Southeastern Section Bylaws


Southeastern Section Bylaws

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Adopted April 26, 1963, Amended April 19, 1966, April 7, 1972, April 4, 1978, April 7, 1981, 22 March 1983, April 8, 2003, April 6, 2004

Article I--Organization

The Section's membership shall be organized by areas of interest defined by Divisions that are grouped into three Units [(1) Programs, (2) Awards and Recognition, and (3) Publications and Promotion].  The Programs Unit consists of the following special-interest Divisions: Instructional, Administrative, and Research.  The Awards and Recognition Unit consists of the following professional-interest Divisions: Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering Graphics, Engineering Technology, and Industrial Engineering. The Publications and Promotion Unit consists of the following professional-interests Divisions: Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Software Engineering.

Article II--Requirements for Holding Office

All officers of the Section, including officers of the Units and Divisions, must be members of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Article III—Title Alignment

As noted in the constitution of the Southeastern Section, the President shall serve as the Section Chair as defined in the national ASEE constitution and the Vice-Presidents shall serve as the Section Vice-Chairs as defined in the national ASEE constitution.

Article IV--Election of Officers

Section 1.  Each Unit and Division will elect annually the following officers: Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary.    Unit officers must have previously held Division Chair positions.

Section 2.  The President Elect shall hold office for one year and be chosen from those who have previously served as Vice President or as Secretary-Treasurer.  At the end of the one-year term, the President Elect shall become President of the Section and hold that office for one year.

Section 3.  The Vice President for Programs shall be elected annually, with the nominee representing the Programs Unit and its assigned special- interest divisions.  The term of service is normally for one year.

Section 4.  The Vice President for Awards and Recognition and the Vice President for Publications and Promotion shall be elected annually, with the nominees representing their Units and assigned professional-interest divisions.   The term of service is normally for one year.

Section 5.  The Secretary-Treasurer shall normally hold office for three years and can be elected to a second three-year term.

Section 6.  The President Elect and Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected at an annual business meeting of the Section by a majority vote of those members present and voting.

Section 7.  If an officer is unable to serve until the end of the term, the vacancy will be filled according to the following: (a) Vice Presidents and Secretary-Treasurer-- (1) officers from the affected Unit will move up to the next level or (2) in extreme circumstances a person, if possible one who has previously served in the vacated position, can be appointed by the Executive Board; (b) President Elect-- (1) when President Elect is unable to serve, the President and President Elect positions will be filled at the next general election; (2)  fulfillment of President Elect duties will be delegated by Executive Board during the interim to the next election.

Article V--Appointment of Officers

Section 1.  Campus Representative Coordinator. The Campus Representative Coordinator shall be appointed by the Executive Board and shall report to President.  The Campus Representative Coordinator serves as an ex officio member of the Executive Board.  The duties include coordinating the activities of all campus representatives and representing the Section in this regard at national meetings.

Section 2.  Conference Host-Site Coordinator. The conference Host-Site Coordinator shall be appointed by the host institution.  In this capacity the site coordinator is responsible for the hotel and conference facilities, development of the conference budget in concert with the Vice President for Programs, and peripheral activities such as field trips, spouses programs, dinner speakers, and other non-technical aspects of the conference.  Furthermore, the local arrangements committee is responsible for preparing the Conference Program and Book of Abstracts.

Section 3.  Publications and Promotion Committee Members.  At-large members of the Publications and Promotion Committee serving as Proceedings Editor, Newsletter Editor, Transactions Journal Editor, and Website Coordinator, shall be appointed to a three-year term that is renewable by the Executive Board, and report to the Vice President for Publications and Promotion.  Appointees who have served at least one three-year term are eligible to run for office in the Publications and Promotion Unit, provided the have previously served as a Division Chair.

Article VI--Duties of Officers

Section 1.  The President of the Section shall: (a) preside at all general sessions of the Section, (b) preside at all meetings of the Executive Board, and (c) shall implement a plan supporting the mission and goals of the Section developed as President Elect

Section 2.  The President Elect shall:(a) develop a plan that supports the mission and goals of the Section, (b) preside over meetings when the President cannot act or is absent from the meeting, (c) and create the Annual Meeting Call for Papers in conjunction with the next year's host institution and provide the Call to the Vice President for Programs for dissemination.

Section 3.  The Vice Presidents of the three Units shall preside over meetings of their Units. Unit officers serve in the following capacities: (a) Programs Unit: Chair as Vice President for Programs, Vice Chair as Annual Meeting Technical Program Chair, and Secretary as a member of the Promotions Committee and Advertising Coordinator, (b) Awards and Recognition Unit: Chair as Vice President for Awards and Recognition, Vice Chair and Secretary as members of the Awards Committee, and (c) Publications and Promotion Unit: Chair as Vice President for Publications and Promotion, Vice Chair and Secretary as members of the Publications and Promotion Committee (handling special projects  and promotion). The Vice Presidents shall serve as members of the Executive Board, shall be responsible for the program of their Units at scheduled meetings, and shall be responsible for appointment of committees of their Units.

