ECCD BY-LAWS

BY-LAWS OF THE ENERGY CONVERSION AND CONSERVATION DIVISION

Adopted: 27 June 2011

[A] NAME

The name of this unit shall be the Energy Conversion and Conservation Division.

[B] OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this unit are identical with the objectives of the Society as set out in the ASEE Constitution, with an emphasis on those objectives that pertain to coordinating and promoting the understanding of energy conversion and conservation through engineering education. The Division also serves as a liaison with various technical organizations involved in energy conversion and energy conservation. The Division should consider its domain to include:

Energy conversion applications and methods

Energy management, efficiency, and conservation principles and practices

Electric power generation and delivery

Non-conventional augmentation of power production

Renewable energy resources including solar, wind, hydro, etc.

Climate control and thermal environmental engineering

Energy resources and environmental issues

Programs and discussion forums relating to the above information shall be presented at each annual meeting of the ASEE.

[C] 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. Regular membership dues in ASEE are required of all members to be on the current mailing list of the Division. There are no division dues for this Division.

[D] ORGANIZATION

The unit shall be administered by an Executive Committee composed of the Immediate Past Chair, Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, Program Chair, Newsletter Editor, and Web Page Editor.

The Chair shall represent the unit on the Council Board of the Professional Interest Council to which the unit has been assigned by the Society.

OFFICERS

The unit’s officers shall be:

Chair — serving a term of 1 year and succeeding to the position of Immediate Past Chair Chair-Elect — serving a term of 1 year and succeeding to the position of Chair

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Program Chair — serving a term of 1 year

Secretary-Treasurer — serving a term of 1 year

Newsletter Editor — serving a term of 1 year

Webmaster — appointed by the Executive Committee and may be re-appointed annually as long as he/she is willing to serve

Immediate Past Chair — serving a term of 1 year

The Chair and other elected officers shall assume their duties at the close of the unit’s business meeting conducted at the annual meeting of the Society. Appointed officers shall assume their duties upon appointment.

In the event of the resignation or death of one of the members of the Executive Committee, the vacated office shall be filled for the duration of the unexpired term by a person to be appointed by vote of the Executive Committee, except that:

In the event of the resignation or death of the Chair, the Chair-Elect shall take office as Chair immediately, serving out the duration of the unexpired term followed by the term to which he/she was elected;

In the event of the resignation or death of the Chair Elect, a special election shall be conducted within 30 days to elect a new Chair Elect and the Executive Committee may, at its discretion, appoint a person to fulfill the duties of the Chair Elect until the position is filled by election;

In the event of the resignation or death of the Immediate Past Chair, the vacated office shall not be filled for the duration of the unexpired term;

In the event that both the Chair and Chair-Elect are unable to fulfill the duties of their offices, the Executive Committee shall elect a Chair from its membership.

In the unusual event that an officer does not consistently perform duties as prescribed herein, this individual can be removed from office through a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

The CHAIR shall:

Have administrative responsibility for the conduct of all functions of the unit in accordance with these by-laws and the policies and procedures established by the Executive Committee.

Schedule, organize and conduct annual business meetings of the unit and all meetings of the Executive Committee.

Appoint with the advice of the Executive Board, all standing committees authorized by these by-laws and special committees authorized by the Executive Committee.

Compile an annual report of the activities of the unit as requested by the Secretary of the Society.

Assure that official cash disbursement signatures are on file at Society headquarters and approve all expenditures of Society funds.
Serve as Editorial Review Board Chair.

Serve as an ex-officio member of all committees.

The CHAIR-ELECT shall:

Act for the Chair at business meetings and Executive Committee meetings in the event of the Chair’s absence.

Take office as Chair, as specified in [E-3-a] above, in the event of the resignation or death of the Chair before his/her term is completed.

Serve as the Nominating Committee Chair.

Serve on Awards Committee.

Have responsibility for arranging sessions other than the business meeting and paper presentation sessions at the Society’s annual meeting. Specifically, the Chair-Elect shall arrange such sessions as mini-plenary and panel sessions; joint sessions with other interested divisions; and/or coordinate with other interested divisions to obtain speakers.

