HISTORY The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1974 by a group of engineers employed by the city of Los Angeles. Their objective was to form a national organization of professional engineers to serve as role models in the Hispanic community. The concept of Networking was the key basis for the organization. SHPE quickly established two student chapters to begin the network that would grow to encompass the nation as well as reach countries outside the United States. Today, SHPE enjoys a strong but independent network of professional and student chapters throughout the nation.
MISSION SHPE's mission is to promote the development of Hispanics in engineering, science and other technical professions to achieve educational excellence, economic opportunity and social equity. We will fulfill this mission by increasing educational opportunities, promoting professional and personal growth, carrying out our social responsibility to be involved in education, business and government issues and enhancing pride within our organization and reinforcing our reputation as a vital Hispanic organization.
BYLAWS Article I The name: The name of this organization shall be The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Maryland Student Chapter, hereafter called the Society. Preamble: We believe that there is a need for an organization to represent, foster, and develop the growing number and potential of Hispanic students in technical fields at the University of Maryland, College Park. For this reason, we have joined together to form this Society Student Chapter. We shall always strive for the best interests of future Hispanic engineers and scientists at the University of Maryland, College Park. Article II The Society is established for the express purpose of: Section 1 Increasing the number of Hispanic engineering and science students at the University of Maryland, College Park. Section 2 Improving retention of Hispanic students enrolled in science and engineering and assisting them in completing their studies. Section 3 Expressing the ideas and concerns of Hispanic engineering and science students to the campus administration. Section 4 Working to develop, promote and participate in programs with industry that will benefit Hispanic students seeking technical and scientific careers. Section 5 Providing an academic and social forum. Section 6 Promoting the advancement of Hispanic engineers and scientists in employment and education. Section 7 Providing a scholarship for Hispanic engineering and science students attending or planing to attend the University of Maryland, College Park if within the budget. Article III: Association Section 1 The Society will be an affiliated chapter of the Society of Hispanic Engineers Inc. (SHPE Inc.). The Society possesses the right to adopt its own rules and regulations within the framework of the SHPE Incorporation rules and regulations. The Society understands and is committed to abide by University of Maryland policies. Section 2 This student chapter will be a part of the local professional chapter as decided by the regional vice president and the local professional chapter presidents. Article IV: Membership Section 1 Regular membership in the Society will be open to all members of the student body at the University of Maryland, College Park. Regular members have certain rights and responsibilities such as: · Voting in motions, elections, amendments, etc.
· Holding elected office.
· Serving on committees and or projects.
· Supporting and participating in the Society's sponsored events unless they interfere with academics or other personal reasons. Section 2 Associate members are faculty and staff who advise and support the operations of the Society. Associate members may not vote, be nominated or hold elected office nor are they charged with annual dues. Section 3 Honorary membership is bestowed on a group or an individual as recognition of their outstanding support and commitment to the Society. Honorary members may not vote, be nominated for elected office nor are they charged annual dues. Section 4 No person shall be denied membership in the Society because of race, color, sex, nationality, physical and/or mental disabilities, religion or beliefs even though the name The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Maryland Student Chapter was chosen. Article V: Committees Section 1 The Society must be organized into four committees: · Community Service
· Fundraising
· Communications and Social
· Educational The committees shall submit various progress reports to be used in the end of the Year (EOY) and various newsletters. Article VI: Officers Section 1 Officers for the Society shall be a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Engineering Council Representative. Their term in office shall be one year. Their term will start at the beginning of the Fa ll semester and shall end at the end of the Spring semester. These officers make up the Executive Board of the Society. · The President shall represent the chapter and be responsible for all business concerning the chapter. The President shall have full power in the management of chapter business and shall set and establish all policy of the chapter and or other functions or activities under direction of the chapter. The President shall also be the official spokesperson for the chapter and shall manage day to day affairs of the chapter.
· The Vice President shall assist the president in all business concerning the chapter but will specifically be in charge of the chapter's external affairs. This includes being a liaison with industry, campus administration, clubs and organizations.
· The Treasurer will be responsible for the Society's fiscal books and will record money received and disbursed. The treasurer will have current fiscal status of the organization. The treasurer will compile the annual budget, which will be submitted to the general body after approval by the Executive Board. The treasurer will be the point of contact with the Student Government Association (SGA) and Council of Engineering Societies (CES) at the University of Maryland, College Park with respect to the Society's finances.
· The Secretary will take minutes of all meetings, and will also be responsible for the organization of all files kept by the Society. The Secretary will also be responsible for up keeping any bulletin board designated to the Society. Officer responsibilities include public relations within the University and its administration, such as filling out forms sent by university offices.
