BYLAWS
March 5, 2007
THETA GAMMA EPSILON-LAE:
American Criminal Justice Association
Preamble
We, the Theta Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon, shall be immediately deferred all rights, privileges, and obligations that accompany inclusion into the Theta gamma Epsilon with adoption and ratification of these Bylaws.
Article I: Chapter Designation
This Chapter shall be known as the Theta Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon.
Article II: Goals
Our local goals and objectives mirror those of our national society with a few specifics to our community added; they are as follows:
1. Promote community service
2. Enhance educational leadership
3. Encourage unity
4. Empower our members with the knowledge to succeed in today's world
5. Promote high standards of ethical conduct both internally and externally to the criminal justice field
6. Promote professionalism in criminal justice personnel and agencies.
7. Create awareness of viable criminal justice issues
8. Encourage the establishment and expansion of higher education and professional training in criminal justice.
9. Encourage education within the criminal justice field
10. Improve criminal justice by creating networks between professional and educational organizations
Article III: Membership
A. Qualifications for Chapter Membership
1. Undergraduate students with a major or minor in the field of criminal
justice, police studies, or corrections attending
2. Graduate students in the field of criminal justice, police studies, or
corrections attending
3. Individuals who are currently employed in the criminal justice field.
4. Those honorably retired from the criminal justice field.
5. No person shall be considered for membership whose occupation or activities are in conflict or inconsistent with the goals and objectives of the American Criminal Justice Association/Lambda Alpha Epsilon.
B. Membership Dues
There is a one-time initial fee of $36.00 charged to each new member, which is for national dues. There is also a $10.00 fee charged per semester for Chapter dues or $20.00 per year. Dues will need to be paid in the time frame between the first and second meetings or administrative sanctions will be imposed, which will result in inactive membership status.
C. Membership Conduct
1. All members are required to provide service to not only the organization but to the community as well, as outlined in the point system section of this document. Failure to do so will result in Administrative Actions outlined in this document.
2. All members must maintain a close contact with officers in order to ensure their own personal information is up to date so officers may be able to inform them of service opportunities accessible to them. All members must regularly view the website for updates, and if any information changes, i.e., contact information, the member is responsible for completing a "change of information" form.
3. Members must attend at least one meeting each semester to remain in active status.
D. Transfer of Membership
A member in good standing in any chapter or a member at large in any region, against whom no charges are pending and who desires to affiliate with this Chapter, may file an application for membership to this chapter and incur all Chapter membership dues upon membership approval.
Article IV: Officers and Their Duties
The officers of this chapter shall consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Sgt. at Arms, and an Extended Campus Coordinator.
1. The President shall preside over all Chapter meetings, have general supervision of all other Officers, form committees for discussion, and can with approval of other Officers and Advisor, create more officers for expanded duties.
2.The Vice President shall assist the President in any manner and be in charge of chapter recruitment and development and is responsible for keeping the files of current members as well as prospective members updated.
3. The Secretary shall be in charge of keeping records of the Chapter meetings and Officer meetings and be in charge of sending out semester invitations to prospective members. The Secretary will also post meetings to the webpage and keep all the meetings and minutes up to date for the local LAE website.
4. The Treasurer shall be in charge of Chapter accounting. At each meeting, the treasurer shall announce a detailed description as to how much money has been spent by the Chapter. This information will be disclosed at all Officers; meetings as well as at all group meetings. The Treasurer shall also announce at the beginning of his/her report, the number of current active members the chapter has documented. The Treasurer is also responsible for maintaining a ledger account of all monies that come into or are paid out of the funds of Theta Gamma Epsilon - Corbin Chapter.
5. The Extended Campus Coordinator will coordinate activities with all the extended campuses (other than Corbin). The Extended campus Coordinator will be responsible for setting up ITV meetings with extended campuses, keeping all members at the extended campuses up to date about current activities that are taking place, for keeping non-members at all extended sites up to date about upcoming meetings and events.
6. The Sgt. at Arms shall assist in preserving order as the President may direct. Upon directions of the President and the Chapter's approval, he or she conducts from the room any disorderly person who refuses to leave upon request. He or she shall also oversee the proper physical maintenance of the meeting room. He or she should be well versed in parliamentary law and be thoroughly familiar with the Bylaws of the Grand Chapter and other rules of the Association. He or she shall act as parliamentarian at meetings when directed by the President. He or she shall be familiar with the rules and guidelines pertaining to scholarships, such as the available scholarships, the requirements to apply, and the deadline dates for each.
Article V: Meetings
1. Meetings are a required function of membership; therefore, all members are expected to attend Chapter meetings.
2. Meetings will be held once a month at a date, time, and place designated and announced by the President. The Officers may decide to expand this to every two weeks depending upon the participation and size of the Chapter, and may be modified depending on the current agenda. All meetings are to be conducted via ITV with extended campuses which will be coordinated with the ITV staff a minimum of one prior to the meeting.
