Bylaws

Constitution and bylaws of Geotechnical Graduate Student Society at UC Davis

  1. ARTICLE I. Name
    1. The name of our student society is Geotechnical Graduate Student Society (GGSS) at UC Davis.

 

  1. ARTICLE II. Purpose
    1. The Geotechnical Graduate Student Society promotes scholarship, leadership, and fellowship for graduate students in the geotechnical engineering program at the University of California, Davis.

 

  1. ARTICLE III. Membership
    1. Active Members: All registered UC Davis graduate students and post-doctoral students identified as a geotechnical engineering student in, and by, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department are automatically active members.
      1. Board Members: Active members elected to serve on the GGSS Board are Board members.
      2. All active members are eligible to vote.
    2. Alumni Members: All former graduates and members of GGSS are automatically alumni members. Alumni members are not eligible to vote.
    3. Honorary Members: Honorary members are admitted to GGSS based on a majority vote of the Board and need not be a geotechnical graduate student at UC Davis. Honorary members are not eligible to vote.

 

  1. ARTICLE IV. Dues and Fees
    1. There are no dues or fees for membership.

 

  1. ARTICLE V. Board Members and Their Duties
    1. The GGSS Board shall consist of the following positions: President, Treasurer, Seminar Coordinator, Social Coordinator, Field Trip Coordinator, Outreach Coordinator and Public Relations Coordinator. In addition, there shall be a Faculty Advisor assigned by the Geotechnical Engineering faculty in consultation with the GGSS Board. Board Members are required to attend Board Meetings.
      1. The President shall preside over meetings, set the meetings’ agendas, coordinate the Round Table with the Faculty Advisor, coordinate the activities of the committees, and keep the members informed of the activities of these committees.
      2. The Treasurer shall maintain GGSS financial records in a spreadsheet easily transferred to subsequent treasurers and report the GGSS financial status annually to the members.
      3. The Seminar Coordinator shall arrange the speaker’s program for the Geotechnical Seminars throughout the year in consultation with the Faculty Advisor, announce upcoming seminars, and maintain the seminar calendar.
      4. The Social Coordinator shall coordinate formal social events for the group.
      5. The Field Trip Coordinator shall coordinate and lead all field trips for the group.
      6. The Outreach Coordinator shall coordinate and lead outreach activities and events for the group.
      7. The Public Relations Coordinator shall maintain and operate all relevant social media platforms, email lists, membership records, and the GGSS website. The Public Relations Coordinator will oversee the posting of GGSS activities to social media platforms, including social events, seminars, outreach events, and field trips, based on guidance from other Board Members.
      8. The Faculty Advisor shall advise and mentor the student group. They shall have no voting privilege.
    2. Board Members not performing their duties may be voted off the Board by a majority vote from the Board and recommendation of the Faculty Advisor.

 

  1. ARTICLE VI. Elections
    1. All Board Member positions are appointed yearly from the active graduate student members by self-nomination, following an invitation from the President. The outgoing Board is expected to help ensure the number of nominations meets or exceeds the number of designated posts. If there are more nominations than the number of designated positions, elections will be contested among the nominated members.
      1. Nomination and Elections for the Board members will be held in Spring Quarter, on a date decided by the President.
      2. Nominees must submit their written intent to run for a Board position to the current President no later than two weeks prior to the election date.
      3. Voting for the Board members will be held either by paper or online ballot.
      4. Board members shall be elected based on a plurality of votes from the active members
    2. Terms of office will be one year beginning June 30th•
    3. In the event of an open position outside the normal election cycle, an election to permanently fill the open position will be held in accordance with Article 6.1.2 to Article 6.1.4.
      1. The GGSS Board may appoint an active member to temporarily fill that position with a majority vote from the Board, until the election process is complete.

 

  1. ARTICLE VII. Board Member Training
    1. It will be the responsibility of the outgoing Board Members to train the new Board Members of their duties and responsibilities during spring quarter.

 

  1. ARTICLE VIII. Meetings
    1. Board members must meet at least quarterly and there shall be a minimum of one general annual meeting for all members.
    2. Additional meetings may be called at the discretion of the President provided no less than one week's written notice has been given to the members.
    3. There must be majority of the Board Members present to hold a Board meeting.

 

  1. ARTICLE IX. Budget
    1. Funds for use by GGSS may be available from a designated account or accounts that are maintained in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and which are under the authority of the Faculty Advisor. These funds may include gifts from private sources that are designated for use by GGSS.
    2. GGSS recommends allocations and expenditures to the Faculty Advisor for approval and signature.
    3. The Treasurer drafts the annual budget for the first Board Meeting of each year. The annual budget must be approved by majority vote of the Board and by the Faculty Advisor.
    4. Expenditures and pre-approvals for expenditures must be approved by the Board with a majority vote. Final approval of expenditures lies with the Faculty Advisor.

 

  1. ARTICLE X. Committees
    1. Committees shall be formed as necessary by the Board.
    2. Each committee shall be formed by volunteer basis.
    3. All committees shall report their proceedings at Board Meetings.

 

  1. ARTICLE XI. Amendments and Parliamentary Procedure
    1. An active member may submit a written proposal to amend the Bylaws to the Board. The proposal should have a minimum of 10 supporting active members, of which at least five must not hold a Board position. At least 33 percent of the current Board should support the proposal. A submitted proposal to amend the Bylaws is called a Proposed Amendment. A Proposed Amendment may include provisions for change in more than one Article.
      1. Within one month of, but no earlier than two weeks after a submission, the Board will hold a meeting open to all members to discuss and modify the Proposed Amendment.
      2. The Board will then revise the Proposed Amendment in accordance with the general consensus of the meeting and send a revised Proposed Amendment to the GGSS members within two weeks.
      3. Within one month of sending the revised Proposed Amendment the Board will hold voting among the active members to determine whether the provisions in the Proposed Amendment are incorporated into the Bylaws.
        1. A separate vote will be held for each amended or added Article in the Proposed Amendment. An amended Article will be incorporated into the Bylaws if majority of active members vote in favor of the proposed changes in that Article.
      4. The voting period for Proposed Amendments will be minimum one week.

 

  1. ARTICLE XlI. GGSS Website
    1. GGSS will have an official website at http://ggss.ucdavis.edu.

 

 

RATIFIED:

October 16, 2008

 

AMENDED:

            June 4, 2015

           January 17, 2021

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