By laws of Penn State Educational Office Professionals An Affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association of Educational Office Professionals Article I – Name The organization shall be known as Penn State Educational Office Professionals. Article II – Objective The objective of the Chapter shall be to advance the professionalism of its members by supporting their educational interests, cultivating a spirit of good will among office personnel, and developing awareness, both from within and outside the University community, of the high professional level of office professionals at Penn State. Article III – Membership Section 1 Full membership in the Chapter shall be open to all members of the Penn State community upon payment of the annual dues. Full members in good standing shall be entitled to vote, to hold elected office, to participate in meetings of the Chapter, and to receive all benefits associated with active membership. Section 2 An Associate Member is one who resigns and/or retires from employment at The Pennsylvania State University but wishes to continue, contribute, and participate in activities of the Chapter. Associate Members shall not be permitted to vote, hold elected office, or use the grant-in-aid benefit. Associate Members shall be charged half the amount of regular dues. Upon a member’s resignation or retirement, if more than one year remains on their membership, the member shall have the option to convert the membership to an associate membership equal to two years for every year of membership remaining. Section 3 Honorary Memberships may be awarded by the Executive Board at its discretion. Honorary Members shall act as mentors to the Chapter for one year. Honorary Members shall not be permitted to vote, hold elected office, or use the grant-in-aid benefit. No dues are associated with this membership. Section 4 Membership in the Chapter shall terminate 3 months after failure to pay annual dues. Article IV - Dues and Finance Section 1 The annual dues for each member shall be $6.00 or a three year membership for $15.00 payable to PSEOP. The membership year is from September 1 – August 31. Those enrolling between September and December, your membership will be post-dated (back to) September 1. Those enrolling between January and August, your membership will be pre-dated (forwarded) to begin the next September 1st. August 7, 2014 1 Section 2 Lifetime memberships are available to the Associate Members at the same cost of the 3 year full membership. Section 3 The Vice-President shall issue to each member written confirmation upon payment of annual dues. Section 4 Membership dues shall be waived for all officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer for all three years he/she is an officer (including the year serving as ex-officio). Section 5 The income from events sponsored by the Chapter, which must have the approval of the Executive Board, shall be credited to the account of the Chapter. Section 6 Non-members attending events/programs shall be charged a fee as appropriate. Article V – Officers Section 1 The officers of the Chapter shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer all of whom shall be members in good standing. Section 2 All officers shall be elected, thus serving for a three-year term. The years of service consist of one year as the Assistant, one year as the responsible officer and one year as a member of the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall consist of a maximum of 10 members: the immediate past President, Treasurer, and Secretary; the current President, Secretary and Treasurer; and the Vice-President, Assistant Secretary, and Assistant Treasurer and the Website Coordinator. Section 3 Officers shall begin their terms in July of the year of their election, with the month of June serving as a transition month. Section 4 The Vice-President, Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer may not run for an opposing position without fulfilling the term of their current position. Section 5 In the event of a vacancy in an office (President, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-President, Assistant Secretary or Assistant Treasurer), a member in good standing must fill the position. If half the one-year term has expired the respective Assistant officer shall take over the remainder of the term. If the vacancy is under half the one-year term, a special election shall be held. Immediate Past Officers shall not be replaced. Article VI – Duties of Officers Section 1 President – The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and of the Executive Board. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all appointed committees. The President shall ensure safe keeping of all records, to include the Treasurer reports, all meeting minutes, attendance records, by-laws and the by-law updates. Section 2 Vice-President – The Vice-President shall assist the President when requested, attend all Monthly Meetings, and serve in the absence of the President by exercising all powers and prerogative of the President. The Vice-President shall also oversee the Awards Committee and the Program Committee. The Vice-President shall issue to each member written confirmation upon August 7, 2014 2 payment of annual dues. The Vice-President shall serve a one-year term after which he/she shall assume the position of President. Section 3 Secretary – The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of the proceedings of the Chapter and of the Executive Board. The Secretary shall attend all Monthly Meetings and other