The Bylaws of the Ohio Lambda Chapter
Of
The Tau Beta Pi Association
BYLAW I – GENERAL
Section 1. Theses bylaws shall govern the proceedings of this Chapter in all
matters not expressly provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Tau Beta Pi
Association, Inc.
Section 2. This chapter shall conform to such rules and regulations of
Youngstown State University and of the William Rayen College of Engineering as shall
apply to honor societies.
Section 3. In the event of a conflict between the Constitution and Bylaws of the
Tau Beta Pi Association, a solution agreeable to all parties will be worked out and all
interested parties informed of the solution.
Section 4. Abbreviated references herein to the Constitution and Bylaws of the
Association shall be made in the form illustrated in the following examples:
a. C-VI. 1 – National Constitution Article VI. Section 1.
b. B-V 5.02 – National Bylaws V. Section 5.02.
c. OLB-I. 4 – Ohio lambda Chapter Bylaw I. Section 4.
BYLAW II – GOVERNMENT AND OFFICERS
Section 1. The Chapter shall be composed of members chosen from among
eligible students and alumni on the basis of distinguished scholarship of professional
attainment and exemplary character, as enunciated in the Eligibility Code of the
Association and C-VIII.
Section 2. The Chapter shall have full control of its individual affairs, subject to
the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association. The control shall be exercised by the
active members of this Chapter and its Advisory Board.
Section 3. An Active member of this chapter shall be defined as any duly elected
Tau Beta Pi member enrolled in an undergraduate engineering curriculum at this
university. Also, by C-VI.1 and B-VI.6.06, any graduate student or alumnus member
enrolled in or employed by this university shall be considered active upon meeting the
condition listed in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association.
Section 4. Only active members of this Chapter shall be entitled to vote on new
members, officers and on the amounts of initiation fees, dues, fines and assessments.
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Section 5. The officers of the Chapter shall be; President, Vice President,
Secretary, and Treasurer. Depending on the needs of the Chapter, the office of the
secretary may be divided into two separate offices of Recording and Corresponding
Secretary. All of these officers shall be active members of the chapter except the
Treasurer, who may be a member of the faculty. These members shall be elected by the
active members of the Chapter.
Section 6. The President and Vice-President shall be the Chapter’s representatives
to the Engineering Student Society’s Council. If either of these members cannot take part,
the President shall appoint other representatives.
Section 7. In accordance with C-VI. 7, The Advisory Board of this chapter shall
be made up of the President, Vice-President, and Secretary (Corresponding Secretary if
more than one) of the Chapter along with four alumnus members of the Association. The
Advisory Board shall elect its own chairperson at the first meeting of the year and the
Advisory Board shall meet at least once each semester. The Advisory Board meetings are
open to all members of the Association unless the Advisory Board shall vote by a fivesevenths majority to close a certain meeting. Also, the officers who are not voting
members of the Board are encouraged to attend all board meetings.
Section 8. The alumnus members of the Advisory Board shall serve terms of four
years, with the terms staggered so that only one seat becomes vacant every year. The
alumnus members shall be elected by the active members of the chapter. Before the
election of an alumnus Advisory Board member, each active member shall be given a list
of all alumnus members eligible and willing to serve on the board. In case of resignation
or death of an Advisory Board member, a special election will be held as soon as
possible.
Section 9. The President shall set up such committees as he/she deems necessary.
Upon appointment of a committee, the President must present the committee chairperson
with a written list of the duties of the committee. Also, a copy of these duties shall be
kept by the Secretary. The President and Vice-President shall be ex-officio members of
all committees.
Section 10. The President shall be this chapter’s official delegate to the
Convention of the Association. If the President can not attend the Convention, one of the
other officers, in the order listed in OLB-II.5, shall be the delegate. For any year, the
chapter may elect someone other than the President to be the delegate with the approval
of the Advisory Board.
BYLAW III – MEETINGS
Section 1. Since an initiation must be held once a year, the following meetings
shall be held for each initiation: Preliminary Consideration of Candidates, Election of
Candidates, and Initiation of Electees.
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Section 2. Special meetings may be called at anytime by the President, any
alumnus member of the Advisory Board, or upon written request to the President signed
by 20% or more of the active members of the chapter.
Section 3. “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall be the Parliamentary guide of the
Chapter in all matters not covered in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association nor
in these Bylaws.
Section 4. Business meeting other than the election meeting, should last no longer
than one hour. The suggested order of business at these meetings shall be as follows:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Roll call
Minutes of the previous meeting
Reports of officers
Reports of committees
Unfinished business
New business
Adjournment
Section 5. Attendance of active members shall be required at all regular,
scheduled meetings of the chapter, unless excused by the President for reasons which
he/she judges to be good and sufficient.
An active member will become inactive if he or she misses three consecutive
Chapter meetings without written notice, unless the excuse is illness. An inactive member
will be readmitted to active upon receipt of a written petition and its approval by the
Advisory Board. (See B-VI. 6.05(b).)
Section 6. The President shall call a meeting of the Advisory Board at the
beginning of each semester to discuss Chapter activities for the semester. The minutes of
the Advisory Board meeting shall be read at the following regular meeting. Additional
meetings of the board may be called by any of its members or upon written request to the
chairperson of the Board signed by 20% of the active members of the chapter.
Section 7. Quorum requirements are fixed by B-V. 5.06 And by C-VI. 1, to
summarize, routine business requires a simple majority. Election of officers or of
alumnus members of the Advisory Board requires a simple majority. However, initiation
of new members, changing the initiation fee, or Chapter dues, or considering an
amendment to the Bylaws or Constitution of the Association requires a three-fourths
majority.
