We have updated our bylaws! Downloadable version here.
Last Revised: August 2019, Approved November 2019
Major updates: Vice-Chair position removed, executive committee members recognized as officers of the section, 1-year term limits imposed for all positions, diversity statement added.
Previous Revisions: January 2010, February 2002
1.0 Name of the Section
The name of this organization shall be the Middle Atlantic Section of the American Society for Engineering Education, hereafter referred to as the Section.
2.0 Membership
The membership of the Section shall be those individual members of the American Society for Engineering Education who reside or are employed in the geographical boundaries assigned to the Section.
3.0 Officers
The officers of the Section shall be Chair, Chair-Elect, Past-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Secretary-Treasurer-Elect, Publicity Chair, Meetings Chair, Campus Representative, Historian, and Industry Liaison.
3.1 Duties of Officers
The following shall constitute, in part, the duties of the officers.
3.1.1 The Chair shall serve as the representative and administrative head of the Section, providing direction and leadership as required. It shall be the Chair’s duty to conduct all business meetings of the Section and all meetings of the Executive Committee. The Chair shall make those appointments required by these Bylaws, and discharge such other duties as are necessary for the proper conduct of the affairs of the Section.
3.1.2 The Chair-Elect shall serve as understudy to the Chair and provide assistance in areas designated by the Chair as well as taking responsibility for training incoming officers of the Section
3.1.3 The Past-Chair shall serve as adviser and consultant to the Executive Committee and the members at large. The Past-Chair will serve in a leadership role on the nominations and awards committees and is encouraged to organize “special events” for the section such as faculty development workshops, effective teaching seminars, student competitions, and tours of engineering-related industries.
3.1.4 The Secretary-Treasurer shall receive and have custody of all records of the Section, and shall provide written information concerning these as needed. The Secretary-Treasurer shall receive all funds accruing to the Section and make all such disbursements as are approved (or have been approved) by the Executive committee. At each regular Section Meeting, the Secretary-Treasurer shall provide to the members reports of the financial position. Periodically, the Secretary-Treasurer shall submit the financial records for audit by a member of the Section appointed by the Chair. Such audits shall occur preferably once each year but certainly at no greater time intervals than the occasion of the accession of a new incumbent to the office of Secretary-Treasurer. The auditor’s written report shall be submitted to the Chair and relayed to the membership at the next regular meeting of the Section.
3.1.5 The Secretary-Treasurer-Elect shall serve as understudy and assistant to the Secretary-Treasurer and is responsible for recording the minutes of the meetings of the Section, disseminating copies thereof as necessary
3.1.6 The Publicity Chair is responsible for preparing and sending the Section’s newsletters and for maintaining the Section website, and online presence.
3.1.7 The Meetings Chair is responsible for arranging and coordinating the Section’s conference activities for the year. The Meetings Chair will provide support to conference hosts and Chair the Committee on Meetings.
3.1.8 The Campus Representative acts as a liaison for the Campus Reps of the Section to the Executive Committee, is responsible for disseminating all pertinent information to the Campus Reps, and maintains a current list of Campus Representatives.
3.1.9 The Historian shall develop and maintain an accurate history of the Section. This should include a record of the officers, committees, meetings, awards, and programs of the Section.
3.1.10 The Industry Liaison is a non-voting officer of the section who serves to advise the officers and membership on the industry perspective towards the activities of the section.
3.2 Election of Officers
No election shall be held for the offices of Chair and Secretary-Treasurer, these offices being automatically filled by the accession of the Chair-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer-Elect, respectively. The positions of Publicity Chair, Meetings Chair, Campus Representative, Historian and Industry Liaison will be appointed by the Section Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee. The positions of Chair-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer-Elect shall be filled by election by a majority vote of those members attending the Spring Meeting of the Section. At each Spring Meeting the Committee on Nominations shall place in nomination the names of its suggested candidates for the offices of Chair-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer-Elect. The names of other candidates for the offices to be filled may be placed in nomination from the floor by any member of the Section. The nominee must be a member of the Section, and eligibility for office is not affected by the academic or non-academic nature of the nominee’s principal professional endeavor.
3.3 Terms of Office
The term of office of the Chair, Chair-Elect, Past-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer and Secretary-Treasurer-Elect shall be for one year. The Publicity Chair, Meetings Chair, Campus Representative, Historian and Industry Liaison shall serve indefinite terms following their appointment by the Section Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee. All terms shall commence at the start of the Society Year (as defined in the ASEE Constitution). If, for any reason, any officer shall fail to fulfill the term of office, it shall be incumbent on the remaining members of the Executive Committee to decide what temporary arrangements (until the next regular meeting of the Section), if any, shall be made for filling the vacant office and/or discharging its duties. At the next regular Section Meeting, the members of the Section in attendance shall decide, if necessary, how and when to fill the vacant office, and they shall conduct or order such additional balloting for office as may be required to implement their decision. All such decisions and balloting shall be by majority vote.