Provide timely program planning information to the Program Chair for submission to the Society.

The PROGRAM CHAIR shall:

Arrange and coordinate the unit’s activities at the Society’s annual meeting.

Work with the Executive Committee to develop technical programs in accordance with the unit’s objectives.

Coordinate sessions within the time frame set by ASEE headquarters for inviting speakers, notifying headquarters of logistical needs, etc., as set forth in the “Program Chair Guidelines” available from the ASEE Conferences department.

Arrange joint sponsorships of various elements of the technical program with other interested divisions.

Disseminate calls for papers.

Coordinate the peer review of papers for the Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

Serve on the Nominating Committee and the Awards Committee.

The SECRETARY-TREASURER shall:

Record the minutes of Executive Committee meetings and the annual business meeting, and distribute copies of the minutes to all members of the Executive Committee within sixty (60) days following each meeting.

Supply to the officers of the Division up-to-date copies of current bylaws with all amendments, within sixty (60) days following the annual business meeting of the committee, provided any changes were made.

Be responsible for the official records of the Executive Committee and the unit, and ensure that the files of the unit are passed along to his/her successor.

Tabulate, verify, and communicate the results of unit elections and other ballots.

Oversee and maintain the financial records of the unit and regularly report on financial status to the Executive Committee.

Collect unit income, if any, and disburse monies authorized by the unit Chair.

Keep records of all the unit’s outstanding receivables and payables.

Ensure that all the unit’s financial activities conform to the standards and procedures set forth in the ASEE Financial Policy Manual, which is available from the ASEE Accounting department.

Serve on the Nominating Committee and the Awards Committee.

The NEWSLETTER EDITOR shall:

Collect, evaluate, and edit material for periodic newsletters to the unit membership.

Coordinate efforts with the Division Chair.

Serve on the Nominating Committee and the Awards Committee.

Serve on the Editorial Review Board.

The WEBMASTER shall:

Work with the Division’s officers to develop and maintain the unit’s web site.

Ensure that the unit web site adheres to the policies and standards of the Society as to privacy and all other internet issues.

Serve on the Editorial Review Board.

The IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR shall:

Serve on the Executive Committee and, upon appointment, on such other standing and ad hoc committees as the unit may establish.

Serve as the Awards Committee Chair.

Lead the Awards Selection Committee in selecting recipients of unit awards in accordance with the provisions of each award and the policies and procedures established for awards by the Executive Committee of the unit.

Promptly communicate awardee selection and information to ASEE headquarters.

Notify awardee and nominator of selection and of presentation details.

Plan the presentation ceremony.

Notify nominators whose nominees were not selected.

Keep the Executive Committee informed about the activities and progress of the Awards Committee.

[G] ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The Chair-Elect shall automatically assume the position of Chair, unless he/she is unable to serve.

Officers in the positions of Program Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor are automatically candidates for the next higher office unless they personally act to remove themselves from consideration.

The Nominating Committee shall annually nominate candidates for each elected office for which the term is due to expire at the next annual business meeting. The officers to be elected by vote by the Division are the Chair-Elect, Program Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor.

Additional nominations for any elective office may be made at the annual meeting. These additional nominees shall be voted on along with the nominees selected by the Nominating Committee.

Except in the case of a special election necessitated by the resignation or death of the Chair-Elect, as required in [E-3-b] above, election of officers shall be conducted by written ballot among those members of the unit actually present at the annual business meeting. Special elections may be conducted by e-mail, providing that those members of the unit who do not have e-mail addresses on record have the opportunity to vote by either mail or fax.

[H] COMMITTEES

The Executive Committee shall establish such standing and ad hoc committees as it deems necessary to carry out the activities of the unit.

At least three standing committees shall be maintained: the Nominating Committee, the Awards Committee, and the Editorial Review Board.

The Nominating Committee consists of members of the Executive Committee. The Chair-Elect will serve as Nominating Committee Chair.

The Awards Committee consists of members of the Executive Committee. The Immediate Past Chair will serve as Awards Committee Chair.

