student Advisor ...................................................................................................................... 11
Faculty Advisors ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Appendix A (Officer Descriptions)............................................................................................................... 12
President ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Vice President ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Secretary ................................................................................................................................................. 14
Treasurer ................................................................................................................................................. 15
Alumni Liaison ......................................................................................................................................... 16
Graduate Advisor .................................................................................................................................... 17
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SAA Overview
Who We Are
The Student Alumni Association at Wright State University (SAA) is a student run organization
established to enhance the relationship between students, alumni and the community. SAA began in the
fall of 1999 with the alumni relations office. Our organization has been around since 1983 but was
known as the Student Foundation, Student Alumni Board, and Student Alumni Assembly. Today, SAA is
an active community service organization both on campus and in the community with various events
and fundraisers held throughout the year. SAA continues to be sponsored and advised through both the
alumni relations office and the Wright State University Alumni Association.
Slogans: “Students now, alumni later, always a raider” “Making connections”
Our Mission
The mission of the Student Alumni Association is to establish life-long connections with current
students, Wright State alumni, and the greater Fairborn/Dayton community. Representing nearly
100,000 alumni, SAA members are strong, innovative, and personable young adults who are proud to
represent Wright State University in a positive fashion.
SAA Goals
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Create and maintain an active relationship between current students, Wright State alumni, and
the greater Fairborn/Dayton community
Enhance student involvement in the university
Work with the Wright State Alumni Association
Portray a proud, innovative, and positive public image of Wright State University
Instill a sense of tradition among students, faculty, staff, and alumni
Be active in community service and involvement on and off campus
SAA Logo
Designed by Dan Baker; Spring 2011
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Constitution
Student Alumni Association at Wright State University
Constitution
I.
Name
The name of this organization shall be the Student Alumni Association at Wright State University
hereinafter referred to as SAA.
II.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Student Alumni Association is to establish life-long connections with current
students, Wright State alumni, and the greater Fairborn/Dayton community. Representing
nearly 100,000 alumni, SAA members are strong, innovative, and personable young adults who
are proud to represent Wright State University in a positive fashion.
III.
Goals
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Create and maintain an active relationship between current students, Wright State alumni, and
the greater Fairborn/Dayton community
IV.
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Enhance student involvement in the university
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Work with the Wright State Alumni Association
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Portray a proud, innovative, and positive public image of Wright State University
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Instill a sense of tradition among students, faculty, staff, and alumni
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Be active in community service and involvement on and off campus
Active Membership
A. Any student in “good standing” at Wright State University may become a member of SAA.
a. “Good standing” is defined as a student not subject to suspension or probation for
scholastic or disciplinary reasons.
B. It will be the desire of SAA to attract new members from all academic fields at WSU. No student
shall be denied membership on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
age, disability, veteran status or sexual orientation.
C. Membership dues shall be determined by the executive committee in cooperation with the
Wright State University Alumni Association.
a. Membership dues shall be collected from each active member at the beginning of the
academic year.
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b. If a new member joins the organization after the first semester, the membership fee will
be prorated accordingly.
D. Each member must attend at least three (3) general meetings per semester or participate in
various events that total at least three (3) hours of participation.
a. Any member may be excused from this clause and still considered an active member if
her or she provides sufficient evidence to the executive board explaining why he or she
is unable to attend at least three (3) general meetings and/or three (3) hours of event
participation.
E. If a member is deemed “inactive” by the vice president, the vice president may remove them
from the organization registered webpage as well as the SAA roster. Members may be removed
due to inadequate behavior.
V.
Executive Committee
A. Officers of the SAA executive committee shall consist of the president, vice president, secretary,
treasurer, and alumni liaison. In addition, the graduate advisor from alumni relations and the
faculty advisor from the alumni relations may be present and shall be non-voting
representatives to the executive committee.
B. The president (or next highest ranking member) shall be responsible for calling and chairing
meetings of the executive committee. The president shall communicate all relevant reports
including but not limited to the SAA budget, event planning, executive decision making,
members and membership; with the executive board.
C. Voting on issues may be done with attending members where the president may cast a vote.
The graduate and faculty advisors are non-voting representatives.
D. The secretary shall keep records of all committee proceedings.
E. Ad hoc committees may be established from time to time to investigate and formulate plans for
the future or address particular issues. The president, with the approval of the executive
committee, shall appoint these committees and their chairs.
VI.
Event Committees
A. Committee Structure
a. Committees will be formed for the sole purpose of planning, implementing and
evaluating a particular event. An event chair will be elected from each committee with
the exception of ad hoc committees, which are appointed by the president.
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b. Each current committee may have a representative present at executive committee
meetings, upon request of the executive board.
c. Sub-committees can be formed within each of the committees as deemed necessary.
