Adopted April 1978
Revised August 1990
Revised June 2007
Revised June 2010
Revised June 2012
Revised August 2015
Revised August 2021
ARTICLE A – NAME
The name of this Division shall be the Women in Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education and shall use the name WIED.
ARTICLE B – OBJECTIVES
Members of the Division focus on the needs of engineers and engineering educators who identify as women and gender minorities, and also welcome those committed to the division’s purpose. The Division recognizes that a diverse membership builds strength, fosters creativity, and promotes meaningful innovation. The Division attracts, supports, and promotes the diversity, equity, and inclusion of all individuals by embracing multiple perspectives and experiences within engineering, engineering technology, and related fields. Division activities address issues related to recruitment, retention, persistence, and graduation in engineering, engineering technology, and related fields.
ARTICLE C – DIVERSITY
The Division is committed to fostering collaborative and inclusive environments that value equity and celebrate diversity. The Division commits to ensuring that we continually challenge ourselves to deepen and broaden our understanding of inequities, so that we are prepared to take action to transform our Division, our Councils, ASEE, our institutions, universities, and the whole of the engineering community. More information can be found on ASEE’s Statement on Diversity and Inclusiveness at https://diversity.asee.org/about/ and the ASEE SEFI Joint Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. (https://diversity.asee.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/05/ASEESEFI_DEIStatement.pdf)
ARTICLE D – MEMBERSHIP
The members of this unit shall be those members of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) who identify to ASEE their wish to be affiliated with the group each year and who pay the division dues each year. Dues shall be set by the members of the unit using the procedures indicated below in Section L for bylaws amendments. The dues shall be reported to ASEE Headquarters staff for
implementation.
ARTICLE E – ORGANIZATION
The Division shall be administered by an Executive Committee consisting of the Officers and the immediate Past Chair. The Chair and Secretary of the Division shall be Chair and Secretary of the Executive Committee, respectively.
ARTICLE F – OFFICERS
The Officers of the Division shall be the Chair, Program Chair, Program Chair Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Director of Awards, Director of Positions, two Directors at Large, a Webmaster, and Assistant Webmaster.
Each term of office shall be two (2) years, with the Treasurer, one (1) Director at Large, Director of Awards, and Director of Positions being elected in odd numbered years, Program Chair Elect, the Secretary, Assistant Webmaster and one (1) Director at Large being elected in even numbered years. The Program Chair shall succeed the Chair. The Program Chair Elect shall succeed the Program Chair. The Assistant Webmaster shall succeed the Webmaster. Elected officers shall assume office at the conclusion of the next Business Meeting of the Division.
In case of resignation or death of any elected officer of the Division, the Executive Board will appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the term of office, except, if the officer to be replaced is the Chair. The Program Chair will succeed to the office of the Chair for the unexpired term. An officer of the Division may remain an ex-officio a part of the Executive Board one year past the end of her/his term in a special assignment role due to extenuating circumstances and by approval of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE G – DUTIES OF OFFICERS
The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Division, shall present the Division to the Society and to the public, and shall perform such other duties as they normally pertain to this office. The Program Chair shall serve as chair of the Program Committee and, in the absence of the Chair, shall preside at meetings of the Division. The Webmaster shall maintain and update a Division website to inform members of the Division’s activities and to disseminate appropriate information, with the assistance of the Assistant Webmaster. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Division. The Treasurer shall keep the accounts of the Division. The Directors-at-Large shall perform such functions as may be assigned to them by the Chair.
ARTICLE H – ELECTIONS OF OFFICERS
The Officers and Directors of the Division shall be elected according to the following procedures: The Chair shall appoint a Nominating Committee no later than thirty (30) days following the Annual Business Meeting with the Director of Positions of WIED serving as the Chair of the Nominating Meeting. A call for nominations will be electronically mailed to the Division Membership by February 1 following its appointment. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate with at least one name for each office to be filled and including the names of those who have been nominated by the membership, to the Executive Committee no later than ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Business Meeting of the Division. The Nominating Committee shall obtain the consent of each nominee prior to submitting his/her name for nomination. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall conduct the election. Ballots will be made available to each member of the Division by April 1 preceding the Annual Business Meeting. A majority of the votes cast for a given office shall constitute election. Members must have at least thirty days in which to cast their ballot. All candidates will be notified of the results immediately. In case of a tie vote, the Executive Board shall cast the deciding vote.
