By-Laws of the Omega Chapter

Of Omega Chi Epsilon

University of Missouri-Rolla

November 2006

ARTICLE I

NAME AND OBJECT

Section 1

This organization shall be known as the Omega Chapter, Omega Chi Epsilon, Chemical Engineering Honor Society.

Section 2

This Society shall recognize and promote high scholarship, original investigation and professional service in chemical engineering.

Section 3

This Omega Chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

Section 4

No part of the net earnings of the Omega Chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, its members, officers, or other private persons, except that the Omega Chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth in the above Section 3 of Article I hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the society shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the society shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the society shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) by an organization contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

ARTICLE II

MEMEBERSHIP

Section 1

Active membership shall be restricted to those studentswho have attained a high scholastic record in their studies and who have those traits of personality and leadership that make them likely to succeed in their chosen profession.

Section 2

The membership of the Chapter shall consist of active members, together with inactive members, alumni and associate members.

  1. Active members shall be (1) members of the Chapter who are registered students of the University of Missouri-Rolla and who are working toward a degree in Chemical Engineering, and (2) members who have received a degree in Chemical Engineering and who are working toward another degree in some other field and who have expressed the desire to be active members.
  1. Associate membership shall consist of professors, instructors, or other members of the staff of the institution who have shown noteworthy achievement in Chemical Engineering.
  1. Members of the Chapter who are students of the University of Missouri-Rolla, but have not expressed the desire to remain active members, are inactive members.

Section 3

A member of another Chapter who transfers to the University of Missouri-Rolla from another institution and who so desires shall be received into full fellowship of the Chapter upon presentation of his credentials to the President of this Chapter.

ARTICLE III

REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP

Section 1

There shall be two initiation meetings per year.

Section 2

The eligibility of persons for membership to the Chapter shall be determined as follows:

  1. The Vice President shall examine the scholastic records of the members of the junior, senior, and graduate classes in Chemical Engineering to determine those scholastically eligible for election. No one shall be elected to membership in the Chapter who has not completed at least 66 semester hours toward a degree in Chemical Engineering. Those undergraduates having at least 66 semester hours of credit but not more than 93 hours shall be classified as juniors. Those with more than 93 hours who have not yet received a Bachelor’s degree shall be classified as seniors.
  1. Juniors: Those having an overall grade point average of 3.25 or more shall be eligible for election
  1. Seniors: Those seniors having an overall grade point average of 3.00 or more shall be eligible for election
  1. Graduates: Graduate students shall be eligible for election upon completion of 9 semester hours of courses, counting toward a graduate degree in Chemical Engineering. Their grade point average, based on their graduate work including completed research, must be 3.00 or higher.
  1. An undergraduate who has transferred from another college or university shall not be eligible for election until after having accumulated 30 credit hours at the University of Missouri-Rolla. The grades used in computing the scholastic average of transfer students will be restricted to those grades made in courses taken at the University of Missouri-Rolla.
  1. A student overlooked shall be considered the following semester upon the basis of the scholastic average that he had at the time he should have been considered, or upon the basis of his later scholastic average, if it should prove to be higher. If he should graduate before the next semester, he shall be considered at a regular business meeting.
  1. Failure of a person to be eligible does not bar him from consideration in future semesters.
  1. Those eligible shall be notified by the Vice President.

ARTICLE IV

INITIATION

Section 1

The pledge duties shall be conducted as follows:

  1. The details of the pledge duties shall be worked out by the Vice President. Pledge duties shall be permissible, but they shall not consume an inordinate amount of the candidate’s time to the detriment of his school work.
  1. Each candidate shall be required to read the Constitution of Omega Chi Epsilon and the By-Laws of the Chapter.
  1. No joint initiation exercises of any kind whatsoever with any other organization shall be held.
  1. Offense to dignity or decency shall not be tolerated.
  1. The Vice President shall meet with all the officers to check each candidate for initiation and shall ascertain whether he has shown a reasonable effort toward fulfilling his pledge duties. The officers shall have the power to disqualify any candidate who fails to complete the pledge duties to reasonable degree, except in the case where the pledge is to graduate before another opportunity for election to candidacy would occur. In this latter case, the officers shall put the matter before the Chapter for a vote.

