Pacific Northwest Section Bylaws


Pacific Northwest Section Bylaws

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Adopted May 7, 1976
Revised May 5, 1978
Revised May 4, 1979
Revised May 2, 1980
Revised May 1, 1983
Revised May 9, 1987
Revised April 20, 1991
Revised October 14, 2005
Revised April 28, 2007
Revised May 22, 2017

ARTICLE I: NAME AND OBJECTIVES

Section 1: Name. The name of this organization shall be the PACIFIC NORTHWEST SECTION of the AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION.

Section 2: Area. The section geographical area includes the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Section 3: Purpose. The purpose of this Section shall be the promotion of high standards and ideals in the conduct of engineering and engineering technology education with respect to administration, curricula, teaching, research and maintenance of high professional standards among its members.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Member Definitions. Membership in the Section shall be open to all members of the American Society for Engineering Education who reside within the geographical boundaries of the Section. Membership shall be of three classes: individual, institutional, and corporate.

a. Individual membership shall be composed of all individual members of the Society residing in the section.

b. Institutional membership shall be composed of all institutional members of the society located within the Section.

c. Corporate membership shall be composed of all corporate members of the society located within the Section.

ARTICLE III: OFFICERS AND DUTIES

Section 1: Officer Positions. 

a. Elected section officers shall consist of the Vice-Chair (Chair-elect), Secretary, Treasurer, and Section Campus Representative.

b. Appointed section officers shall consist of the Information Officer, Chair-Annual Meeting Committee, Chair-Awards Committee, and Corporate Representatives. All are appointed by the Section Governing Board.

c. Assumed section officers shall consist of the Chair and the Immediate Past Chair. The outgoing Vice-Chair automatically assumes the Chair position. In cases where the outgoing Vice-Chair does not assume the Chair position, the new Chair is elected. The outgoing Chair assumes the position of the Immediate Past Chair. The Vice Chair serves as the Chair-Nominations Committee.

Section 2: Terms. Officers shall hold office for terms indicated below.

a. One-year term: Chair-Annual Meeting Committee, Chair-Awards Committee, Chair-Nominations Committee

b. Two-year term: Chair, Vice-Chair (Chair-elect), Immediate Past Chair, Section Information Officer

c. Three-year term: Secretary, Treasurer, Section Campus Representative, Corporate Representatives

Section 3: Officer Selection. 

a. Nominations for elected positions shall be made annually. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of nominees for vacated offices for the succeeding year. The list of nominees shall be included in the winter issue of the Section Newsletter sent to all Section members, along with notice that additional nominations may be made by a petition signed by five Section members and sent to the Nominating Committee by a prescribed date.

b. Elections shall be completed at least one week prior to the Section Annual Meeting. The Chair shall send a ballot, with space for write-in candidates, to all members of the Section not later than one month prior to the Section Annual Meeting. A simple majority of those votes received not later than one week prior to the Annual Meeting shall elect.

c. Appointments shall be made at the Section Annual Meeting. The Governing Board shall make officer appointments for any open appointed officer positions at the Section Annual Meeting.

Section 4: Officer Start Date. All officers shall be declared elected at the Section Annual Meeting and shall take office at the end of the National Annual Conference.

Section 5: Corporate Representatives. Three Corporate Representatives shall serve as voting members of the Governing Board. Such representatives shall be individual members of the Section who are employed by corporations as distinct from educational institutions. Their terms of office shall be staggered so that continuity is maintained.

Section 6: Governing Board. 

a. The Governing Board composition shall be the Section officers and all Campus Representatives within the Section. They shall conduct Section business at regularly scheduled meetings.

b. The Executive Board shall consist of the Section Chair, Vice Chair (Chair-Elect), Immediate Past Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Section Campus Representative. They shall perform the necessary business of the Section between meetings of the Governing Board. All actions of the Executive Board shall be reported to the Governing Board.

Section 7: Liaisons. Liaison representatives may be appointed from relevant Divisions of the Society. In addition, ad hoc committees may be appointed from time to time as deemed necessary by the Governing Board.

