The Cornell Biomedical Engineering Society

Constitution & Bylaws

Constitution

Article I. Name

This organization shall be known as The Cornell University BMES Student Chapter, hereinafter called the “chapter” which shall have been granted a charter by the Biomedical Engineering Society.

Article II. Objectives

The object of the chapter shall be to promote the profession of biomedical engineering through the organized effort of this group in study, research, and discussion of the fields of biomedical engineering and the dissemination of knowledge thereby gained. The chapter shall promote membership in the BMES by acquainting the student body with the ideas, purposes, and objectives of BMES.

Article III. Membership

3.l. Any person who is a registered student enrolled in an undergraduate college curriculum in engineering, engineering technology, or pre-medicine, which culminates in a bachelor’s or associate’s degree, or in any graduate level degree program which will enhance professional competence, and who is also a Student member in good standing of BMES is eligible for membership in the student chapter.

3.2. All members of the student chapter are subject to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Biomedical Engineering Society.

Article IV. Student Council

The chapter is classified as a independent organization and is to be registered with the appropriate College and/or University.

Article V. Officers

5.l. The officers of the chapter shall be President, Vice President, Secretary (PR Director), and Treasurer.

5.2. The officers of the chapter shall be elected in the manner prescribed by the Bylaws of the chapter. They shall hold office for a period of one year.

Article VI. Constitution

This Constitution may be amended by a three-fourths vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting, provided that written notice of the amendments have been posted on the Biomedical Engineering Bulletin Board (or other appropriate notice board) at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting. Upon passage, an amendment should be submitted to the Society headquarters.

Bylaws

Article I. Dues

l.l. The annual dues for the national BMES for Student members have been established at $30.

l.2. The chapter membership shall be authorized to suggest a voluntary contribution to the chapter treasury; beyond the amount collected as national dues. This amount shall not be remitted by the chapter members to the national Society, but shall be given directly to the chapter treasury for use by the chapter.

l.3. Student applications for membership are evaluated at Society headquarters. Students will individually be notified of their acceptance for BMES membership.

Article II.

2.l. At least two meetings (or ten weeks) prior to the scheduled election meeting, the President shall appoint three seniors to the Nominating Committee.

2.2. The Nominating Committee will prepare a ballot consisting of at least one member for each office. Permission of the candidates to have their names on the ballot will be obtained.

2.3. At the last meeting before the annual election meeting, the Nominating Committee will make known the ballot. At this meeting, additional nominations will be accepted from the floor and included on the ballot.

Article III. Elections

3.l. Elections shall be held in February.

3.2. New officers shall take office on March l and continue through February 28 of the following year.

3.3. Special meetings will be called to elect new officers to fill any vacancies which may occur, provided that written notice of this meeting, its purpose, and office to be filled has been posted on the Biomedical Engineering Bulletin Board at least l0 days prior to the date of such a meeting.

3.4. A majority vote of all members present shall be necessary to elect an officer.

3.5. All elections shall be by secret ballot.

3.6. Impeachment of any officer may be accomplished only upon presentation of just and reasonable cause for such action to the Faculty Advisor of the chapter and, upon the Faculty Advisor’s approval, with a two-thirds vote of all enrolled members of the chapter, subject to review by the BMES national office.

Article IV. Meetings

4.l. The chapter shall hold regular monthly meetings each month during the school year, with the exact date determined by the officers.

4.2. Notice of all meetings shall be posted on the Biomedical Engineering (or other appropriate) Bulletin Board at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting, and may be further publicized in any manner the Publicity Committee deems necessary and proper.

Article V. Programs

5.l. Regular meetings each month shall be devoted primarily to the profession of biomedical engineering and may be

accomplished in connection with a dinner or refreshments.

5.2. At least one field trip shall be scheduled each academic year and must be supervised by the Faculty Advisor.

Article VI. Duties of Officers

6.l. The President, as Chief Executive of the organization, shall supervise the organization’s affairs and activities. The President is the executive administrative, presiding and reporting officer. The President shall be responsible for public relations, publicity, and promotion of the organization’s activities. The President will appoint a representative to the Joint Engineering Council at the university, if one exists, and will work with the Faculty Advisor and Society national office in all council and Society matters. After the President’s year long term in office, they will become the Treasurer and act as the advising Past President to the current President. In this manner the flow of information will not be lost and will be available to the new President.

6.2. The Vice President (also known as the President Elect), shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and shall also supervise membership promotion. The Vice President may be the appointed representative to the Joint Engineering Council. The Vice President’s primary responsibility will be program planning and execution. After the President’s year long term in office, the Vice President will assume the Presidents position and a new Vice President will be elected for the upcoming school year.

6.3. The Secretary shall be responsible for posting notices of all regular and special meetings and shall keep a permanent record (minutes) of such meetings. The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining a current roster of members and for timely communications with the Society national office. The Secretary will be responsible for maintaining a continuous Post Office Box address (or other permanent chapter address) and checking it frequently for correspondence.

6.4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial records of the organization, for the disbursement of funds at the direction of the membership (by vote) and with the approval of the Faculty Advisor, and for reporting in detail when requested by the membership. Income will be received through income producing functions approved by the membership and Faculty Advisor. The Treasurer will be the previous President which will assist the current President and act in an advisory role in addition to being the treasurer.

Article VII. Awards Program

The chapter shall encourage its qualified members to apply for the Young Investigator Award, Graduate Student Awards, and Undergraduate Design Awards, sponsored by the Biomedical Engineering Society.

Article VIII. Committees

8.l. Committees shall be defined by the President in consultation with Faculty Advisor and Officers.

8.2. The President shall appoint the Chair of the standing committee, and, with the approval of the Chair, shall appoint the members of the respective committees. The Vice President shall be Chair of the Program Committee and serve ex officio.

8.3. The President shall determine and appoint any additional committees deemed necessary and proper to fulfill the objectives of the organization.

Article IX. Rules of Order

Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the proceedings of all meetings for the organization and its committees.

Article X. Faculty Advisor

l0.l. The Faculty Advisor shall be appointed annually by the Chapter/Department/University.

l0.2. The Faculty Advisor must be an Associate member, Member, or Senior member of the Society. He/she shall serve the chapter and the BMES as an intermediary and resource person.

Article XI. Amendment

These Bylaws may be amended by a three-fourths vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting, provided written notice of the proposed amendment has been posted on the Biomedical Engineering Bulletin Board at least ten days prior to the meeting. Upon passage, an amendment should be submitted to the Society national office.