The sub-committees shall be represented by the executive committee through their
committee chair. A member may not serve as a chair on more than one concurrent
event.
d. Membership of general event committees shall be determined primarily by a show of
hands by active, general member volunteers. Upon the event where committee
members are to be chosen, the president shall assign active members to a specific
committee. The president may also assign a committee chair.
B. Committee Duties
a. Prior to the event, an event description form (EDF) must be filled out, submitted via
email, then approved by the president prior to the next general meeting
b. If monetary distributions are to be made, the treasurer must also approve the event via
the EDF.
c. Specific job descriptions will be written for each committee in cooperation with the SAA
advisor, if necessary. Each chair is responsible for keeping each member of the
committee active and informed of the progress of said committee. Each member is
responsible for reporting his/her progress to the chair.
d. At the conclusion of the event, a reevaluation of the event and EDF must be made and
noted to the SAA office. At the president’s discretion, the post event evaluations may be
placed on the following general meeting agenda.
VII.
Officer Duties
The following are brief descriptions for the SAA officers. Full expectations, duties, and
requirements are listed in Appendix A (Officer Descriptions)
A. President
a. The president of SAA shall serve as the chair of the executive committee and is charged
with the full responsibility and authority for conducting, directing and managing the
affairs of SAA. The president is responsible for the agenda of the general meetings and
the executive committee meetings. The president shall perform such duties as may be
delegated to him/her by the executive committee. The president shall vote only in the
event of a tie. The president shall also represent SAA as a non-voting member of the
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Wright State University Alumni Association Board of Directors and attend board
meetings.
B. Vice President
a. The vice president of SAA shall serve and be charged with the same responsibilities and
authority vested in the president in the event that the president is unable to act due to
his/her absence or any other reason. The vice president shall also serve as
parliamentarian and perform such duties as may be delegated to him/her by the
executive committee or the president. The vice president shall serve as the chair of
membership recruitment. He/she shall be responsible for contacting delinquent
members and maintaining an accurate membership list.
C. Secretary
a. The secretary shall keep the records of SAA, be responsible for the minutes of each
general and executive committee meeting and perform other duties as may be
delegated to him/her by the executive committee or the president.
D. Treasurer
a. The treasurer shall make disbursements, receive income and be responsible for reports
and records of these transactions. He/she shall perform other duties as may be
delegated by the Executive Committee or the president.
E. Alumni Liaison
a. The alumni liaison shall be responsible for conducting affairs between various Wright
State alumni members and SAA.
VIII.
SAA Advisors
A. Graduate student advisor
a. The office of alumni relations graduate student shall serve as the primary advisor of
SAA. Description of duties and requirement for the graduate advisor may be found in
appendix A. This person holds a non-voting status in both general and executive
meetings.
B. Faculty advisor
a. A staff member from the office of alumni relations shall serve as the faculty advisor for
SAA. This person holds a non-voting status in both general and executive meetings.
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IX.
Elections, Term Fulfillment and Removal of Officers
A. Elections
a. Time
i. The officers of the executive committee shall be elected by the active members
of SAA at a general meeting no more than five weeks prior to the end of fall
semester.
b. Eligibility
i. Any active member with at least a semester of active membership in SAA and
who is not graduating before the end of the term of office is eligible for one of
the positions as an officer of the executive committee unless a special
circumstance presents itself.
1. The president and vice president positions many only be filled by those
SAA members who do not concurrently hold an executive board
position with another student organization.
c. Nominations
i. Any active member of SAA may nominate another active member at the general
meeting prior to the election meeting. The advisor and president may accept
written nominations for one week following the nomination meeting.
ii. A second is required for all nominations. Duties and eligibility requirements shall
be made known to all members at that meeting. Nominations are unlimited for
each position. Names of candidates who have accepted their nominations shall
be sent to all active members of SAA one week prior to the election meeting.
d. Voting of Officers
i. Voting may be done on paper in the following general meeting or voting may be
done online.
B. Term Fulfillment
a. Once elected to office, the officer is to hold the position awarded to them until the
conclusion of the following academic year.
b. If an officer feels as if they cannot perform their duties, they may voluntarily remove
themselves from the executive committee. The officer must submit in writing their
resignation to the president at least 2 weeks before leaving the position. The officer may
retain their membership in SAA.
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C. Procedures for Removal of Officers
a. Charges
i. Any active member of SAA bringing charges against an officer of the executive
committee for the purpose of removal shall personally present his/her charges
in writing at an executive committee meeting. After presentation of charges the
accused shall have the opportunity to defend him/herself.
b. Investigation
i. Upon completion of the defense and consultation with the executive committee
the advisor shall perform an investigation. The advisor will appoint and chair an
ad hoc committee, of which only one may be an executive committee member.