Section 8: Vacancies. If a vacancy occurs in any of the offices, such vacancy shall be filled by an appointment made by the Executive Board until the next regular election or appointment date.

Section 9: Duties of Officers.

a. The Section Chair shall:

1. Arrange and preside at the business meetings of the Section and at Executive Board and Governing Board meetings;
2. Serve as a representative to the Council of Sections, Zone IV;
3. Provide overall planning of Section activities;
4. Serve as an ex-officio member of all Section activities;
5. Be responsible for the activities of the Awards Committee through the chair of that Committee;
6. Distribute a ballot, containing nominations for all open positions, to all Section members;
7. Prepare the Section Annual Report to be sent to National office with copy to Permanent Records Secretary.

b. The Vice-Chair (Chair-Elect) shall:

1. Assume the office of Chair upon unexpected vacancy or expiration of the term;
2. Promote individual, institutional, and corporate memberships within the section;
3. Preside at Section and Board meetings in the absence of the Chair;
4. Be a representative to the Council of Sections, Zone IV;
5. Be responsible for planning activities of the Section for years beyond the year of this office;
6. Serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee.

c. The Secretary shall:

1. Record the minutes of the Section Annual Business meeting, Governing Board meetings, and Executive Board meetings;
2. Maintain the membership list of Governing Board members;

d. The Treasurer shall:

1. Maintain appropriate financial records for the Section;

e. The Section Campus Representative shall:

1. Coordinate campus representative efforts and campus sponsored ASEE activities;
2. Promote membership activities in appropriate institutions of higher education in the Section;
3. Obtain annual reports from all Campus Representatives in the Section and submit to the Section Chair at the Section Annual Business meeting;
4. Serve as a member of the Campus Liaison Board which meets annually at the ASEE National conference.

f. The Chair-Annual Meeting Committee shall;

1. Oversee the organization and conduct of the Section Annual Meeting;
2. Prepare advance publicity for the Section Annual Meeting for inclusion in the Section Newsletter.
3. Prepare a report on the Section Annual Meeting for inclusion in the Section Newsletter.

g. The Chair-Awards Committee shall:

1. Oversee the process for making all Section awards;
2. Communicate and coordinate Section and National awards.

h. The Permanent Records Secretary shall:

1. Be responsible for organizing, storing, maintaining and making available past records of the Section.

i. The Immediate Past Chair shall:

1. Serve as Chair of the Awards Committee.

j. The Information Officer shall:

1. Seek out and facilitate efforts to publicize the Society and Section;
2. Publish a minimum of two Section Newsletter issues per year.

Section 10: Committees. 

a. The Awards Committee shall consist of four appointed members and the Immediate Past Chair. Each year, the Governing Board will appoint two new members to the Awards Committee for a two year term. The Immediate Past Chair serves as the Chair-Awards Committee.

b. The Annual Meeting Committee shall include the Chair-Annual Meeting, the host institution support faculty, and the chairs of the two previous Section Annual Meetings. The Annual Meeting Committee shall organize the annual meeting of the Section.

c. The Nominations Committee shall consist of the Vice-Chair and two Campus Representatives or Chapter Chairs. The Nominations Committee shall be appointed annually by the Governing Board. The Vice-Chair serves as the Chair-Nominations Committee.

ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS

Section 1: Required Meetings. The following meetings shall be held each year:

a. Annual Business meeting;

b. Two Governing Board meetings.

Section 2: Meeting Locations. The location of the Annual Meeting will rotate throughout the geographical regions of the Section as determined by the Governing Board.

Section 3: Meeting Dates:

a. The Section Annual Meeting will be held in the spring of the year;

b. A Governing Board meeting will be held during the fall;

c. Normally, a Governing Board meeting will be held in conjunction with the Annual Section Meeting.

ARTICLE V: AMENDMENTS

These bylaws may be amended by:

a. an affirmative vote of two-thirds of those members present at any regular meeting of the Section,

OR

b. an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the voting Section membership if the Executive Board chooses to conduct a mail or other form of vote by members not casting votes in person.