Bylaws

Preamble We the graduate students of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, In order to promote our professional and academic activities and to secure collective representation on the University of New Mexico campus do establish this organization under the name of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Graduate Student Association (GSA), hereafter to be known as the ECE/GSA.

ARTICLE 1: (Membership) Anyone who supports the objectives, goals and procedures of the ECE/GSA shall be eligible for membership, in accordance with University of New Mexico regulations. Meeting attendance and/or participation in ECE/GSA activities constitutes membership. Active membership requires participation in two consecutive ECE/GSA activities/meetings and current registration as a graduate student in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering department of the University of New Mexico. There shall be no membership dues.

ARTICLE 2: (Leadership) The Executive Council of the ECE/GSA shall be composed of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and all committee chairpersons, hereafter know as the Officers. All regular office terms shall be one calendar year in duration. No Officer may hold the same office for two consecutive terms.

The Executive Council shall,

• Organize and promote activities that enhance the member's professional and educational growth (eg. student contests, seminars, speakers).
• Promote interaction with professional societies and industry representatives.
• Maintain a working relationship with faculty and the ECE department.
• Recruit members and publicize ECE/GSA and its activities.
• Hold meetings on a regular basis, at least once a month.

And, by a majority vote,

• May form and dissolve committees, as needed.
• Will decree length of term for chairpersons, not to exceed one calendar year.
• Shall appoint to fill any vacated regular offices for the duration of that term.
• Can remove any Officer from their office for derelict of duty.

The Officers shall,

• Be committed to year-round participation.
• Organize and help committees in any functions or activites.
• Help and encourage members to be involved (eg. join committees, give speeches).
• Generate ideas for organizational activities.
• Attend all meetings.

The President shall,

• Establish working relations with other organizations (eg. ECE, IEEE, GSA).
• Be directly responsible for seeing to the success of the ECE/GSA.
• Oversee and be aware of all organizational activities.
• Moderate all meetings and prepare agendas.
• Appoint committee chairpersons.

The Vice-President shall,

• Act as liason and representative of ECE/GSA at all UNM GSA meetings.
• See to the success of all activities by assisting all Officers in their duties.
• Oversee that all procedures fall within the guidelines set forth in this document.
• Assume the office of the president, in the president's absence.
• Become president, if the office of the president becomes vacant for any reason.

The Secretary shall,

• Maintain and distribute accurate minutes of all meetings.
• Document all organizational activities (attendance, events, etc.)
• Oversee publication of upcoming meetings and events.
• Maintain an accurate and updated roster of members.

The Treasurer shall,

• Oversee the drafting and submittal of proposals to all possible funding sources.
• Manage all expenditures and reimbursements to members.
• Interact in a periodic and timely fashion with the ASUNM/GSA Business Office.
• Submit a monthly financial report to the Executive Council.

ARTICLE 3: (Organizational Procedures) General meetings shall be held as frequently as deemed necessary by the majority of the Executive Council, but at minimum once per semester. General elections are to be held once a year at an election meeting held in the month of June. Members shall be notified by mail, electronic mail or phone 15 days prior to the election meeting. Nominations and elections will be held at the same meeting. Candidates must be active members. Candidates need be nominated by a member, other than themselves. All candidates shall have an equal opportunity to present their views to the members, after which the members will debate, discuss and vote on the candidate's qualifications. All members are eligible to vote in ECE/GSA elections. The candidate with the majority of votes shall be elected, if no candidate obtains a majority, then a run-off vote shall be held between the two front-runners. A quorum shall be defined as twenty percent of the active members. All incoming officers are to be installed in August of the same year.

ARTICLE 4: (Amendments) Amendments to these bylaws require that the amendment be 1) Submitted to the Executive Council in writing, 2) Approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Executive Council, and 3) Ratified by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the members.