Both parties in the dispute shall appoint a member other than themselves as
their representative to the committee. The investigation committee shall give a
full report of its findings at a general meeting of the organization.
X.
Meetings
A. General Meetings
a. General assembly meetings shall be held at regular times during the academic school
year at a time and place prescribed by the executive committee. Proper notice shall be
considered given by means of Wright State e-mail or text message.
b. General meetings are to be held every two weeks starting the first week of the
academic term.
B. Executive Committee Meetings
a. Executive committee meetings shall be held to determine agenda items for general
meetings, discuss new business items, as well as items not suited for general meetings.
b. Executive committee meetings are to be held at least once a month on a designated “off
week” from general meetings.
C. Special Meetings
a. Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the executive committee. Proper
notice shall be made one week prior to the meeting.
D. Voting Rights
a. Each active member of SAA shall be entitled to one vote on all matters properly
presented to the members. Each member of the executive committee shall have one
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vote in all matters properly presented to the committee with the following exception:
the president shall vote only in the event of a tie.
E. Voting Methodology
a. Elections shall be generally be determined by a raise of hands. Other issues may be
determined by any method mutually agreeable to all present. Secret ballots shall be the
case if no other method is acceptable.
XI.
Rules of Order
A. Robert’s Rules of Order, revised, shall govern the proceedings of the WSUSAA when not in
conflict with provisions of the constitution or by-laws.
XII.
Amendments and By-law Procedures
A. Authorization
a. The power to make, alter, amend or repeal this constitution or by-laws is vested in the
active members of SAA only during a regular general meeting.
B. Notification
a. The constitution or by-laws may be amended or repealed only after written notice of
the proposed change is given, not less than one week prior to the date of voting on said
change. A time for enactment of the change shall be included in the proposal.
C. Voting
a. It shall be necessary in order to amend or repeal the constitution or by-laws that a
majority of active members (greater than or equal to 50%) be present and two-thirds of
the said majority must approve the action
D. Required Review
a. The constitution, officer descriptions, processes, procedures, etc. are to be reviewed
yearly in the spring once new officers have been elected. A special meeting with the
incoming and outgoing executive committee will be called to revise the constitution.
Last updated: Spring 2013
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SAA Advisors
Graduate Student Advisor
Ryan Young
young.347@wright.edu
937-559-5457
Faculty Advisors
Holly Gersbacher
holly.gersbacher@wright.edu
937-206-0331
Amy Shope
amy.shope@wright.edu
937-271-0386
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Appendix A (Officer Descriptions)
President
As the president of the Student Alumni Association at Wright State University, your duties include:
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Be a positive and dependable team member of SAA
Attend all general meetings
Attend all/most planned events
Maintain at least three (3) office hours each week
Conduct and chair general meetings
o Prepare an agenda for all team members prior to the start of each meeting
 Agendas are to include, but are not limited to:
 Approval of previous meeting minutes
 Old business from previous meetings and/or previous events
 New business for meetings and future events
o President may not vote in any elections during a general meeting unless the vote
will break a tie
Conduct executive board meetings
o Prepare an agenda for all e-board team members prior to the start of each meeting
 Agendas are to include, but are not limited to:
 Old business from previous meetings and/or previous events
 New business for meetings and future events
 Any/all issues pertinent to the SAA executive board team members
o President may vote on all issues during the executive meeting
Attend all House of Representative meetings, if possible
o May assign a member of SAA to attend all meetings
Attend all quarterly Alumni Board meetings as the representative of Student Alumni
Association
o The SAA president shall be a non-voting member of the Wright State Alumni
Association board
Represent SAA at various leadership conferences
Coordinate and schedule meetings with other on campus student organization, student
activities, and various departments/staff members
Complete SAA annual report and give presentation to Alumni Assoc. Board of Directors
Review SAA constitution and e-board position descriptions with current and elected eboard members
If deemed necessary, the remaining members of the executive board, the graduate advisor,
or the faculty advisor may assign or remove duties not outlined on this description
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Vice President
As the vice president of the Student Alumni Association at Wright State University, your duties
include:
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Be a positive and dependable team member of SAA
Attend all general meetings
Attend all/most planned events
Maintain at least two (2) office hours each week
In the event the president is not able to perform their duties at a meeting, event or other
unusual circumstance, the vice president shall be vested the same responsibilities as the
president
Be responsible for ordering membership supplies and distributing them to eligible SAA
team members
o Membership supplies may include but are not limited to
 T-Shirts
 Prizes for team member points system
 Event table prizes
Take photographs at all SAA events
o Upload to the SAA computer
o Upload to the SAA Facebook account
Be the point of contact in regards to tickets given to the SAA team by the alumni association
for use of the box at the Nutter Center
