| Eta Kappa Nu
Constitution 1995 Version |
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That those in the profession of Electrical Engineering who by their attainments in college or in practice, have manifested a deep interest and marked ability in their chosen life work, may be brought into closer union so as to foster a spirit of liberal culture in the engineering colleges and to mark in an outstanding manner those who, as students in Electrical Engineering, have conferred honor on their Alma Maters by distinguished scholarship, activities, leadership and exemplary character and to aid these students to progress through association with alumni who have attained prominence, we do hereby ordain and establish the following Constitution.
NAME, SYMBOL, PUBLICATION
Section 1. This organization shall be known as
the Eta Kappa Nu Association.
Section 2. The symbol shall be the early form
of the Greek letters Eta, Kappa and Nu. Use of the symbols HKN shall be
permitted.
Section 3. Colors of the association shall be navy-blue and
scarlet.
Section 4. The emblem of the Association shall be the Wheatstone
bridge.
Section 5. The official publication shall be called THE BRIDGE.
MEMBERS, CHAPTERS AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT
Section 1. Membership shall be by
election and induction.
Section 2. Chapters of the Association shall include
College chapters, an Eta chapter, and Alumni chapters.
Section 3. Legislative
powers shall be vested in a Convention.
Section 4. Policy determination and
advisory and judiciary powers shall be vested in a Board of
Directors.
Section 5. Administrative powers shall be vested in an Executive
Council (EC).
COLLEGE CHAPTERS
Section 1. A College chapter may be established at any
school which awards the degree of BEE, BS in EE, or the equivalent, and which
meets the requirements of a recognized regional or professional accrediting
agency.
Section 2. The petition for a College chapter will require approval
by the college and by each member of the Executive Council.
Section 3. A
faculty advisor shall be designated by the chapter. He shall be a member of Eta
Kappa Nu and a faculty member in electrical engineering of the school in which
the chapter is installed. He shall serve as liaison officer between the chapter
and the college.
Section 4. Active membership of a College chapter shall
consist of its undergraduate and graduate student Eta Kappa Nu members at the
school, regardless of prior chapter affiliation, who signify their intent of
remaining or becoming subject to the bylaws of the College chapter.
Section
5. Whenever it appears that there will not be a sufficient number of students on
the campus to maintain an active College chapter, a chapter shall elect a
trustee committee to consist of three or more members of Eta Kappa Nu, who shall
assume custody of chapter assets until reactivation of the chapter.
ETA CHAPTER
Section 1. To provide for membership of qualified
undergraduates and graduate students of electrical engineering in schools which
meet the same degree of accrediting requirements as for College chapters and
where no College chapter of Eta Kappa Nu exists, there shall be a chapter known
as Eta chapter.
Section 2. A branch of Eta chapter may be established by
unanimous action of the Executive Council, with approval of the college
concerned.
Section 3. The Executive Council shall function as the officers of
Eta chapters. Eta chapter shall have no vote in the Convention.
ALUMNI CHAPTER
Section 1. To provide for strengthening the furtherance of
the aims of Eta Kappa Nu by alumni members, an alumni chapter may be established
in any locality, upon petition of at least five members, and subject to the
unanimous approval of the Executive Council.
Section 2. Except as
specifically provided herein, an Alumni Chapter shall have no power to confer
membership in Eta Kappa Nu, nor shall it be subject to any assessment or dues,
other than by a vote of its own members.
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Induction to membership in Eta Kappa Nu Association
shall be in one of two forms: Member or Eminent Member.
Section 2. To be
eligible for induction as a Member, a candidate must be at least one of the
following:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of the
following members of HKN, elected by the chapters.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Section 1. The President, Vice-President, and Executive
Secretary shall constitute the Executive Council.
Section 2. The Executive
Council is responsible for the administration and the execution of the Statutes
and other acts of the Convention and of such policy as is established by the
Board of Directors.
Section 3. The Executive Council shall manage the funds
of the Association in conformity with fiscal policies established by the Board
of Directors.
FEES AND DUES
Section 1. Any chapter may fix assessments. dues or fees by
a majority vote of its members, except that any local induction fee of a College
chapter shall be subject to approval by the Executive Council.
Section 2. The
Convention shall have power to fix and levy a per capita tax on each inductee
and/or active member of a college chapter or a branch of Eta chapter, for
expenses in the conduct of the business of the Association.
Section 3. Any
per capita tax of a member of the Eta chapter shall be the same as that fixed by
Statute for members of College chapters.
Section 4. Eminent Members will not
be subject to assessments, fees or dues.
TRUST FUND
The Association shall be empowered to establish trust funds
separate from other funds, by legislative action, or by action of the Board of
Directors. Such funds may be for a specific one or a combination of the
following purposes: religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational.
Such action must have the unanimous recommendation of the members of the
Executive Council prior to submission to the Convention, and approval of at
least three-fourths of the College and Alumni chapters.
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted
for ratification by three-fourths of the College chapters.
STATUTES
Section 1. The Association, through Convention, may further
regulate itself by statutes not in conflict with this Constitution.
TITLE 1 - ASSESSMENTS
Each college chapter shall be assessed the sum of
$40 for each of its inductees to defray the cost of a certificate, a copy of the
Constitution and a two-year subscription to BRIDGE magazine for each inductee,
for expenses of the Board of Directors, and for the expenses of chapter
services, including conventions and visitations.
TITLE 2 - ASSEMBLED CONVENTION
Section A. The cost of holding an assembled
convention shall be borne by the Association.
