PRIMARY CONSTITUTION

Legislated (January 2005)

PREAMBLE

In order to serve and represent female students of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s College of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering is established as the representative organization that deals with all matters concerning their education, research fellowships, leadership development and all other important relevant business.  Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering should be responsible for:

A.  Constructing a comfortable environment for everybody who studies or does research in Electrical and Computer Engineering, hereby referred to as ECE, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign;

B.  Encouraging the continual improvement of engineering education and professionalism within the ECE Department by advocating relevant policy, practices, and curricula changes;

C.  Creating awareness of issues relevant to women in ECE;

D.   Providing opportunities for students to meet prominent women in the ECE field;

E.   Recognizing outstanding students with scholarships in the ECE Department;

F.   Promoting extracurricular dialogue between students and faculty in the ECE Department;

G.   Developing leaders within the ECE department.

ARTICLE I NAME

The name of the Organization shall be Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering, hereby referred to as WECE, and pronounced “wee-see”.

ARTICLE II MISSION

WECE is a professional, educational, and service organization dedicated to supporting and encouraging women in ECE through activities including, but not limited to, leadership workshops, academic events, social and networking opportunities.

ARTICLE III VISION

WECE aims to motivate and develop leaders in ECE while increasing and maintaining female enrollment through outreach programs and academic support respectively.

ARTICLE IV MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING PRIVILEGES

Section I:  All registered Student Members in WECE shall be eligible for representation. 

Section II:  Membership in this organization shall be open to all ECE students enrolled at the University of Illinois.  Those who are interested in being registered Student Members of WECE shall follow the current procedures for membership as outlined in the Bylaws.

Section III:  All registered members of WECE shall receive notice and announcements of General Meetings and other WECE-sponsored events.

ARTICLE V OFFICERS

Section I:  The Executive Board of WECE shall consist of the following Officers:

A.                 President

B.                 Vice President & Alumni Liaison

C.                 Treasurer

D.                 Secretary

E.                  Academic Director & EOH Chair

F.                  Outreach Director

G.                 Publicity Chair

H.                 Social & Philanthropy Chair

I.                    Engineering Council Representative (EC Representative)

Section II:  The office of Webmaster is not on the Executive Board, but may be filled by any student who submits a petition for office to the Vice President, granted the position is not currently filled.  The office of Webmaster will be determined by a plurality vote of the WECE Executive Officers.

Section III:  The Officers must be Student Members.  All Executive Board Officers shall be elected for a term of one year at a WECE General Meeting as defined by Article VI—Section IV.  Election to office will be decided by a plurality vote of WECE Student Members present and voting.

Section IV:  All candidates for office shall:

A.                 Be a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign actively pursuing a degree in ECE;

B.                 Have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average;

C.                 Submit a petition for election to the Vice President at a time prior to elections as specified by the Vice President;

D.                 Be present at time of elections.

Section V:  At the time of elections, if no one has submitted a petition for a certain office, nominations from the floor shall be accepted for that office.

Section VI: President and Vice President are counted as the Core Positions.  Only current officers can run and vote for the core positions.  The remaining officer positions are open to all members to run.

Section VII:  The impeachment of an officer shall require a two-thirds majority vote of the WECE Executive Board.  Impeachment proceedings may be undertaken by any member of WECE in the event that an officer fails to execute the duties of office.

Section VIII: In the event of a vacancy in an elected office other than the President, the President may appoint an interim officer to fill the position for the rest of the term with the consent of the Executive Board, or leave the position empty.  In the event of a vacancy in the office of the President, the Vice President shall serve as Acting President until an election can be held to fill the position.

Section IX:  All Executive Officers shall submit an informal announcement such as e-mails to the President, in case they are not able to attend the Executive Board Meeting.  The impeachment of an officer will be brought up, if he has failed to do so twice.

ARTICLE VI COMMITTEES

Section I:  Standing committees shall be organized to provide a forum for student input and activities.

Section II:  Committee participation shall be open to all students, undergraduate and graduate, actively pursuing a degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in ECE.

Section III:  The establishment of a temporary committee and the appointment of its chairperson may be decided by a two-thirds majority vote of the Executive Board.  The chairperson of the temporary committee shall be come a non-voting member of the Executive Board for the duration of his position.

ARTICLE VII MEETINGS

Section I:  The Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering General Meeting location and time shall be decided by the WECE Executive Board.

Section II:  It shall be the prerogative of the Executive Board to choose a modified form of a Parliamentary procedure to be followed at all Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering meetings.

Section III:  A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

Section IV:  A quorum must be present to conduct a meeting.

Section V:  Executive Board officers shall attend all WECE meetings unless excused by the President or the Vice President in the absence of the President.

ARTICLE VIII FINANCES

Section I:  All funding for Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering meetings and events will be provided through corporate sponsorships, SORF, and Engineering Council.

ARTICLE IX AMENDMENTS

Section I:  The Constitution and its Bylaws shall be reviewed at the start of every academic year by the Executive Board.

Section II:  Proposed amendments to the Constitution may be submitted by any WECE member to the President in writing.

Section III: The Constitution may be revised as necessary with approval of the majority of the Executive Board.  

ARTICLE X BYLAWS

Section I: Bylaws shall be established for the purposes of governing the operations and administration of the Society.

Section II: Proposed amendments to the Bylaws may be submitted by any WECE member to the President in writing.

Section III: The Bylaws may be revised as necessary with approval of the majority of the Executive Board.  

ARTICLE XI GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section I: An Executive Board Officer must be present at a General Meeting to vote; no Executive Board member may vote by proxy or absentee ballot.

Section II: The presiding officer may not vote on any matter before WECE except that, in the event of a tie, the presiding officer shall vote to decide the question.

Section III: Any Executive Board decision may be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote of the WECE members in attendance at the general meeting.  Likewise, a two-thirds majority vote by the WECE members can give the President or any other member of the Executive Board the executive authority concerning a specific decision to act as necessary.

Section IV: All WECE members shall be notified of the following business at least one meeting before such business is to be acted on via email:

A.                 Elections for all offices;

B.                 Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws;

C.                 The granting, revoking or reinstating of a given society's representation privilege;

D.                 Impeachment proceedings.