TriBeta Rho Omega Chapter Constitution

Show a genuine interest in the biological sciences.

Membership requirements:

	Attend at least 50% of the formally scheduled group meetings over the annual membership. If a member is unable to meet this requirement, that member may opt to attend at least 50% of the formally scheduled activities and events, instead.
	Attend at least 25% of the formally scheduled group activities and events over the annual membership.
	Pay all dues.

The membership fee is determined annually by the end of the fourth week following the first day of class of the fall semester at Shepherd College.  The membership fee amount is determined by a 2/3 vote among the then current members.  

The regular membership fee is due within four weeks of the date on which the fee is determined.  

All candidates for membership must sign the constitution in agreement.  Upon signing, that candidate will immediately become a member of TriBeta.  

The provisional membership fee (amount equal to the then current regular membership fee) for new members will be due within four weeks of attending their second meeting.  

If a member fails to comply with the membership requirements as stated above or takes an action that is detrimental to a member or group of members, that member will be immediately placed on probation.  A judicial committee will be formed of five non-probationary members chosen randomly.  This judicial committee will be given full authority to determine by majority vote whether the probationary member is dropped from membership.  If dropped from membership by this process, all dues paid will be forfeited.  

A member may resign from the TriBeta at any time through written communication to the secretary.  Resignation will be effective immediately upon receipt of that member’s resignation.  All dues paid by the resigning member will be forfeited.

The operation will include but not be limited to weekly meetings while Shepherd College classes are in session, speaking arrangements, trips, and activities.

Meetings, activities, and events will be cancelled if Shepherd College cancels or delays classes at any time on that day.

Minutes at each scheduled meeting will include attendance, old business, new business, and announcements.

Minutes of each scheduled meeting will be taken by the secretary and distributed to each member at least 24 hours before the next scheduled meeting.  A hard copy of the minutes should be filed with the appropriate TriBeta records and made available to the membership on the TriBeta advisor’s bulletin board or door.

A member may choose to abstain from a vote unless he/she is part of a judicial committee. A member may elect not to be included on a judicial committee.  If that member exercises this right, then the next randomly chosen member will take his/her place on the committee.

Officers will include: president and vice president or co-presidents, secretary, treasurer, SGA representatives, and historian.

TriBeta has the option of having a co-president position instead of having the president and vice president positions. This option can be announced at any scheduled meeting and voted on at any particular meeting. This option becomes effective with a simple majority vote of the present members. If passed while there is already a president and vice president they will become co-presidents, if both president and vice president agree in favor of the idea. 

The term of each office will be the same as the annual membership.

President: Enables the group goals through leadership of the officers and members.  Acts as a spokesman for the group in official matters.  Leads the weekly meetings.  Responsible for the direction and organization of the officers.

Vice president: Oversees all projects.  Meets with project leaders regularly for updates and determines necessary resources for those projects.  Assumes all duties of the president in his/her absence.

Secretary: Enables effective communication between all officers and members.  Takes minutes to record meeting discussion.  Distributes the minutes to all members.  Responsible for the TriBeta records not including the financial statements, receipts, or other financial matters.

Treasurer: Responsible for the accounting of all financial matters concerning TriBeta.  Duties will include collection of dues and donations from sponsors, recording expenses, balancing the account(s) weekly (at least 24 hours before the next scheduled meeting), production of an annual financial report.

SGA Representatives: Consists of two members who one has the responsibility to go to the SGA meeting and report back to TriBeta on the activities of SGA. The other representative will serve as an alternate incase the other representative cannot make the SGA meeting or the TriBeta meeting.

Historian: Responsible for recording the history of the chapter, taking pictures, and organizing the information for future reference. 

The officer election will be held annually within four weeks of the last day of class of the spring semester at Shepherd College.  All officers elected will assume the responsibilities of their respective positions upon the election day.

The officer election will be held by private ballot.

The election of each officer will be determined by a majority vote by all members.  Members not present on the election day will forfeit their vote unless an absentee ballot is submitted to the secretary before the election is held

If a tie vote occurs between two or more election candidates, a judicial committee will be formed of five members excluding those candidates in the tie election.  This judicial committee will have one week of deliberation to determine a winning candidate by majority vote.  All members of the committee must vote for one of these candidates.  The distribution of the votes among the judicial committee will be held in confidence within the same committee.

All officers are required to attend at least 75% of the formally scheduled meetings each school year.

All officers are required to attend at least 50% of the formally scheduled activities and events each school year.

If an officer fails to comply with the standards or duties as stated above, that officer will be placed on probation immediately and notified of such action by the president without delay.  If the president is the resulting officer on probation then it will be the responsibility of the vice president to notify the president of the probation.  The officer will remain on probation for two weeks, during which time all members, including the officer on probation, will be given an opportunity to speak in front of the TriBeta about the matter.  At the end of the two-week probation, a vote will be held by the non-probationary members to determine whether the officer remains in office or is dropped from that office.  The officer on probation needs a 2/3 vote by the membership to be removed from office.  If a 2/3 vote is not met, then the officer will resume all duties and responsibilities of that position immediately and the probation will be revoked.  Absentee ballots may be submitted to the secretary before the vote is held.

That officer’s resignation will take effect within two weeks of receipt of his/her resignation.  A call for candidates from the membership will be issued upon receipt of the resignation.  An election for that office will be held within two weeks of his/her resignation.  All dues paid by the resigning officer will be forfeited.

Any member may initiate amendments and changes to the constitution during a regularly scheduled meeting. From that time, the initiating member has the responsibility to notify the entire membership of his/her proposed change and the date of the vote for the proposed amendment or change The vote will be held not less than two weeks from the date of the initiative. The amendment will be adopted immediately if a majority of the total membership votes in favor. Votes will be counted for members present and for all absentee ballots that are received before the scheduled vote is executed.