Section 4.  Vice President for Programs.  The Vice President for Programs shall: (a) Chair the Programs Committee, (b) be responsible for the overall conduct of the annual meeting through a coordinated effort with the Host-Site Coordinator, (c) disseminate of the Annual Meeting Call for Papers and the general announcement of the meeting as provided by the President Elect, (d) promote of the development of new faculty, and (e) coordinate workshops and seminars with, or in addition to the annual meeting, as approved by the Executive Board.

Section 5.  Vice President for Awards and Recognition.  The Vice President for Awards and Recognition shall: (a) Chair the Awards and Recognition Committee, (b) oversee the selection process for awards and any special recognition given by the Section including publicity, selection, and notification, (c) exercise responsibility for all award certificates and checks being available for distribution at the Annual Awards Banquet, (d) work with the Secretary-Treasurer to develop sources of funding, and (e) conduct a review of awards and make recommendations to the Executive Board to eliminate or create new arrivals.

Section 6.  Vice President for Publications and Promotion.  The Vice President for Publications and Promotion shall: (a) Chair of the Publications and Promotion Committee, (b) be responsible for the Conference Proceedings, Section Newsletter, Transactions Journal, Section Website, and any other publications authorized by the Executive Board, (c) promote the interests of the Section to the membership, to member institutions, to the public, and to the profession, (d) promote the annual meeting using appropriate publicly and through member institutions, (e) coordinate the Section's position on issues affecting engineering and engineering technology, as directed by the President and Executive Board, and (f) maintain and update future conference sites up to five years in advance.

Section 7.  The Secretary-Treasure of the Section shall: (a) be responsible for the minutes of all general session meetings of the Section and Executive Board and cause them to be kept as permanent records, (b) be responsible for all correspondence concerning the business of the section, (c) collect all income to the Section, and (d) keep a permanent record of all receipts and expenditures of the Section.  In addition, the Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for preparation of the annual budget, in cooperation with the President, and shall present it to the Executive Board for consideration annually. The Secretary-Treasurer shall furnish the host of the annual meeting a copy of the responsibilities of the host.

Section 8. The representatives to the Council of Sections, Zone II, shall represent the Section in that Council and shall report their activities to the Section.

Section 9.   The Secretary of each Unit and Division shall be responsible for the minutes of Unit/Division meetings and their distribution to the President, Vice Presidents and Secretary-Treasurer of the Section.

Article VII--Voting Privileges

Section 1.  All individual members of the Section are entitled to vote in the election of officers of the Section or on questions concerning the Section as a whole.

Section 2.  Individual members of each Unit are entitled to vote in the election of Unit officers of or on questions concerning the Unit.

Section 3. Individual members of each Division are entitled to vote in the election of Division officers of or on questions concerning the Division.

Article VIII--Standing Committees

Section 1. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee of the Section shall consist of the Immediate-Past President as Chair, the two preceding Past Presidents, and a fourth member appointed by the President from the Executive Board.  Nominating Committee duties include seeking, evaluating and nominating a candidate for each of the following Section officer positions: (a) President Elect and (b) Secretary-Treasurer.

Section 2. Programs Committee.  Programs Committee consists of the Vice President for Programs as Chair and four additional members.  These members include the Vice Chair from the Programs Unit, the Secretary of the Programs Unit who is the Advertising Coordinator, the Annual Meeting Host-Site Coordinator, and the Workshop/Seminar Coordinator.

The Programs Committee is responsible for the conduct of the annual meeting including promotion, budget, entertainment, conference workshops, technical program, and procurement of keynote speaker.

The Vice Chair of the Programs Unit is the Technical Program Coordinator and is responsible for the coordination of the conference program including workshops, keynote speaker, technical sessions, and review of papers, panel discussions, and all other aspects of the technical program.

The Secretary of the Programs Unit is the Advertising Coordinator and shall be responsible for disseminating the Call for Papers as provided by the President Elect and general announcement of the conference.  Further, the Advertising Coordinator shall promote the conference in appropriate publications and through member institutions.

The Programs Committee is also responsible for coordinating any workshops and seminars, as approved by the Executive Board, held at times other than the annual meeting.

Section 3. Resolutions Committee.  The Committee on Resolutions of the Section shall consist of the President Elect as Chair, and three additional members including the Secretary-Treasurer, the Immediate-Past President, and the Vice Chair of the Programs Unit.

