Chapter Bylaws

PHI  BETA  KAPPA

 BY-LAWS

(Revised January 9, 2023)

Article I. Governing Members and Officers

Section 1.  The responsibility for the conduct of the Chapter as provided for in the Constitution and By-laws shall rest upon the Chapter members who are members of the faculty and staff of the University of South Dakota, and who are active in the Chapter, as defined by Article III, Section 8 of the By-laws.  These members shall be referred to as the governing members.

Section 2.  The officers of this Chapter shall be a President, Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer.  They shall be elected by ballot at the spring meeting and shall assume office at the opening of the succeeding academic year.  Their term of office shall be one year.  The officers shall be chosen from the governing members.

Section 3.  Duties of Officers. 

President--The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and of the Executive Council, perform any duties specified in the By-laws, and have the powers as usually pertain to this office.

Vice-President--The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in the event of the absence or inability of the latter to discharge the duties of that office.

Secretary-Treasurer--The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a list of all members, record the minutes of meetings of the Chapter and of the Executive Council, notify new members of their election, have charge of all funds belonging to the Chapter, defray all expenses upon order of the Chapter, and otherwise perform all duties usually pertaining to this office.

Article II. Executive Council

Section 1.  The officers, shall form the Executive Council, which the President shall chair, and in which shall be vested the government of the Chapter, subject to its vote at any of the authorized meetings.

Section 2.  The President may appoint other members of the Chapter to aid the Executive Council in carrying out its duties.

Section 3.  The duties of the Executive Council shall be:

(a) to prepare lists of nominees for memberships as directed in the By-laws.

(b) to prepare programs for all meetings.

(c) to have oversight of the finances of the Chapter

(d) to sponsor and direct the activities of the undergraduate membership of the Chapter toward a better understanding of the aims and purposes of Phi Beta Kappa.

(e) to perform other duties as the Chapter may determine.

Article III. Membership

Section 1.  The Chapter may have members in the following classes: members in course, alumni members, honorary members, and associate members.

Section 2.  Members in course.  Members in course are to be elected from among students with junior or senior standing in the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of South Dakota upon the basis of excellence of scholarship, breadth of course, and good moral character.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of the By-laws, the resident faculty members may construe scholarship and breadth of course for the purpose of election of members in course in accordance with the provisions of Article III, Sections 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

Ordinarily, no one shall be eligible who:

(a) shall have completed fewer than 90 credit hours or less than four semesters of full-time undergraduate study

(b) shall have completed less than 45 hours of institutional credit at the University of South Dakota at the time of election,

(c) has an average grade point of less than 3.7 in the liberal arts,

(d) is not pursuing a course prescribed for the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of General Studies degree.

Breadth of coursework ordinarily shall be demonstrated by completion of all the following area requirements:

Section 3. Alumni members.  Alumni members may be elected from among the most distinguished graduates of the University on the basis of good moral character, wide interest in educational and social progress, and recognized attainment in some worthy scholarly or scientific endeavor.  Only in very exceptional cases shall an alumna/us be elected within less than ten years after graduation, the reception of alumni members being intended to mark the tenth anniversary of their graduation or some subsequent anniversary.  No more than two alumni members may be elected in any year.

The names of candidates for alumni membership must be presented to the Chapter by the Executive Council at least one month prior to the date of their consideration for election.

Section 4. Honorary members.  On the basis of the qualifications that govern the election of alumni members and with the same restrictions relative to the presentation of their names, honorary members may be elected from those who are not graduates of the University of South Dakota.  No more than two honorary members may be elected in any year.

Section 5. Members of other chapters of Phi Beta Kappa who are members of the faculty and staff of the University of South Dakota, shall be associate members of the Chapter, with full privileges in the conduct of its affairs.

Section 6. Members in the vicinity.  Members of other chapters of Phi Beta Kappa living in the vicinity are to be invited to all public meetings of the Chapter.

Section 7. No member-elect shall be registered as a full member of this Chapter and of the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa who has not been regularly initiated into membership, either by the Chapter itself or by some other Chapter or group of Phi Beta Kappa members duly authorized to act for the Chapter in the reception of the member-elect.

Section 8. Active members.  Any member who has paid the annual dues for the current academic year and who has not requested inactive status is an active member.

Article IV. Election of Members

Section 1. Members shall be elected by the governing members, as defined by Article I, Section 1 of the By-laws.

Section 2. Manner of election.

(a) The election of members in course shall take place during the second semester at a time set by the President.

(b) All students who meet the requirements of Article III, Section 2, shall be deemed eligible for election.

(c) The qualifications of the candidates shall be subject to investigation prior to the spring election as the Council directs, and the results of the investigation shall be made available to the governing members.

(d) At the election meeting, after the qualifications of the candidates have been considered, formal voting shall be by secret ballot .  The vote of 75% of the governing members present (computed to the nearest whole number) shall be necessary to elect members in course, and the vote of 90% of the governing members present (computed to the nearest whole number) shall be necessary to elect alumni and honorary members.  

(e) If in the opinion of the Executive Council, alumni and honorary members are deserving of membership, the Council may propose candidates at a meeting to be held 30 days before their election takes place.

(f) Each member-elect shall be officially notified of election, informed of the time fixed for initiation, and presented with a request for formal acceptance.  No public announcement of the election shall be made prior to acceptance.

Section 3. Initiation. Initiation of members-elect shall be held as soon as practicable after the election.

Section 4. Number of members in course elected.  Not more than one-eighth of the membership of the current senior class may be elected.  

Article V. Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings.  Ordinarily there shall be a fall meeting and a spring meeting, the exact time to be determined by the President.  The fall meeting may be dispensed with if the Executive Council so directs.

Section 2. Special meetings.  Special meetings may be called by the President 

Section 3. All governing members shall be duly notified of the meetings of the Chapter.

Article VI. Order of Business

Section 1. Chapter meetings.  The order of business for general Chapter meetings shall be:

Article VII. Quorum

Five governing members shall constitute a quorum for any meeting at which business, including the election of members, is transacted.