CONSTITUTION
Black Graduate & Professional Student Association
Article I
Name
The name of the organization shall be the “Black Graduate & Professional Student Association (BGPSA).”
Article II
Purpose
As a group of concerned Black graduate & professional students, we recognize the need to address specific issues and concerns relevant to Black students attending the University of Tennessee , Knoxville . Though the unified efforts of our membership, the purpose of the BGPSA shall be to:
- Provide for a meaningful higher educational experience:
- Encourage involvement in addressing the complex factors affecting Black students;
- Provide a support system for Black students enrolled in graduate and professional programs;
- Facilitate the recruitment, admission, successful matriculation, and professional development of Black students;
- Expand social support services for Black students; and
- Consult with faculty and administrators on matters of programming and curricula development pertaining to Black issues.
Article III
Membership
General Members
Section 1. General membership or the General Assembly shall be open to any student currently enrolled in a graduate or professional program or unclassified graduate status at the University of Tennessee , Knoxville . Furthering the objectives of the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association, membership dues for the academic year shall be determined by members of the Executive Board.
Faculty/Staff Membership
Section 2. Faculty/Staff membership shall be extended to any member of the UT faculty or staff community. Membership dues shall be determined by members of the Executive Board.
Executive Board Membership
Section 3. Membership dues shall be waived for members of the Executive Board.
Article IV
Officers
Section 1. Officers of the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association shall be elected from the general membership only. These members must be full time students in good academic standing at the time of election and during their tenure. No students on disciplinary probation for violation of any Student Standards of Conduct shall be eligible for office.
Section 2. Executive Board shall consist of the officers of the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association: the President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, Historian, and the Graduate Student Association Representative.
Section 3. The election of the Executive Board members shall take place during the Spring Semester of each academic year, by the majority vote of the general membership.
Section 4. The officers shall hold office for a term of one year. A term of office shall commence upon election and terminate upon the election of officers the following year.
Section 5. Vacated Office
- In the event of resignation or undue departure of any elected officer other than the President, the Executive Board shall have the power to appoint a member of the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association) to hold office until the next election. (The remaining members of the elected Board should reach a consensus on the appointment, but can use the Faulty Advisor or graduate advisor to cast the deciding vote in a split decision.) The office of the President, if vacated, will be filled by the Vice-President, after which, the aforementioned proceeding will take place to fill the position vacated by the Vice-President.
- In the event of a resignation or undue departure of any appointed Committee Chairperson, the President retains the power to appoint a member to fill that position. This appointment is subject to the approval of the Executive Board and will last for the remainder of the term.
- In the event of an undue departure of any committee member, the vacated position shall be presented to the general membership and anyone volunteering to assume the duties of the departed committee member, can fill that positions subject to the approval of the committee chairperson.
Section 6. The Executive Board should have the power to administer any and all programs, business, projects and matters pertaining to or concerning the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association.
Article V
Advisor
The Executive Board shall select the Faulty Advisor of the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association. The said person shall be a full time faculty or staff member at the University of Tennessee . The advisor shall verify that all officers are in good academic standing and not on disciplinary probation through the Office of Students Conduct.
Article VI
Meetings
Section 1. The Executive shall meet at least once prior to every regularly scheduled meeting of the general membership.
Section 2. The general membership shall determine frequency of its meetings in any given year.
Article VII
Financial Affairs
Section 1. The outgoing Treasurer shall deliver all records and money to the newly elected Treasurer within ten (10) days after election.
Section 2. All checks issued by the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association shall be signed by the Treasurer and either: a). the President or b) an alternate co-signer by the Executive Board.
Section 3. The fiscal year of the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association shall coincide with the term of office of the officers.
Article VIII
Disciplinary Proceedings
The Black Graduate & Professional Student Association is empowered to make and enforce its own rules and to require that its members refrain from conduct injurious to the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association or its purposes. The Executive Board shall have the power to Censure its members, committee chairpersons and committee members. The Executive Board and/or General Members shall have the power to impeach its members. Enforcement of any disciplinary proceedings shall be pursuant to the Black Graduate and Professional Student Associations' Bylaws.
Article IX
Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. Black Graduate and Professional Student Association is empowered to establish its rules of order through the adoption of some form of parliamentary procedure.
Section 2. The rules in the current edition of Roberts' Rules of Order shall govern the BGPSA in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not consistent with the Constitution and/or any special rules of order the BGPSA may adopt.
Article X
Adoption and Amendments
Section 1. The Constitution of this Association shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of the general membership, or by the Executive Board when general membership is below 10.
Section 2. Amendments and/ or repeals to this Constitution may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of the general membership present on the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the general membership, or by the Executive Board when general membership is below 10.
Section 3. The Constitution or Amendments thereof of the Association shall become effective immediately upon ratification, except where an alternative date is specified.
Contact
Black Graduate & Professional Student Association
c/o Office of Minority Student Affairs
1800 Melrose Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37996-4200
Phone: (865) 974-6861
Fax: (865) 974-0888
Email: bgpsa@utk.edu