meetings as appropriate, conduct the correspondence of the Chapter as directed by the President, and oversee the direction of the Assistant Secretary. The Secretary shall oversee the Outreach Committee. Section 4 Assistant Secretary – The Assistant Secretary shall assist the Secretary to ensure all records of the Chapter are accurate to include attendance at all Monthly Meetings and other meetings as appropriate. The Assistant Secretary shall serve in the absence of the Secretary. In the event the Secretary is unable to fulfill the duties as Secretary, the Assistant Secretary assumes the position. If half the one-year term has expired the respective Assistant officer shall take over the remainder of the term. If the vacancy is under half the one-year term, a special election shall be held. The Assistant Secretary shall serve a one-year term after which he/she shall assume the position of Secretary. The Assistant Secretary shall support the Secretary in overseeing the Outreach Committee. Section 5 Treasurer – The Treasurer shall receive and deposit all money and pay all bills. The Treasurer shall maintain an itemized budget ledger of all transactions, to include receipts and disbursements in specified budget categories, and give a short report at all business meetings. The Treasurer shall oversee the direction of the Assistant Treasurer. The President shall appoint an Auditing Committee with at least 2 people within the membership to audit the books every year (typically in June). The Treasurer shall oversee the Fundraising Committee. Section 6 Assistant Treasurer – The Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer to ensure all records of the Chapter are accurate. The Assistant Treasurer shall serve in the absence of the Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer shall also maintain the PSEOP membership records, listserv and database. In the event the Treasurer is unable to fulfill the duties of Treasurer, the Assistant Treasurer assumes the position. If half the one-year term has expired the respective Assistant officer shall take over the remainder of the term. If the vacancy is under half the one-year term, a special election shall be held. The Assistant Treasurer shall serve a one-year term after which he/she shall assume the position of Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer shall support the Treasurer in overseeing the Fundraising Committee. Article VII – Executive Board Section 1 The Executive Board shall consist of 10 members: the immediate past President, Treasurer, and Secretary, the current President, Secretary and Treasurer, and the Vice-President, Assistant Secretary, Assistant Treasurer and Website Coordinator. Section 2 The duties of the Executive Board are to determine the activities of and serve in an advisory capacity to the Chapter as well as oversee nominations, review/update by-laws, review/approve grant-in-aid requests and ensure an audit is completed yearly. Article VIII – Committees Section 1 The Executive Board shall create, reestablish, and/or abolish committees to uphold the August 7, 2014 3 mission and vision of PSEOP. Section 2 Upon the request of a PSEOP member to develop a new committee, the member shall complete a “New Committee Form” to include the purpose of the committee, explain how the new committee shall support the mission and vision of PSEOP, and get 2 support letters (not including the person submitting the request) to help explain the need for the committee. The Executive Board shall approve or deny in writing the request for the new committee with supporting reasons. Section 3 Executive Board members shall oversee the committees and the committees shall keep the respective Executive Board member apprised of all activities and funds being requested and utilized. The reporting lines are as follows: Committees responsible to the President: Executive Board –review and update the bylaws of the Chapter as needed. Ensure all aspects of the nominations for elected officers are completed. Ensure the financial records are audited yearly. Oversee the grant-in-aid benefit to members. Criteria for grant-in-aid application: Members must be in good standing (dues paid). Each member shall be eligible to receive one award each semester at the maximum amount of $25. Application must be received before the deadline of the membership year in which the course was taken. Courses may be taken for credit, CEUs, or professional development, either at Penn State or elsewhere. Evidence of a passing grade is required for credit courses; a completion certificate is required for professional development or CEU courses. Committees responsible to the Vice-President: Program Committee – select topics for monthly meetings, to include; planning and organizing all aspects for the end of year annual recognition event, schedule speakers, prepare and mail announcements to members, coordinate meeting locations. Awards Committee – oversee all aspects of finding the recipients for the Innovation Award, Leadership Award, Membership Awards, Participation Award, Fundraising Award and Outstanding Office Professional Award. Committees responsible to the Treasurer and supported by the Assistant Treasurer: Fundraising Committee – oversee all aspects of fundraisers for the Chapter. Committees responsible to the Secretary and supported by the Assistant Secretary: Outreach Committee – serve as a liaison between University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses/Colleges in coordinating PSEOP activities as well as become involved with community activities such as WPSU pledge