Section 4.  Awards Committee. The Awards Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President for Awards and Recognition, and shall include the Vice Chair and Secretary of the Awards and Recognition Unit, the Secretary of the Publications and Promotion Unit, and Chairs of the Instructional and Research Divisions. 

The Awards Committee is responsible to form individual selection committees and coordinate individual Award reviews.  Selection committees shall consist of representatives from different institutions.  Selection committees shall verify that Awardees meet stipulated requirements, and will attend the annual meeting, if a requirement.

Section 5.  Publications and Promotion Committee.  The Publication and Promotion Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President for Publications and Promotion, and include the Vice Chair and Secretary of the Publications and Promotion Unit, the Proceedings Editor, the Newsletter Editor, the Transactions Journal Editor, the Website Coordinator, and the Section Campus Representative Coordinator.

The Publications and Promotion Committee is responsible for: (a) promoting the interests of the Section to the membership, to member institutions, to the public, and to the profession; (b) promoting the annual meeting using appropriate publicity and through member institutions; (c) exploring and formulating recommended Section positions on issues pertaining to engineering and engineering technology; (d) evaluating potential meeting sites for future conferences by considering the geography of the Section; (e) seeks new host sites approved by the Executive Board for future conferences while trying to include all member institutions. 

The Proceedings Editor, Newsletter Editor, Transactions Journal Editor, and Website Coordinator, duties as defined as follows:

(a) Proceedings Editor. The Proceedings Editor shall be responsible for publication of the proceedings of the annual conference in electronic or printed form as determined by the Executive Board. Included in the responsibility are preparation and update of templates for authors to use when preparing manuscripts for the conference.

(b) Newsletter Editor.  The Newsletter Editor shall be responsible for preparation, publication, and dissemination of the newsletters of the Section.  The frequency of publication shall be approved by the Executive Board and is dependent upon available funds.

(c) Transactions Journal Editor. The Transactions Journal Editor shall be responsible for publication of the Transactions Journal of the Southeastern Section. Included in the responsibilities for the journal are coordination of the editorial review board, solicitation of papers for the journal, review of submitted papers, and maintenance of high editorial standards for the journal.

(d) Website Coordinator. The Website Coordinator shall be responsible for the content of the section website and shall work closely with a designated individual at the web site host institution for implementation, update, and maintenance of the web site. 

Article IX--Funds

Section 1.  Funds of the Section shall be administered by the Executive Board.

Section 2.  In general, if funds are in the treasury, the Section pays for the following in connection with each meeting; printing of postal cards, spouses programs, car signs, and complimentary tickets for keynote speakers for the luncheon and or the banquet on the day they speak.

Section 3.  A registration fee may be charged for a meeting of the Section.

Section 4.  The host site must submit a budget for approval to the President of the Section before any expenditures are made.

Article X--Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the Section shall be from July 1 through June 30.

Article XI--Meetings

Section 1.  The annual meeting sites shall reflect the geography of the Section.

Section 2.  All members are to be sent notification and invitations prior to each annual meeting of the Section.

Section 3.  Each Host-Site Coordinator shall comment on the responsibilities and pass them on through the Secretary Treasurer of the Section to the Host-Site Coordinators for future meetings.

Article XII--Amendments to the Bylaws

These Bylaws may be amended by a favorable two-thirds vote of the members who are present at an annual meeting of the Section.  Amendments may be submitted by a majority vote of the members of the Executive Board of the Section or by petition signed by not fewer than ten (10) members of the Section.  Proposed amendments shall be circulated by mail or by electronic means to members of the Section not less than thirty (30) days prior to the annual meeting at which the amendments will be presented for adoption.

(Approved April 2004)
Adopted April 26, 1963 and as amended April 19, 1966, April 14, 1967, April 4, 1978, April 7, 1981, April 8, 2003, April 6, 2004

ARTICLE I - Name and Objects

Section 1.The name of this organization shall be the Southeastern Section of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Section 2.The mission of the Section shall be to: (a) enhance and promote the development and retention of effective engineering and engineering technology faculty, and (b) promote the assessment and development of effective academic programs in engineering and engineering technology that are responsive to the constituents.

Section 3. To achieve its fundamental mission, the Section has adopted the following goals:

  • Provide a forum for the exchange and evaluation of educational ideas and new pedagogical paradigms.
  • Provide for the recognition of excellence in engineering and engineering technology education.
  • Train faculties in student advising, personnel management, proposal writing, budget management, and other skills that will help faculty be successful in tenure and promotion.
  • Facilitate engineering and engineering technology curricula assessment and development.
  • Promote rational and achievable guidelines for tenure, promotion and the evaluation of faculty that support the three primary functions of the modern university, namely:
    • Undergraduate and graduate education,
    • Research and the development of knowledge, and
    • Service to the community.
  • Involve undergraduate and graduate students in activities of the Section to promote careers in engineering and engineering technology education.

