Constitution
Below is the current version of the BU ACM Chapter constitution. The original version of the consitution can be found here.
Preamble
Since it founding in 1947, ACM has promoted the advancement of the skills of information technology professionals and students worldwide. ACM provides the computing industry's leading Portal to Computing Literature, authoritative publications and pioneering conferences, and provides leadership guidance for the advancement of computing for the 21st century.
Purpose
The mission of the Binghamton Chapter of ACM is to engage students
in the advancement of computing technology, professional development,
and the promotion of responsible uses of computing technology.
The Binghamton Chapter of ACM will be operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes to promote the following:
- An increased knowledge of and greater interest in the science, design, development, construction, languages, management and applications of modern computing.
- Greater interest in computing and its applications.
- A means of communication between persons having an interest in computing.
Article I
The Binghamton Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery
Article II
Members need not fulfill any requirements with the exception of possessing an interest in advancement of computing technology. No member shall be discriminated against on the grounds of age, color, gender, ethnicity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Article III
The executive board shall consist of the following positions. The descriptions and duties of each position follow its title.
- President - Executive Head of ACM is responsible for day-to-day decisions regarding ACM. The President's main responsibility is to keep ACM running, and facilitate the execution of activities and events that ACM membership has deemed fit to pursue. The President decides how best to pursue a goal of ACM, while the membership votes on what goals ACM has.
- Vice President of Professional Development - Serves as an assistant to the president. Directly supervises the committee leaders to ensure that they are fulfilling their obligations to their positions.
- Vice President of Fund Raising - Serves as an assistant to the president. Directly responsible for fund raising efforts. All funds raised will then become the responsibility of the Treasurer.
- Secretary - The secretary will be in charge of keeping minutes of meetings, which are to be read and approved at the end of every meeting. The Secretary will also be in charge of public relations issues and any external correspondence, including the advertising for chapter events and maintaining the website.
- Treasurer - The treasurer will be responsible for all ACM
finances. Financial expenditures over $100.00 must be approved by a
2/3-membership vote. Any expenditures under $100.00 must be approved
either in writing by a member of the
executive board or
by a 2/3 membership vote. The treasurer must
be an undergraduate.
Elections for the above positions will be held once yearly at the end of the spring semester starting Spring 2006. Any ties will be resolved by either a sharing of the position (if both candidates are amenable to the idea), a tiebreaker vote, or as a last resort in a deadlocked situation, an executive board vote. If during the year the position of President becomes vacant for any reason, the Vice President of Professional Developement will be promoted to President for the remainder of the term and an election for a replacement Vice President of Professional Developement will be held at the next general meeting. If there is a vacancy in any executive board position other than President, an election for a replacement will be held at the next general meeting to serve the remainder of the term.
In addition to an executive board, there shall also be two types of committees: regular committees and standing committees. Each committee is headed by a committee chairperson. Regular committees are non-permanent bodies formed to pursue short term projects of interest, whereas standing committees are permanent bodies formed to pursue long-term objectives and administer recurring activities.
- Committee Chairperson- Directly responsible for the execution of the committee's objective. Must directly report to the Vice President of Professional Development for help and support, and report their work to membership at general meetings.
At least 4/5 of the executive board must be undergraduate students. A member can hold both an executive board position and a committee chairperson position at the same time. However, no member can hold multiple executive board positions simultaneously, and no member can hold multiple committe chairperson positions simultaneously. All votes unless otherwise specified are by plurality vote; no quorum will be held; the terms plurality and 2/3 apply to members in attendance at the meeting.
Article IV
Meetings will be at a time determined by the executive board at the
start of
each semester. The first meeting of each semester must be announced to
its members by either phone or e-mail, at the secretary's
discretion.
These meetings will start with reports from the executive board
members, followed by
each of the committee
chairpersons
as to currents projects and points of note to membership. Any member
may ask a question, or comment to any of the above positions during
their report. Following the weekly reports, any votes that need to be
taken (money spending, resolutions, etc) will be held. The votes will be
followed
by a slot of time in which any member can propose an objective
(activity,
event,
goal etc.) that he or she
thinks is worthy of ACM's interest and
pursuit.
After all the new proposals have
been announced, a member may
motion for the formation of a regular committee to pursue a short term
objective. If another member seconds the motion, a vote is
taken. If a plurality of members approves the formation of the
regular committee, then an election will immediately be held for the
position of chairperson. Upon the successful election of a
chairperson, the regular committee is established.
Any interested members can join a
regular committee. The committee suggests ideas for activities and
events to the
chairperson, who in turn makes the executive decisions regarding the
committee's activities and events. When the chairperson of a
regular
committee determines that the committee's objective has been completed,
the chairperson delivers a final report
during the next general meeting and the committee is
dissolved. At the end of the spring semester,
each regular committee that still exists delivers a final report and is
dissolved.
Article V
An amendment can be made to this constitution with ¾ of
membership
approving it during 3 consecutive general meetings. This constitution
will
carry the last date it was revised.
Article VI
The founding members of the Binghamton Chapter of ACM will ratify this constitution in advance of the first General Interest meeting.
Article VII
During
the
first two years of ACM operation (Februrary
6th, 2006 to Februrary 6th, 2008), standing
committees and their
associated responsibilities may be established by the executive
board. Any standing
committees formed during the first two years will persist after
February 6th, 2008.
During
an executive meeting, an executive
board member can motion for the formation of a standing committee
and submit written bylaws. If the executive board unanimously
approves the formation of the
committee under the submitted bylaws, then candidates for interim
chairperson are proposed and a vote is
taken. If a candidate is successfully
elected, the standing committee is established and the candidate will
serve as interim chairperson until the end of the spring semester.
A standing committee's bylaws must define the committee's objective and
its operational procedures. The bylaws must define
procedures for making executive decisions regarding the committee's
activities and events, for appointing members to and dismissing members
from the committee, and for amending the bylaws.
Elections for the chairperson positions for standing committees will be held once yearly at the end of the spring semester. In the case of a tie, the executive board will vote amongst the candidates that tied to determine the winner.
Article VIII
Any member who has grievances against the group can have their grievances addressed during the next meeting.
Date of original constitution:
February 3rd, 2006
Date of last amendment: April 20th, 2006