drives, food drives, Relay for Life, etc. Promote PSEOP via Newswire and other University publications. Send communications of concern, appreciation, recognition, and encouragement, etc. to members. Organize events in coordination with the program committee for recruiting new members. Section 4 The President, with the approval of the Executive Board, shall appoint all chairs unless a August 7, 2014 4 member volunteers. Section 5 All activities of the committees must have the final approval of the Executive Board before action is taken. Section 6 Request for monies must be made by use of the “Request for Funds” form and be submitted to the Executive Board. The committee must then follow up and prepare a financial report on how the money was spent in addition to keeping accurate records of their activities. Annual reports must be submitted to the Executive Board. An edited version of the reports shall be included in a newsletter. Section 7 Should a vacancy occur on a committee, the President, with the approval of the Executive Board shall name a PSEOP member in good standing to fill the unexpired term of the vacancy. All committees shall notify the President immediately of any vacancy on their committees. Section 8 New committees are formed each year. To participate in a committee, you must sign- up or inform an Executive Board member on a yearly basis. Article IX – Executive Board Meetings Section 1 Executive Board meetings shall be held once a month, unless otherwise noted, with the exception of June and July, which are traditionally transitional months. Article X – Program Meetings Section 1 Program meetings shall be held monthly, with the exception of June, July and at the discretion of the Program Committee. Article XI – Parliamentary Procedure Section 1 The order of business at all meetings shall include the following; Call to Order, Approval of Minutes, Treasurer Report, Announcements, Committee Reports as necessary, New Business, Old Business, Call for Adjournment. Section 2 The Secretary shall take minutes at membership meetings and forward to the President for distribution to the members via website and listserv. The Secretary shall provide attendance sign in sheets for all Executive Board, Membership and Program meetings to ensure proper attendance records for the end of the year report. Section 3 The Treasurer shall provide a Treasurer Report at each Executive Board meeting and the President shall ensure distribution to the membership. Section 4 All committees shall report to their respective officer with an update of upcoming activities, past activities, funds used and funds on hand. Also submit a final report in June. August 7, 2014 5 Article XII – Affiliations Section 1 The Chapter shall be affiliated with the state association the Pennsylvania Association of Educational Office Professionals (PAEOP) and the Treasurer is authorized to pay the affiliation dues. Section 2 The President of PSEOP or a member of the Executive Board or another PSEOP member approved by the Executive Board, as an alternate, shall represent the Chapter at the PAEOP annual conference. The Treasurer is authorized to pay that part of the registration fee not covered if the President’s employer does not provide full funds. The attendee shall provide a report to the Executive Board at the next Executive Board Meeting. Article XIII – Funds Section 1 All requests for disbursements of funds shall be accompanied by itemized receipts submitted to the Treasurer for payment. All checks shall be signed by the Treasurer, with the President, Vice-President and Assistant Treasurer serving as proxies. Section 2 The President/Executive Board shall appoint an Auditing Committee with at least 2 people within the membership to audit the books every year. The President and/or the Executive Board may call for a special audit at any time as deemed necessary. It is recommended that the President, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer attend the audit. Article XIV – Elections Section 1 Elections shall be held every year for the positions of Vice-President, Assistant Secretary, and Assistant Treasurer. Nominations shall be submitted approximately one month prior to the annual recognition event with email voting to take place approximately two weeks before the annual recognition event. Section 2 Election shall be by majority vote. Section 3 Nominations shall be submitted in writing to the Nomination Coordinator for each office to be filled. All nominees must be members in good standing at the time of their nomination. Nominations shall be submitted approximately one month prior to the annual recognition event with email voting to take place approximately two weeks before the annual recognition event. Section 4 No person shall vote whose dues for the current membership year are unpaid. The membership year runs September 1 – August 31. August 7, 2014 6 Amendments/revisions to the Bylaws shall be written by the President and presented to the Executive Board. Such amendments/revisions shall become part of the Bylaws when adopted by Chapter members during a vote held during a regularly scheduled Monthly Meeting that has been publicized for that purpose/during a regular program meeting or through an e-vote. Approved: October 2, 1985 Amended: April 11, 1990 October 1, 1992 July 7, 1994 February 11, 1999 April 5, 2000 October 4, 2001 May 6, 2003 June 27, 2005 July 1, 2005 October 17, 2005 October 15, 2007 September 23, 2009 March 16, 2011 November 9, 2011 September 26, 2012 October 11, 2012 February 10, 2014 June 4, 2014 August 7, 2014 August 7, 2014 7