The Editorial Review Board shall consist of the Chair, the Newsletter Editor and the Web Page Editor. All material to be published in the division newsletters and website shall be reviewed by the Editorial Review Board, which shall determine if the information is pertinent, suitable, and desirable. The Editorial Review Board shall also decide questions of budget limitations and reasonable newsletter format and length. The Chair will serve as Editorial Review Board Chair.

MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES

An annual business meeting of the unit shall be held during the annual conference of the Society. Those members present at the meeting shall constitute a quorum. The business meeting shall include at least:

Reports from the incumbent officers on the unit’s activities for the preceding year, membership, and finances.

Election of officers for the following year.

Presentation of unit awards, unless the unit schedules a separate function for that purpose.

The Executive Committee shall hold regular meetings during the annual conference of the Society and special meetings throughout the year as called by the Chair. Those members of the Executive Committee present at meetings of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

The Executive Committee may establish such other activities as deemed desirable to promote the objectives of the unit including the appointment of special committees to work with other societies and organizations on meetings or projects of special interest to the Division.

All meetings of the unit are open to all interested persons. Only members of the Executive Committee, however, are eligible to vote on Executive Committee matters and only members of the unit are eligible to vote on unit-wide matters, including the election of officers.

[J] 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 Article VIII of 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.

Persons desiring to present papers at the annual meeting of the ASEE and to publish papers in the proceedings of the ASEE must submit abstracts and papers to the Program Chair in a timely fashion and must comply with the guidance of the Program Chair and ASEE regarding presentation and publication.

Papers intended for inclusion in the Proceedings are subject to peer review, as described here. Papers shall be selected for presentation on the basis of abstracts submitted to the Program Chair. The Program Chair shall review the abstracts for quality, suitability, and timeliness of topic. If the Program Chair so desires, other members of the Division may be consulted to determine the suitability of submitted abstracts. If the abstract is accepted, authors shall submit their complete paper for peer review in accordance with the directions of the Society and the Program Chair. The Program Chair shall solicit two reviews for each paper from colleagues knowledgeable in the area presented in the paper. If the two reviews are in agreement concerning the publication of the paper, it shall be submitted or rejected for publication in accordance with the reviews. In the event of a “split decision” concerning publication, an additional “tie-breaker” review shall be obtained. Papers accepted for publication must be presented orally in a Division session at the Annual Conference of the ASEE.

The newsletter shall include pertinent, suitable and desirable Division related information including items submitted by members, within the limits of budget and reasonable newsletter format and length. Major purposes of the newsletter shall be to advertise calls for papers and Division sessions at the annual conference. The Division newsletter shall be delivered electronically to as many members as possible.

The Division website shall contain information of interest to the membership of the Division, such as calls for papers, abstracts for papers to be presented at the Annual Conference, copies of Division newsletters, and links to other pages relevant to the Division interests. The Division website shall be hosted by a member’s server in accordance with Society policies.

[K] AMENDMENTS

Amendments to these by-laws may be made at the annual business meeting of the unit, or by mail or e-mail ballot at any time during the year, upon affirmative vote by two-thirds of the members who vote. If e-mail balloting is used, those members who do not have e-mail addresses on their membership records shall be provided the opportunity to cast their vote by mail or fax. Only members of the unit may vote on proposed amendments to the by-laws.

Proposed amendments to these by-laws shall be prepared by a committee of 10 unit members appointed by the unit Chair. Proposed amendments shall be sent to the full membership of the unit by letter or in the publications of the unit not less than 30 days before they are to be voted upon. Proposed amendments may also be sent to members by e-mail, providing that they are also sent by mail to those members who do not have an e-mail address on their membership records.

Amendments approved by the division membership shall be submitted through the PIC III Chair for approval by majority vote of the ASEE Board of Directors and shall take effect only upon such approval.

[L] 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) to which the unit belongs.

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.

The Division may sponsor, or co-sponsor with industry, awards to recognize individuals for outstanding contributions in any aspects of energy conversion and conservation.