ARTICLE II - Membership

Section 1. Membership in the Section shall be of two general classes: Individuals and Institutional.

Section 2. Individual membership shall be comprised of persons who are active in the American Society for Engineering Education.

Section 3. A member in good standing with the national organization of ASEE and living in the area of the Section is automatically a member of the Section.

Section 4. Institutional members shall be those institutional members of the Society, as defined in the American Society for Engineering Education Constitution and Bylaws that are located within the Section boundaries.

Section 5. The Section shall cover an area designated by the national organization of ASEE and presently including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any Latin American and South American Countries, including the West Indies Islands, having within their boundaries an authorized Branch of ASEE.

ARTICLE III - ORGANIZATION

Section 1. To serve the special and professional interests of the members of the Section and to fulfill the mission and goals of the Section, the Section shall be organized into three Units as defined by the Bylaws.  These Units shall be as follows: (1) Programs, (2) Awards and Recognition, and (3) Publications and Promotion.  Every five years the Executive Board shall review the Divisions comprising each Unit and make new assignments, if warranted, in accordance with Article XI of the Bylaws.

Section 2. Each Unitshall have a Chair, who shall be a Vice President of the Section, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary.

Section 3. The Programs Unit will represent special interest divisions, while the other two Units will represent professional interests divisions.

Section 4. Divisions ofspecial or professional interests within Unitsshall have a Chair, a Vice Chair, and a Secretary.  The Chair of the Division will act as liaison officer for the Division's interest. There is nothing to prevent a member of a division from participating in or hold office at the Unit level.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS

Section 1. The Officers of the Section shall be President, President Elect, three Vice Presidents who are Chairs of the three Units (Programs, Awards and Recognition, and Publications and Promotion), andSecretary-Treasurer.  The President shall serve as the Section Chair and the Vice Presidents shall serve as the Section Vice Chairs as defined by the national ASEE constitution.

Section 2.  The eligibility for office, the manner of election, and duties of the officers are set forth in the Bylaws.

Section 3.Officer terms shall be held in accordance with the following limits: (a) President-serves a one-year term; however, can serve a second term, but not consecutively; (b) three Vice Presidents representing Units--normally serve a one-year term; (c) Secretary Treasurer serves a three-year term; however, can serve a second term.

ARTICLE V - EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Executive Board of the Section shall consist of the President, the President Elect, the three Vice Presidents, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the Immediate-Past President and ex officio members as specified by the Bylaws.  Its function shall be to coordinate the activities of the Section.  Its actions shall be final as to (a) approval of budgets, (b) meetings, (c) appointments of officers to fill emergency vacancies, and (d) determination of eligibility of institutional members.

In case of a national emergency during which it is impossible for the Section to hold a regular meeting, the Executive Board may take any action on behalf of the Section that it deems necessary and advisable and will remain in office for the duration of the emergency; provided, however, that such action shall be reported to the Section at its first regular meeting thereafter.

ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES

Section 1. The Section shall have a Nominating Committee with duties defined in the Bylaws.  The Nominating Committee shall consist of the Immediate-Past President as Chair, Past Presidents serving two- and three-years previously, and a member, who is a non-candidate officer, of the Executive Board appointed by the President.

Section 2.  The Section shall have a Committee on Resolutions with duties defined in the Bylaws. This committee consists of the President Elect, Secretary Treasurer, Immediate-Past President, and a Unit representative as provided in the Bylaws.

Section 3.  The Section shall have a Programs Committee with duties defined in the Bylaws. This committee consists of the Vice President for Programs and four members as provided in the Bylaws.

Section 4. The Section shall have an Awards Committee with duties defined in the Bylaws. This committee consists of the Vice President for Awards and Recognition and five additional members as defined in the Bylaws.

Section 5. The Section shall have a Publications and Promotion Committee with duties defined in the Bylaws.  This committee shall consist of the Vice President for Publications and Promotion and up to seven additional members as defined in the Bylaws.

Section 6. Such other committees as may be required may be appointed by the President with approval of the Executive Board or by direction by vote of the Section membership.

ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS

Section 1.  There shall be at least one annual Section meeting at such time and place as set by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution may be amended by a favorable two-thirds vote of the members who are present at an annual meeting of the Section.  Amendments may be submitted by a majority vote of the members of the Executive Board of the Section, or by petitions signed by not fewer than ten (10) members of the Section.  Proposed amendments shall be circulated by mail or by electric means to members of the Section not less than thirty (30 days prior to the annual meeting at which the amendments will be presented for adoption.