If no candidate for a given office receives the majority of the vote, a run-off election must be held. Candidates in the run-off are the two candidates who received the highest number of votes. If their combined votes are not at least fifty percent of the votes cast, the candidate with the third highest number of votes shall be added to the run-off ballot. The Nominating Committee may not nominate the current Chair for a second term.
ARTICLE I – COMMITTEES
The standing committees of this organization shall be the Executive Committee described in Article D, a Program Committee, a Membership Committee, a Publications Committee, a Nominating Committee and an Awards Committee. The Chair of the Division shall appoint such additional committees as are deemed necessary and shall designate the Chairs of those committees who are not otherwise specified in these bylaws. The Chair of the Division shall be an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.
The Program Chair shall appoint and chair a Program Committee whose objective shall be to plan, develop, and arrange a sequence of programs to span two years.
ARTICLE J – MEETINGS
The Executive Board shall arrange for an Annual Business Meeting of the Division to be held concurrently with the Annual Conference of the Society. Interested persons, other than members of the Division, shall be eligible to attend all open meetings of the Division. Voting privileges, however, shall be extended only to members of the Division. The Secretary shall notify all members of the Division of the time and place of the annual meeting by electronic mail at least sixty (60) days in advance of the meeting. Special meetings of the Executive Board may be called by the Chair as needed.
The Division may conduct business by electronic mail between meetings providing all provisions of the bylaws are observed and that such business is reported at the next annual meeting of the Division. A minimum of thirty (30) days shall be allowed between the distribution of any ballot, motion, or resolution and the deadline for its return. Additional meetings may be called by the Chair.
ARTICLE K – PUBLICATIONS
The unit shall produce and distribute such publications as the Executive Committee deems appropriate to promote the objectives of the unit.
In accordance with the ASEE Constitution, papers and discussions presented at meetings of ASEE and the councils or groups therein shall become the property of ASEE and may be published as ASEE series, miscellaneous or occasional publications if authorized by the Board of Directors or its delegated representative. The ASEE Board of Directors, through its delegated representative, may grant permission to publish such papers and discussions elsewhere on condition that ASEE receive proper credit or may waive any property right ASEE may have in the paper or discussion. Papers not accepted for publication shall be returned to the authors and shall no longer be considered the property of the Society.
The Division may publish other materials to advance the objectives of the Division.
ARTICLE L – AMENDMENTS
Bylaws and amendments to the bylaws may be proposed, in writing, by any member of the Division, and if approved by a simple majority of the Executive Board, presented at the annual Business Meeting.
The Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Division members present and voting at the Annual Business Meeting provided that proposed amendments have been made known to the Division membership at large at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the Annual Meeting at which the vote is to take place. These Bylaws may also be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote, of the votes cast by the Division membership.
Amendments to the Bylaws may also be proposed by petition to the Executive Board, and signed by at least twenty-five (25) members of the Division. Amendments approved by the division membership shall be submitted through the PIC IV Chair for approval by majority vote of the ASEE Board of Directors and shall take effect only upon such approval.
New division and national awards must be approved by the Awards Policy Committee (APC). Once approved by the APC, the award description shall be submitted through the PIC IV Chair for approval by majority vote of the ASEE Board of Directors and shall take effect upon approval.
ARTICLE M – AWARDS
The Awards Committee shall be chaired by the Director of Awards, with membership appointed by and responsible to the Executive Board. The Program Chair is an exofficio member of the Awards Committee.
The Awards Committee shall be responsible for the annual selection of the Denise B. Denton Best Paper Award. The recipients are selected by a vote of the Awards Committee. The basis for selection is the quality of a paper submitted for presentation at the upcoming ASEE Annual Conference. The award consists of an honorarium and a certificate. The nominees for the Best Paper Award shall be selected by the Program Chair, with the assistance of the Director of Awards.
The Awards Committee shall be responsible for the annual selection of the recipient(s) of the Mara H. Wasburn Apprentice Educator Grants. The recipients are selected by a vote of the Awards Committee. The basis for selection is the quality of an application submitted in response to a call for applications. The award consists of reimbursement of up to $2,000 in travel expenses to attend the Annual Conference.
The Director of Awards shall annually announce these Awards to the Division membership at the time of the call for abstracts.
ARTICLE N – OTHER PROVISIONS
Any provision of these by-laws shall be deemed invalid if it contravenes the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society or of the Professional Interest Council (PIC) IV.
The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition, shall govern this unit in all matters of parliamentary authority to which they are applicable and in which they are consistent with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society and the By-Laws of this unit. In all other matters, the Constitution of the Society shall govern.