Bylaws

booksPurpose and Scope

The purpose of the Engineering Graduate Student Advisory Committee (EGSAC) is to advise the College of Engineering on topics that are important to graduate education and that impact the graduate student experience on campus. The EGSAC meets regularly with the Dean of the College of Engineering to bring forward ideas and concerns facing engineering graduate students. The EGSAC may, from time to time, make official recommendations to the Dean. The EGSAC may also support or sponsor activities, publications and other projects that benefit graduate students. However, the EGSAC may not serve as a formal grievance committee.

Membership

Requirements

  • EGSAC shall consist of 12 graduate students from at least three-fourths (3/4) of all engineering departments.
  • No department may have more than three (3) students on the committee.

Qualifications

  • Graduate student standing for the current school year.
  • Interest in representing the engineering graduate student voice.
  • Strong record of academic achievement (Graduate GPA 3.2 or above).
  • Involvement in academics (teaching, research) and extracurricular activities.

Duration

Member appointment by the Dean will take place in August and membership will last for the entire academic year.

Meetings

Meetings with the Dean of Engineering are to be held once per month during the academic year. Meetings among the EGSAC members are to be held at their discretion.

Quorum and Voting

The quorum is three-fourths (3/4) of the total number of members. All members of the committee, including the officers, are eligible to vote. Decisions will be made based upon a majority vote. If a majority vote cannot be obtained, the committee must readdress the issue before voting again. If a majority decision cannot be made after two attempts, the chair will make the final decision. Members may choose to abstain from voting, however voting may only proceed if the quorum is met.

Officers

At all times, the EGSAC shall contain five officers out of the members. The officers are elected by the EGSAC members at the first meeting of the academic year.

Chair

The Chair shall call EGSAC meetings as necessary and shall preside in all meetings. The Chair shall prepare the agenda for each meeting. He/she shall oversee all functions of the EGSAC and is responsible for ensuring that all EGSAC duties are fulfilled according to these bylaws. The Chair is responsible for facilitating communication between the EGSAC and the various components of the College of Engineering.

Treasurer

The Treasurer shall keep records of all financial transactions that take place in the name of the EGSAC. He/she shall be responsible for preparing an annual budget. The Treasurer shall submit an annual financial report to the EGSAC on the last meeting in May.

Secretary

The Secretary shall record attendance and minutes for each EGSAC meeting, and shall distribute them to the EGSAC prior to the subsequent meeting. The Secretary also shall maintain records of the Bylaws, minutes of past meetings, and current and past EGSAC Officers and Representatives.

Publicity Coordinator

The Publicity Coordinator works with the officers and members to promote the mission and events of EGSAC to the engineering graduate student body.  The coordinator also maintains the Twitter and Facebook accounts.  Additional responsibilities may include the creation of new publicity materials such as emails, flyers, and other announcements.

Funding Coordinator

The Funding Coordinator is responsible to seeking out opportunities for EGSAC to raise additional funds to help with various activities throughout the year and to secure additional funds to run a main event for the academic year.

Subcommittees

Subcommittees will consist of EGSAC members and any interested graduate student (non-EGSAC student) in the College of Engineering.  No board members (officers) can be a subcommittee leader. The scope of the subcommittees will be decided by the EGSAC members. Size of each subcommittee will be decided based on its scope of work. Selection of members to the subcommittees will be done during EGSAC meetings, based on interests expressed by the EGSAC members. At the formation of a subcommittee, the EGSAC members will determine the application process for non-EGSAC students. The appointment of a non-EGSAC student to a subcommittee is decided by the following procedure:

For non-EGSAC students to join a subcommittee, they must follow the application process chosen by EGSAC. EGSAC will then evaluate the applications and produce a short list of candidates to fulfill the required number of positions. The short list will be sent to the Dean for final approval. Once the Dean’s approval is received, the subcommittee applicants will be notified of the final decision. If a current EGSAC member or a student approved for another EGSAC subcommittee wishes to sit on a new EGSAC subcommittee, they do not require the Dean’s approval again.

Amendments

Amendments to the bylaws are approved if three-fourths (3/4) of the Committee vote in favor of the amendment.