4.0 Committees
The Section shall conduct some of its business through the work of committees.
4.1 Standing Committees
The following committees are all standing committees of the Section: the Executive Committee; the Committee on Meetings; the Committee on Nominations; the Committee on Awards.
4.1.1 The Executive Committee serves as a steering committee for the general affairs of the Section.It is composed of all of the officers of the Section. The committee meets at times and places designated by the Section Chair, holding at least one meeting between each regular meeting of the Section.
4.1.2 The Committee on Meetings arranges the locations, times and programs of the meetings of the Section and provides any necessary support to conference hosts. The Chairperson shall appoint such members and sub-committees as may be appropriate to support the activities of the Section.
4.1.3 The Committee on Nominations considers the qualifications of potential candidates for elective office in the Section, and at the proper times, places in nomination the names of those candidates it proposes for consideration for office. In doing so, it is free to offer more than one name for each office to which election is to be held. The committee is comprised of three members serving staggered three-year terms. One new member is appointed each year by the Section Chair to assume Committee membership immediately after the spring Meeting; the appointee is normally the immediate Past Chair. The senior member of the committee shall serve as Committee Chair.
4.1.4 The Committee on Awards selects recipients of the Section Distinguished Teaching Award and oversees the process for selection of the Section Best Paper Award. The Committee comprises three members serving staggered three year terms. One new member is appointed each year by the Section Chair; the appointee is normally the immediate Past Chair. The second-most senior member shall serve as Committee Chair.
4.2 Special Committees
The Section Chair may appoint and discharge special committees as deemed necessary.
4.3 Committee Reports
The reports of all committees shall be in writing and shall be entered on the minutes in summary form. If recommending or requiring any action or expression of opinion by the membership, they shall be accompanied by an appropriate resolution or resolutions.
5.0 Internal Organizations
The following organizations may exist within the Section: Divisions, Chapters, and Institutes of Effective Teaching.
5.1 Divisions
Members with common interests may form Divisions within the Section which are reflective of the group structure of the (national) Society. These Divisions are intended to afford opportunity for individual members to become involved in current developments in the professional disciplines of their choice or in interdisciplinary affairs. The Divisions are free to structure their own organizations and to propose to the Committee on Meetings formal events for inclusion in the regular meeting programs. Such proposals shall be adopted where appropriate and mutually agreeable.
5.2 Chapters
Providing for direct local activity by members at one or more nearby educational institutions may be formed by the established procedures set forth in the Bylaws of the Council of Sections, Zone 1. All Chapter Activities shall be substantially self-sustaining. Each June in advance of the Annual Conference of the (national) Society, a written report summarizing each Chapter’s activities for the year shall be submitted by the Chapter leadership to the Section Chair for inclusion in the annual report of the Section.
5.3 Institutes of Effective Teaching
Under a Director jointly appointed by the Section Chair and the (national) Division of Educational Research and Methods, annual Institutes on Effective Teaching may be conducted under the partial aegis of the Section. Such institutes shall be financially self-supporting.
6.0 Meetings
There shall be two regular meetings of the Section each year, one in the fall and one in the spring. A special meeting of the Section may be called by the Executive Committee only after the determination of compelling need and widespread support for such a special meeting. Each meeting must be planned to be substantially self-supporting financially. The host institution, in conjunction with the Executive Committee, will set the registration fee for the meeting. The registration fee may include a per person surcharge to be returned to the Section.
7.0 Diversity Statement
The Middle Atlantic Section is also committed to promoting the inclusion and education of diverse individuals and embracing diverse ideas in the professions of engineering and engineering technology. The Section recognizes that diversity is strength in creativity, broadness of new ideas, and an embrace of new perspectives to arrive at the most truly innovative, resource-smart solutions possible.
8.0 Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of those members attending any regular meeting provided the proposed changes are brought before the membership in written form with the endorsement of the Executive Committee not less than 30 days before they are to be voted on. Proposed changes failing to gain such endorsement may be brought before the membership in written form at any regular Section Meeting, but may not be acted upon until the next regular Section Meeting. Amendments approved by the Section membership shall be submitted through the Zone I Chair for approval by a majority vote of the ASEE Board of Directors and shall take effect only upon such approval.