3. Meetings will be used to pass information to the members, plan events, raise pertinent issues to the Chapter, and obtain member input and feedback.
Article VI: Administrative Action
1. Members who fail to pay their Chapter dues on time will be made an inactive member.
2. Members wishing to regain their active standing will be required to pay all back dues for semesters missed as well as current semester. They will also have to petition the Officers for review to be reactivated.
3. Being made inactive will mean the member is not allowed to attend the national conference, as that will take funding away from members who have been active. Also, they will not be allowed to obtain cords to wear at graduation.
4. No cords will be ordered for any member until they have been approved for graduation.
5. Any member's conduct, which is found to be unbecoming of the organization, will be subject to member suspension of activeness until reviewed by the Officers and the Chapter Advisor.
Article VII: Incoming Members
1. All incoming members will be subject to a review board composed of Officers to ensure they meet all criteria and are prepared to do the service the organization requires of them.
2. All incoming members will be required to attend meetings, to check in with the Officers, separate from general meeting times, to be sure they feel comfortable undertaking the requirements of the organization.
3.The following are required for membership:
--Application, completed in ink, being sure it is legible.
--$36.00 fee to the national organization and $10.00 fee to the local chapter. The one-time fee to nationals ensures a lifetime membership. Fees to the local chapter are assessed at $10.00 per semester thereafter.
Article VIII: Officer Elections
1. Only members are eligible to nominate someone or themselves as a candidate for an Officer position.
2. Only members may cast votes in Officer's elections.
3. A majority of votes must be secured in order for a candidate to secure election to an Officer's position.
4. After an election and prior to the first meeting conducted by the newly elected Officers, both the incoming and outgoing Officers shall meet in order that the outgoing Officers shall advise the incoming Officers as to the specific duties and responsibilities of each office and exchange all official records.
5. When only one candidate is nominated for an Officer position, the decision as to whether or not that person will secure the office will be made by the Chapter Advisor.
6. In case of a tie or divided vote, the two names shall be voted upon again to secure a majority vote. If the second voting results in a tie vote, the Chapter Advisor will cast the declining vote.
7. If any current Officer chooses to resign or is unable to fulfill his or her duties, the Chapter Advisor will appoint someone to fill in as an acting officer until such time that this position can be filled by election by the current members.
Article IX: Meetings
1. Regularly scheduled meetings will be held every month with the date, time, and place to be designated and will be announced by the President of the Chapter. All meetings will be conducted via ITV in order that all extended campuses may participate in all of the meetings.
2. Special meetings may be called at any time by the President or by written request by one-third of the active members, provided the purpose of the meeting is stated.
Article X: Order of Business
The following order of business will be used as a general guideline, but may be altered to fit the needs of the agenda:
1. Roll call
2. Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting
3. Reports of the Officers and committees
4. Discussion of unfinished or old business
5. Discussion of new business
6.Pdresentation of new proposals
7. Discussion of the next meeting
8. Adjournment
Note: guest speakers may be heard at any time during a meeting.
Article XI: Committees
Committees, standing or ad hoc, shall be appointed by the President. The Officers, from time to time, may deem necessary to carry out the work of the committees.
Article XII: Removal of Officers
Any officers who fails to attend two Chapter meetings per semester, which shall be deemed unexcused by the other officers, shall automatically lose his or her office.
Article XIII: General Disciplinary Procedures for Members
Actions tending to injure the good name of the Chapter, disturb their well-being, or hamper their work may result in the imposition of appropriate disciplinary action against said member as deemed necessary by the Officers and Chapter Advisor.
Article XIV: General Fund
A general fund is hereby created. All revenues derived from any source shall
be in the care of the Treasurer and shall be administered following the rules
and regulations of
A percentage of all income received may be set aside for scholarships by which qualifying students may receive assistance in paying for the national membership fee.
Note: The scholarship fund is subject to modification(s) by the Faculty Advisor in order to facilitate and promote the scholarship’s funds and objectives. The Faculty Advisor may, at his discretion, appropriate the funds in the area(s) that he thinks will create the greatest benefits to the students.
Article XV: Amendments to the Bylaws
The Chapter bylaws may be amended to meet the goals and objectives of the Chapter as deemed necessary by the Officers and the Faculty Advisor.
Article XVI: Initiation Ceremony
An initiation ceremony will be conducted annually as a way to welcome new members into our Chapter and to show appreciation for all their hard work and dedication to the local chapter. Details will be announced by the President a few weeks prior to the initiation ceremony, so those interested members can make arrangements to attend. Please note that this ceremony is only open and available to those students who are active members.