· The Engineering Council Representative will represent the Society at the Council of Engineering Societies (CES). Officer responsibilities include informing the Executive board about the points covered during the CES meeting. Section 2 Four committee chairs, appointed by the Executive Board, will help with the organization of the Society. However, they will not be considered Officers. The committee chairs must assist the officer meetings and inform the Executive Board of the status of the committees. The four-committee chairs will be: · Community Service Chair
· Fundraising Chair
· Communications and Social Chair
· Educational Chair Article VII: Operations Section 1 Nominations for elected positions will be taken in the month of April starting the meeting before the last general body meeting. Any regular member may nominate another regular member. · To be nominated for the position of President, Vice President, the regular member must have held membership for at least a semester.
· There is no limit to the number of offices regular members may be nominated for. Section 2 Elections will be held at the last General Meeting of the Spring semester. Any regular member who has held membership for at least thirty (30) days may vote. · The meeting for elections shall serve the function of an Extraordinary Meeting and must have a quorum as stated in Article VII, Section 5.2a.
· The candidates will be given an opportunity to express their opinions on why they should be elected. All candidates will be given equal time to express their views.
· Elections will start with the office of President. Elections will be open and done by hand vote. A simple majority is needed to win, as defined on Article VII, Section 5.2b. During the hand vote, the candidates will leave the room.
· The President will tally the votes and declare the winner. The number of votes will not be declared to the candidates. If the President is running for office, the Vice President will replace the president during that segment of the election.
· If a regular member would like to vote but cannot attend the election meeting, an absentee ballot may be used. The absentee ballot must be signed, dated and sealed in an envelope. The ballot must be delivered to any officer before the elections.
· Should any office be vacant due to resignation or impeachment the vacancies should be filled by election. A current officer must resign his/her position to run for another office. Section 3 Should any officer wish to resign from their office it is necessary to submit a letter of resignation a weed before a general body meeting. At the general body meeting, nominations will take place and election will take place the following week. Section 4 If it is felt that an officer is not fulfilling the obligations of that office or damaging the Society, two regular members may bring a motion for impeachment to the Executive Board. · The President will present the case to the Executive Board. The officer charged will be given the opportunity to answer.
· The Executive Board will take a vote on impeachment. A simple majority vote is needed to impeach, as defined in Article VII, Section 5.2b. The president will tally the votes.
· Should the President be under investigation the Vice President will replace the President in the process. Section 5 There are three (3) different types of meetings: The general body meeting, the extraordinary meeting and the officer's meeting. · A general Body Meeting is conducted at least once a month for regular members to meet and discuss chapter business. Officers, and committee chairs should report their activities to the general body.
· The Extraordinary Meeting is considered the last meeting of the Spring semester. Elections, approval of proposed amendments, and modifications to the bylaws occur at the extraordinary meeting. A quorum is needed to hold the extraordinary meeting. A quorum is defined as sixty percent (60%) of the regular membership and two officers. A simple majority is defined as highest number of votes obtained even if the majority differs by one. · The officer's meeting is conducted at least twice a month for officers and committee chairs to discuss chapter business. Committee chairs should report their activities to the officers. Officers and committee chairs should discuss and organize future activities. Article VIII: Finances Section 1 The Society will fund its activities by charging dues for membership, submitting a request for funds to the SGA (Student Government Association), and conducting fundraising activities. All fundraising by the Society should project a positive image and must comply with SHPE Inc. and the University of Maryland, College Park. Section 2 All regular members should pay dues. The dues should be paid at the beginning of each semester. The dues should be set by the Executive Board in office. They will be responsible for setting a reasonable amount affordable by the members. Section 3 The following proposals should be written every year: · ACE
· SGA
· CMSE Section 4 Any fundraising project should be coordinated by the Treasurer and approved by the Executive Board. Article IX: Amendments Section 1 This constitution is binding to all members of the Society. However, the constitution may be updated. Section 2 Any proposed amendment or bylaw must be discussed by the Executive board at an officer meeting. Section 3 After it has been reviewed by the Executive Board, the proposed amendment or bylaw must be presented to the members at an extraordinary meeting. Section 4 After proper discussion at the Extraordinary meeting, a hand vote will be taken. The Secretary will tally the results. If a simple majority approves the proposed amendment or bylaw, the changes should be implemented immediately. Section 5 The updated constitution should be sent to SGA, to the Center for Minorities and to SHPE Inc. for review and approval. Section 6 A bylaw is a rule or guide to help in the smooth and efficient management of the Society. An amendment is a revision or addition to the constitution. Special Amendment
For the Fall 1993 Semester conditions have arisen such that an emergency election will be held December 2, 1993 for the Executive Board. This is because the Board members' term has expired. The new Executive Board will hold office for the Spring 1994 academic semester. Upon conclusion of the Spring 1994 semester, the elections, as per the approved Constitution, will take place.
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