TITLE 3 - INSTALLATION EXPENSE
The EC shall have the power to decide all
questions of expense incident to the installing of new chap-ters; provided,
however, that no assessment be placed on the charter members of the new chapter
in ex-cess of the amount per inductee provided in the Constitution and
Statutes.
TITLE 4 - THE BRIDGE
Section A. THE BRIDGE shall be published at least
four times in the college year.
Section B. The staff of THE BRIDGE shall be
composed of an editor and a BRIDGE correspondent from each chapter, and such
other staff members as may be appointed by the EC.
Section C. The
subscription price to THE BRIDGE shall be determined by the EC.
TITLE 5 - EXPENSES
The Executive Secretary shall reimburse any member of
the Board of Directors for out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of HKN,
when approved in advance by two members of the EC.
TITLE 6 - COLLEGE CHAPTERS
Section A. A petition for the establishment of
a college chapter may be made by no fewer than eight undergraduate students who
are qualified for membership. It shall be accompanied by the written consent of
the President, the Dean of Students, the Dean of Engineering and the Head of the
Electrical Engineering, of the petitioning school, or their
equivalent.
Section B. College chapters shall be installed by the President,
or by a deputy appointed by him.
Section C. Charter members of a new chapter
shall include all the petitioners duly inducted and any other members inducted
at the installation ceremonies whom the petitioners desire to be distinguished
as charter members.
Section D. Officers of a college chapter shall be a
President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, BRIDGE
Correspondent and Treasurer. When the occasion makes it desirable, any two of
these offices may be combined by the chapter and assigned to a single
member.
Section E. Duties of the officers shall be as follows:
TITLE 7 - MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS
Section A. A junior means any enrolled
student in an accredited course in Electrical Engineering who has completed
one-half of the scholastic requirement for the bachelor s degree. A senior means
any enrolled student in an accredited course in Electrical Engineering who has
completed three-fourths of the scholastic requirements for the bachelor s
degree, provided that in five-year undergraduate courses no student is eligible
for membership until he has completed one term or semester of his third
year.
Section B. Candidates for membership to HKN, in addition to having the
required scholastic rank, must be of unimpeachable character, have ability to
make use of the knowledge and information acquired, have capacity and
willingness for hard work, and have a genial nature and ability to work in
harmony with all sorts of men.
Section C. The approval of the faculty advisor
of the nominating chapter and of the Head of the Electrical Engineering
Department of the college shall be a condition prerequisite to eligibility for
induction of non-student members.
Section D. A graduate student may be
nominated to membership by any member of HKN, provided he has completed the
equivalent of one-half of one academic year of full-time study in the school
wherein is located the college chapter or branch of Eta, into which the graduate
student is proposed to be inducted, and further provided that such study is
generally applicable to an advanced degree in electrical engineering. Such
nomination shall require endorsement by the Head of the Electrical Engineering
faculty of said school.
Section E. Nominations to eminent membership may be
made by a college chapter, an alumni chapter, or by any member of Eta Kappa Nu.
For election, the candidate must receive the approval of the Board of Directors,
and the approval of three-quarters of the college chapters.
TITLE 9 - BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section A. The President, Vice-President, and
the Executive Secretary shall be the chairman, vice-chairman and secretary,
respectively, of the Board of Directors.
Section B. Vacancies on the Board of
Directors, including the officers, may be filled by a majority vote of the
remaining board members. Members may be so appointed only for the unexpired
portion of a term of office, and such appointment shall be subject to
confirmation at the next Convention, if the appointee is then still in
office.
Section C. The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the
interpretation of the Constitution and Statutes. Any such interpretation by the
Board of Directors shall, at the request of any chapter, be subject to majority
approval by the next Convention.
Section D. The Board of Directors shall
determine the policies of the Association.
Section E. The Board of Directors
shall determine the compensation of the Executive Secretary for his services,
and may enter into a pension contract with the Executive Secretary on behalf of
the Association, and subject to the approval of the College chapters.
Section
F. The Board of Directors shall have the power to remove any member from the EC
for good and sufficient cause.
Section G. The Board of Directors shall have
access to all records of the Association and may call at any time upon a
national officer or any college or alumni chapter for a written report on any of
their activities.
Section H. The Board of Directors shall meet at least once
a year as soon as feasible after July 1, and at such other times as agreed upon
by a majority of the Board. A newly-elected Board of Directors otherwise taking
office on July 1 may meet during the immediately preceding June with the powers
of office, provided the outgoing Board of Directors has so
authorized.
Section I. Visitation to College chapters may be made by a member
of HKN, preferably a director, appointed by the President.
TITLE 10 - EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Section A. The Executive Secretary, under the
direction of the EC, shall prepare an annual operating budget for consideration
and approval by the Board of Directors. The EC may, in conformance with
established fiscal policies, and with the aid of investment counsel, invest and
re-invest in the name of the Association, funds of the Association in bonds,
stocks or other securities. The Executive Secretary shall execute such
transactions with the written consent of each member of the EC.
Section B.
Nominations and eligibility for national office shall be as follows:
TITLE 12 - DISCIPLINE
Section A. Each chapter shall have the sole power to
discipline its own members.
Section B. The Board of Directors shall have the
power, upon recommendation of the EC to suspend the charter of any chapter for
good and sufficient reasons, but such suspension must be sustained or the action
reversed at the next succeeding Convention.
TITLE 13 - BY-LAWS
The Board of Directors may adopt by-laws, not in
conflict with the Constitution or Statutes, for the governing of the
Association.
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| Last Modified: October 24, 2001 |