Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers By-Laws
last update: March/2005

ARTICLE I. Membership

Section 1-General Membership

A. The annual membership for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) at The Ohio State University shall be the first day of autumn quarter to the last day of spring quarter.

B. Membership in good standing shall be those with paid dues as per Section 2.

C. All members in good standing who have attended at least 60% of the quarterly general meetings shall vote.

Section 2-Dues

A. Dues for the academic year shall be $10 per person ($5 SHPE National + $5 SHPE at OSU).

B. Dues for members joining during winter quarter shall be $10 ($5 SHPE National + $5 SHPE at OSU).

C. Students wishing to join the Organization during spring quarter will have to wait until next fall quarter in order to pay their dues and become an official member.

D. SHPE at OSU agrees to pay the yearly chapter and national dues for all executive board members.

E. SHPE at OSU agrees to pay the yearly chapter and national dues for all incoming freshmen interested in joining the Organization.

F. The dues for SHPE members shall be established annually by the executive board.

ARTICLE II. Organization Leadership

Section 1-Officers

A. The officers of SHPE shall be President, Internal Vice-President, External Vice-President Secretary, and Treasurer and must be elected by the members.
B. At any point during the course of the academic year, the President may create a new officer position (i.e. Historian, Social Chair) to meet the Organization’s current needs. Any member who meets the requirements outlined in Section 2 of this article may be appointed by the executive-board to the position and will be entitled to the same benefits enjoyed by the current officers.
C. The terms of office shall be for one year, beginning on the first day of spring quarter, and ending the last day of winter quarter.

Section 2-Qualifications

A. Any member in good standing who has attended at least 60 % of the quarterly general meetings may be nominated for office.

Section 3 – Duties

The duties of the executive board shall be:

A. The President shall be the official leader of SHPE and shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Be the principal leader and role model for SHPE members.
2. Acts as the principal spokesperson for SHPE.
3. Serves as main contact with SHPE National.
4. Ultimately and wholly responsible for the matters dealing with the Organization. To expedite matters, he/she may assign tasks to any SHPE member.
5. May appoint any committee chairpersons deemed necessary to maintain or better the Organization or the campus community.
6. Represents SHPE on any campus-wide committees having a seat assigned to a representative of SHPE or may appoint his/her representative
7. Prepares agenda and acts as chairperson over meetings.
8. Serves as chairperson of the executive board.
9. Oversees SHPE’s funds management.
10. Votes only in the event of a tie.
11. Ensures all work is being done, officers are fulfilling their responsibilities.
12. Responsible for creating all funding proposals.

B. The Internal Vice-President shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Act as President when the President is not available.
2. Oversees the committee chairs; Coordinates and facilitates the completion of projects by committees.
3. Manages the registration and update of the Organization with the university.
4. Keeps record of the point system.
5. Responsible for overseeing the academic component of SHPE.
6. Responsible for logistics having to do with all meetings.

C. The External Vice-President shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Responsible for all outside communication (i.e. other SHPE Chapters, Private/Public Identities) deemed necessary by the President.
2. Responsible for maintaining all contacts (Refer to 1.).
3. Responsible for acquiring industry sponsorship.
4. Responsible for outside Organization publicity.
5. Preside at meetings in the absence of the President and Internal Vice-President.

D. The secretary shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Responsible for maintaining the minutes of meetings, agendas, and attendance records.
2. Manages all paperwork of the Organization.
3. Presents minutes from previous meetings at every general and executive board meeting.
4. Maintains the SHPE calendar.
5. Notifies members of regular and specially scheduled meetings, with proper prior notice.

E. The Treasurer shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Manages all financial affairs of the Organization.
2. Assists the President in preparing a budget for the academic year.
3. Collects due from every member and keeps records of the financial status of each member.
4. Pays SHPE National membership dues for members.
5. Presents a written financial statement to the Organization each quarter.
6. Works with SHPE representatives at UCHO meetings in order to look after SHPE’s financial interest.

F. The Social & Outreach Chairperson shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Responsible for all social events.
2. Promotes activities for membership.
3. Maintains SHPE social calendar.
4. Operates any social event open to the public.
5. Responsible for social events committee.
6. Responsible for High School outreach programs.
7. Attend student involvement activities or equivalent every quarter.
8. Work with the External Vice-President to create promotional accessories.

G. The Historian shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Keeps an updated scrapbook of all SHPE functions.
2. Compiles a report each academic quarter to update members at general meetings.
3. Works with webmaster to post marketing materials and pictures to the website.
4. Stores and keeps a chronological order of:
a. Officers
b. Awards or recognitions given to the chapter and/or chapter’s members
c. Activities sponsored by SHPE
d. SHPE’s history

H. The UCHO & Engineering Council Representative shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Responsible for attending all scheduled meetings.
2. Responsible for presenting funding proposals and coordinating with President as needed.
3. Responsible for bringing back to the Organization all pertinent information discussed at the meetings.

ARTICLE III. Executive Board

A. The executive board shall consist of the executive officers and the appointed officers.
B. The executive board is responsible for creating all major initiatives for the year.
C. Elections for the executive board positions shall be held winter quarter.
D. The term of office for officers shall be one year.
E. In case of vacancy in the office of the President (i.e. resignation, acceptance a coop job, leaving the university, etc.) the Vice-President shall succeed to the office of President, serving for the balance of the year.
F. In case of a vacancy in the office of Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer, the vacancy shall be filled by an executive board appointed member.

ARTICLE IV. Order of Business

The order of business for regular SHPE meetings be as follows:

A. Call to order—President
B. Reading of minutes--Secretary
C. Treasurer's report
D. Vice-Presidents’ reports
E. Committee reports--committee chairpersons Old Business
F. Old Business
G. New Business
H. Others
I. Adjournment

ARTICLE V. Amendments

A. Proposed amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted in writing to the executive board at least one month prior consideration.
B. The text to the proposed amendment shall be printed and presented to the general body at least one week prior to consideration.
C. This Constitution shall be amended only by a majority vote of the members.
D. Unless otherwise provided, all amendments shall take effect immediately.

ARTICLE VII. FUNDS TO ATTEND SPECIAL EVENTS.

A. SHPE will provide funds for a prospective leader (non-graduating senior) to attend the SHPE National Institute for Leadership Advancement (NILA).
B. In case of any special event, such as the National Technical Career Conference (NTCC), the executive board will have priority consideration for funding.
C. After the executive board members have been selected, the general membership will be considered for funding.
D. If the budget is not sufficient to cover the cost for everyone who is interested in attending, the following point system will com into play:
*Note: this point system is also applicable to the E-Board.

1. The members who accumulate the greatest amount of points will be given the chance to attend the event with all expenses paid.
2. If the person cannot attend, the member immediately below this person in the point systems scale will be selected.
3. Points can be accumulated under the following systems:

a.) Attend executive board meeting on time = 2 points
b.) Attend at least 75% of executive board meeting = 1 point
c.) Attend general meeting on time = 2 points
d.) Attend at least 75% of general meeting = 1 point
e.) Participate in general projects in representation of SHPE = 1 point/hour
f.) Participate in committees formed by the President = 2 points/ completed assignment
g.) Participate as committee chair = 3 points/ completed assignment

E. Any member may submit a proposal to the executive board for sponsorship to attend any other event that proves to be associated with the purposes of this Organization as per Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution.
F. The proposal will be evaluated taking into consideration the point system and the availability of funds.
G. In case the member is approved under the point system and the Organization does not have available funds, SHPE will submit the member’s proposal to UCHO, MEP, or any other sources of funding accessible at the time.