Bylaws

Article I - NAME
Section 1
The name of this organization shall be the University of Chicago Women in Science

Article II - PURPOSE
Section 1
The purpose of this organization shall be to promote and enhance the experience of women in Science at all levels at the University of Chicago. It shall providea Forum for discussion of issues faced by women in Science, including, but not restricted to, the Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Mathematics, through social and educational events.

Article III - FIELD OF MEMBERSHIP
Section 1
All members of the University of Chicago community with a legitimate interest in the issues facing women in Science shall be eligible to become members of the organization. Voting membership is restricted to currently registered University of Chicago students. Non-voting members may include, but are not restricted to, post-doctoral students, faculty members, staff scientists and technicians, and administrative staff.

Article IV - OFFICERS
Section 1
The organization shall appoint the following Officers:
     Events Coordinator
     Publicity Chair
     Treasurer
     Mailing list coordinator

Section 2
All Officers must be currently registered students of the University of Chicago.

Section 3
The Officers will be appointed at the beginning of each school year for a term of one year. If an appointment occurs in the course of the school year then the appointment shall end at the beginning of the following year, when the new Officers are elected.

Section 4
The duties of the Officers shall be as follows.
The Events coordinator shall oversee the organization of events such as dinners, brown bag lunches, seminars, etc. It shall be her responsibility to solicit members to organize events, schedule events, oversee arrangements for room reservations, and coordinate the work of the treasurer and publicity chair for each event. In the event that the Treasurer is unavailable to make a transaction, the Events Coordinator may make deposits to or withdraw funds from the Organization's ORCSA account.

The Publicity chair shall be responsible for announcing events to the members of this Organization and the University community. This shall include sending e-mail announcements to this Organization's mailing list, posting announcements to relevant campus newsgroups, creating posters for events and distributing them to be posted by Members in their own Departments.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financing of the group's events. She shall keep accounts of all expenses and income, and shall serve as liaison with the Office of the Reynolds Club and Student Activities in all financial matters. She shall also seek funding when necessary from other sources, such as Departments and Divisions of the University and other funding organizations, as well as oversee fundraising activites. She shall be the primary officer responsible for all transactions to the Organization's ORCSA account. In the event that she is unavailable to make the transaction, the Events Coordinator is permitted to make transactions to the Organization's account.

The Mailing list coordinator shall be responsible for maintaining the electronic mailing list of this Organization. Her duties include fielding email requests to be added to or removed from the list, as well as resolving any errors resulting from incorrect email addresses. She will also serve as the email liaison for the Organization.

Section 5
Officers shall be selected at a meeting held at the beginning of each academic year. The Events Coordinator shall keep a copy of a document signed by each elected Officer agreeing to the terms of the Office.

Section 6

If an Officer fails to fulfill the duties of her Office, any voting member may request a vote to remove her from Office. If this vote passes by a majority of 66% + 1 vote, a new election for that Office alone shall be held. If an Officer ceases to be a registered student of the University of Chicago, a new Officer must be elected to replace her.

Article V - ELECTIONS
Section 1
Election of officers shall be held at a special meeting at the beginning of each academic year.

Section 2
Only voting members present at the special meeting may participate in the election process. Any voting member may nominate a candidate to an office, including herself. If only one candidate is nominated and she agrees to serve as Officer then no election is required. If more than one candidate is nominated, all nominated candidates who accept the nomination shall be entered in a secret ballot. Each voting member may vote for at most one candidate for each Office. Ties for first place shall be broken by holding a second vote for that Office, in which only the candidates tied for first place shall be on the ballot.

Article VI - HANDLING OF FUNDS
Section 1
All funds collected shall be deposited in the Organization's ORCSA account. The Treasurer shall be the primary Officer designated to handle organizational finances.

Article VII - AMENDMENTS
Section 1
Bylaws may be amended by a 66% + 1 vote of total voting members. Amendments may be tabled for vote at a later meeting.

Section 2
Any voting member who wishes to call a vote on an amendment to the bylaws must notify the members of this Organization by way of an email message to the Organization's mailing list, no later than one week prior to the meeting.

Article VIII - USE OF GENDER IN THE BYLAWS
Section 1
Although bylaws are written using the pronoun "she" when referring to members or Officers of this Organization, this Organization does not prohibit men from becoming members or holding Office.


UC Women In Science website created and maintaned by Stephanie Smith.
This page last modified March 8, 2004