BYLAW IV – ELECTION OF NEW MEMBERS
Section 1. Elections of new members shall be held in the Fall and Spring
semesters.
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Section 2. The procedures necessary for the determination of eligibility are
summarized in C-VIII and B-VI. All the provisions listed therein shall be strictly
followed.
Section 3. Since Youngstown State University and the William Rayen College of
Engineering make no distinction between day and night students or classes, no distinction
shall be made as far as eligibility of the Chapter concerned.
Section 4. A Junior shall be defined as a student having completed at least 96
semester hours toward an engineering degree. A senior shall be defined as a student
having completed at least 128 semester hours towards an engineering degree.
Section 5. This Chapter shall recognize the following curricula as valid
engineering departments: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil
Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Industrial Engineering.
Section 6. Transfer students shall be considered eligible for consideration at the
third regular election after their registration provided they have completed 45 or more
hours at that time. The transfer student’s accumulated grade point average as listed by the
University is to be used in partially determining their eligibility. This section may be
waived under extraordinary circumstances by 5/7 consent of the Advisory Board.
Transfer students shall count in ascertaining the total number of students in the
Junior and Senior classes by how many hours they registered with. However, to be
considered for election, a transfer student shall have attained appropriate junior or senior
standing by the number of hours attained towards an engineering degree.
Section 7. New members shall be elected from the list of the scholastically
eligible on the basis of undergraduates in The Eligibility Code of the Association. Their
character shall be discussed among the active members of the Chapter. The election shall
be by secret ballot and be done candidate by candidate, with a three-fourths majority of
the active membership present in favor for a student to be elected.
Section 8. The President shall arrange to have a list of eligible graduate students,
faculty members, and alumni who may be eligible under C-VIII. 3-6, for consideration at
the election meeting.
Section 9. The Secretary shall have previously made a sufficient number of letters
so that immediately after the adjournment of the election meeting, those elected will be
informed by these letters received through the mail.
Section 10. At the first meeting of the electees, the President shall explain the
requirements, objectives, and activities of the Association and of the Chapter. Those
electees desiring to accept shall formally state their acceptance by signing a form letter
made up by the Secretatry previous to the meeting.
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Section 11. Each electee who refuses initiation for financial reasons shall be
interviewed by the Advisory Board, as required by C-VIII.10(a).
Section 12. Pursuant to B-VIII. 7.01, attendance in a project shall be required of
each electee.
BYLAW V – ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Section 1. All offices and an alumnus member for the Advisory Board shall be
elected in the beginning of the Fall semester.
Section 2. All candidates of office shall, to the best of their knowledge, be able to
serve for one year.
Section 3. Election of officers shall be by secret ballot. A majority of the twothirds quorum of active members shall be necessary for election.
Section 4. If an office shall become vacant between regular elections, a special
election shall be held to fill the vacancy. The officer elected shall serve until the next
regular election. For this case, the requirements of the candidates being able to serve for a
year may be waived. However, no candidate who knows he/she will not be able to serve
until the next election shall be elected.
Section 5. The Chapter Officer Installation Procedure given in the President’s
book shall be employed to install the new officers. If more than one election of new
members is held, the installation of officers procedure should be part of the Spring
initiation.
BYLAW VI – FINANCES
Section 1. The expenses of the chapter shall be borne by the initiation fee and by
such dues and pro rata assessments as may be voted by the Chapter. A majority vote of
the active membership shall be required to change any fees for the dues or to levy any
assessment. (See OLB-III,7, for the quorum requirements). Within one week, the
Secretary shall inform the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association concerning changes in
the amounts of the initiation fee, dues, or assessments.
Section 2. The initiation fee shall not exceed $70. The specific amount to be
charged shall be set during the first Chapter meeting in the Election of New Members
process. The initiation fee shall include the national initiation fee, the National
convention assessment, and the cost of on initiation banquet, plus a set amount for
chapter expenses.
Section 3. Immediately after the end of the Chapter’s fiscal year, the Treasurer
shall meet with at least one alumnus member of the Advisory Board. The alumnus
member shall audit the books of the Chapter at this time. Following the audit, the
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Treasurer shall file the appropriate forms with the District Director of the Internal
Revenue.
Section 4. No part of the net earnings of the chapter will insure to the benefit of,
or be distributed to, members or officers of the Chapter or to any other individual.
BYLAWS VII – AMENDMENTS
Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended by the following processes:
I.
Proposal of amendments.
A. Amendments may be proposed by the Advisory Board, provided fivesevenths of its members agree on the proposal.
B. Amendments may be proposed by any active member.
II.
Passage of amendments.
A. Amendments will be taken up the next meeting after they have been
proposed. If a simple majority of the membership is present (as
defined in OLB-III,7, under quorum), the amendment may be voted
upon. If the amendment passes by a three-fourths majority of the
active membership present, it shall be incorporated into these Bylaws
and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association shall be so informed.
BYLAWS VIII – DISSOLUTION
Section 1. In the event of the dissolution of the Chapter, the residual assets shall
be distributed to the Tau Beta Pi Association Inc., 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 asssets
not so disposed of shall be distributed to the Dean’s Scholarship Fund of the William
Rayen College of Engineering, and any other scholarship in the William Rayen College
of Engineering.
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BYLAW IX – ENACTMENT
Section 1. These Bylaws were adopted by vote of this Chapter and its Advisory
Board and became effective on __________________.(Date)
They were last amended ___________________.(Date)
Signed _______________________
(President)
Signed________________________
(Advisory Board Chair)
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