Create an accessible online spreadsheet for SAA team members to log in points
o Relay to a team member when they are eligible for a prize based on their current
amount of points
Be responsible for membership recruitment
Contact delinquent team members and maintain an updated record of active SAA team
members
Create and hang up flyers for all general membership meetings
Continually work to find other organizations or departments on campus to collaborate with
The president, with approval of the other members of the executive board, is able to assign
or remove duties not outlined on this description if the need arises
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Secretary
As the secretary of the Student Alumni Association at Wright State University, your duties include:
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Be a positive and dependable team member of SAA
Attend all general meetings
Attend all/most planned events
Maintain at least one (1) office hour each week
Take detailed notes during general meetings to include, but at not limited to;
o General topics discussed on president’s agenda
o Dates, times and locations for future events
o Any/all voting results for motions
Prepare a typed representation of your notes (meeting minutes)
o Must be printed and brought to the next general meeting
 Will be approved by the president
o Have enough copies for each individual team member of SAA
Regularly check the team member points spreadsheet and send reminder emails to team
members for entering points after events
Perform a quarterly audit of all SAA materials in both the SAA office as well as in alumni
storage
Be responsible for the Student Alumni Association Facebook
o Create status updates for upcoming events and meetings
o Pose questions and contests for those whole ‘like’ the SAA page
o Create events for upcoming SAA activities
Work with the graduate assistant to maintain an up-to-date webpage on the alumni website,
www.wrightstatealumni.com/saa
Maintain and update all SAA pamphlets
o Make sure there are a large number on hand in the office for future events
Continually review and maintain the Logical Operations and Learning Appendix (LOLA)
Create thank you cards to any guests, supporters, and sponsors for SAA events
The president, with approval of the other members of the executive board, is able to assign
or remove duties not outlined on this description if the need arises
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Treasurer
As the treasurer of the Student Alumni Association at Wright State University, your duties include:
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Be a positive and dependable team member of SAA
Attend all general meetings
Attend all/most planned events
Maintain at least one (1) office hour each week
Be responsible for and continually update the SAA Excel budget spreadsheet during office
hours of any/all disbursements or income
When purchases have been made or after events, request the latest ledger from
o The alumni relations accountant for the Student Alumni account through the
advancement office
o The account clerk in the student activities office for the Student Alumni account
through the student activities office
 Make any/all changes in the budget spreadsheet when they arise
 Have copy of the current budget spreadsheet printed for every executive
board meeting
With the presidents’ signature on an event description form; sign, date, and allot money for
any upcoming events
Prepare the SOBC (Student Organization Budget Committee) PowerPoint presentation and
attend the SOBC meeting for the upcoming academic year
The president, with approval of the other members of the executive board, is able to assign
or remove duties not outlined on this description if the need arises
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Alumni Liaison
As the alumni liaison of the Student Alumni Association at Wright State University, your duties
include:
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Be a positive and dependable team member of SAA
Attend all general meetings
Attend all/most planned events
Maintain at least one (1) office hour each week
Research possible alumni candidates for SAA events when requested by the general team
members
o SAA events
o Dinner with 12 Raiders
Be in charge of all alumni oriented events each year
o Dinner with 12 Raiders
o Bowling with the Alumni
Assume the role as point of contact for general team members wishing to connect with an
alumnus and vice versa
Rotate general SAA as well as event oriented banners in the Student Union atrium
Work with the executive director of alumni relations and the Alumni Speaker Series
Assist the graduate assistant with senior week activities
The president, with approval of the other members of the executive board, is able to assign
or remove duties not outlined on this description if the need arises
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Graduate Advisor
As the graduate advisor of the Student Alumni Association at Wright State University, your duties
include:
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Be a positive and dependable team member of SAA
Attend all general meetings
Attend all/most planned events
Assist all SAA officers with office hour duties, event planning, etc.
Coordinate with the president with regards to
o Planned events
o Organization of meetings
o Topics for meeting agendas
Coordinate with the treasurer with regards to
o The current SAA budget from
 Alumni Relations
 Student Activities
o Any purchases or discernments to be made by SAA
Research possible alumni candidates for SAA events when requested by the general team
members with the SAA alumni liaison
o Dinner with 12 Raiders
o Various SAA events
Along with the alumni liaison, assume the role as point of contact for general team members
wishing to connect with an alumnus and vice versa
Assist any team member in charge of an event that may need assistance contacting persons
on campus, off campus, etc.
The president, with approval of the other members of the executive board, is able to assign
or remove duties not outlined on this description if the need arises
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