Section 2

The formal initiation shall be in the hands of the Vice President and shall be performed according to the ceremony as adopted by the society.

  1. The Chapter may not initiate a candidate unless he has paid his initiation fee or signed a note covering the unpaid balance of his initiation fees. Each candidate must pay at least half of his initiation fee in advance.
  1. An annual banquet may be held to honor the newly elected members. A formal initiation may be held in conjunction with the banquet.

ARTICLE V

OFFICERS

Section 1

The officers of this Chapter shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Faculty Advisor.

Section 2

All active members of the Chapter shall be eligible to hold any office, except the office of President, and except that no member may simultaneously hold more than one of the offices named in Section 1. The Faculty Advisor must hold the rank of Assistant Professor or above.

Section 3

The duties of the offers shall be as follows:

  1. The President shall preside at all meetings, act as an official representative of the Chapter at any function requiring such a representative, and shall see that the other officers of the Chapter perform their duties in accordance with the By-Laws. The President shall issue written orders for all disbursements.
  1. The Vice-President shall assume and fulfill the duties of the President in the absence of or in case of resignation of the President. In case the Vice-President shall succeed to the Presidency of the Chapter, a successor shall be elected to fill the unexpired term as soon as it is practicable.
  1. The Secretary shall issue all notices, and shall be responsible for all records of the Chapter, including an official copy of the Chapter’s By-Laws. The Secretary shall keep the roll of active members which shall be called at each meeting, shall keep the minutes of the Chapter meetings, and shall handle the routine correspondence of the Chapter. Upon leaving office, the Secretary should prepare a written report of the Chapter activities, prepare a list of the names and addresses of all the chapter officers, send these both to the Executive Secretary, and present any recommendations for improving the chapter operations for the incoming secretary.
  1. The Treasurer shall collect and care for all money, properties, and financial records of the Chapter and shall make payment only upon written order of the President.
  1. The Faculty Advisor is an ex-officio member of the Officer’s Council, and shall serve as a liaison between the Chapter and the School, and shall render guidance to the Chapter in their actions and activities.

Section 4

The Officer’s Council shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Faculty Advisor.

  1. The President shall be Chairman of the Officers’ Council.
  1. The President shall have the authority to call meetings of the Officers’ Council.
  1. A majority shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Officers’ Council.
  1. The Officers’ Council shall keep a record of its meetings and business conducted. This record becomes a part of the minutes of the Chapter.

Section 5

The Chapter shall have an Advisory Board, consisting of the Faculty Advisor and three other faculty members. All members of the Board must hold the rank of Assistant Professor or above. The Advisory Board shall assist the Faculty Advisor in his or her duties.

ARTICLE VI

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Section 1

Officers shall be elected at the last regular business meeting of the Fall semester to serve for the Spring semester. Officers shall be elected at the last regular business meeting of the Spring semester to serve for the Summer and Fall semesters.

Section 2

Nominations for office shall be made by the active members at a regularly called meeting of the Chapter.

Section 3

None shall be nominated for the office of President, unless they have previously served as an officer of the Chapter.

Section 4

Three-fourths of the active members shall constitute a quorum for election of officers. A majority of the active members shall be required for election. If no nominee receives a majority on the first, a second ballot shall be held between the two leading candidates.

Section 5

The new officers shall take office at the election meeting.

Section 6

A Faculty Advisor shall be appointed at the last regular business meeting of the Spring semester for a term of one year and may be re-appointed. Members of the Advisory Board shall also be appointed at this time.

Section 7

A special election shall be held to fill any vacant offices occurring before the next regular election, except that a vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the Vice-President until the next election.

ARTICLE VII

FINANCES

Section 1

The expenses of the Chapter shall be met by the initiation fee, and by such dues and pro rata assessments as total active membership shall be required to change any fees or dues or levy any assessments.

ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENTS

Section 1

Attendance of three-fourths of the total active membership shall be a quorum to consider amendments. A favorable vote of two-thirds of a quorum is necessary for an amendment.

Section 2

A proposed amendment must be read at one meeting and voted on at the following meeting.

Section 3

All amendments must be approved by the Student Affairs Committee and the Academic Council or their designated representative.