STARS Constitution

Constitution of the UNCG STARS Alliance

(last revision 03/24/2021)

Article I Name

1. This organization shall be called the UNCG Student Chapter of the STARS Alliance. Hereafter it shall be referred to as the Chapter; the national STARS Alliance is referred to as STARS; and the STARS Leadership Committee is referred to as the Executive Council.

Article II Purpose

1. The Chapter is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes to promote the following:

An increased knowledge of and greater interest in the science, design, development, construction, languages, management and applications of modern computing.

Greater interest in computing and its applications.

A means of communication between persons having an interest in computing.

Conducting outreach programs to broaden and increase the participation of high-school students, especially in underrepresented demographics.

2. The Chapter will serve students at UNCG and other interested persons in the Greensboro community.

3. The Chapter is chartered by the STARS Alliance through a grant from the National Science Foundation, in conjunction with the Information Systems/Operation Management and Computer Science departments of UNCG.

Article III Membership

1. Membership in the Student Chapter shall be open to all UNCG student body/faculty members. The Chapter shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, military, veteran status, political affiliation or sexual orientation.

2. Voting membership is extended to all members of the STARS Alliance including the Leadership committee.

Article IV Officers

1. The officers of this Chapter shall be: President, Vice president, Secretary, Treasurer, as well as an additional three committee members.

2. All officers of the Chapter must be members of STARS Alliance for at least one full semester or approved by the faculty adviser.

3. The officers shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the annual election meeting by way of a democratic secret ballot. The nominated members may cast votes. The recipient of a plurality of votes shall take office immediately and serve for one academic year.

4. Nominations are to be made during the annual election meeting by any member of the STARS community or one of it is advisers. Nominees may be any member of the STARS community provided they fulfill all other requirements found in this constitution.

5. No member may serve in the office of President or Vice President for more than two consecutive years.

6. Removing an officer may occur when the majority of the Chapter Council motions for removal and is finalized by a majority vote.

7. In case of an unforeseen vacancy, the Adviser may appoint an eligible temporary replacement for the vacated position until a special election can be held to appoint a permanent replacement. This replacement shall serve out the remainder of the previous officer's term.

Article V Duties of Officers

1. The President is the principal officer and is responsible for leading the Chapter and managing its activities in accordance with the policies and procedures of STARS and these bylaws. The President shall preside at all meetings of the chapter and of its Executive Council. The Executive Council shall consist of the Chapter officers, the Student Chapter Sponsor, and Presidents of the Chapter's standing committees.

2. The Vice President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President, assist the President in the management of the Chapter, and perform other duties that may be assigned by the President.

3. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all Chapter and Executive Council meetings. Other duties of the Secretary include:

a. Maintaining the records of the Chapter.

b. Preparation of the Chapter's activity report and officer contact information, and submission of these to the national STARS organization.

c. Submission of any proposed amendment to these bylaws to the STARS Chief Operating Officer. Proposed amendments must be approved before they can be submitted to the Chapter's membership for a vote.

d. Perform other duties as assigned by the President.

4. The Treasurer shall collect any imposed dues, pay all bills, and maintain the Chapter's financial records. Duties of the Treasurer also shall include:

a. Preparation of the Chapter's Annual Financial Report for presentation to the Chapter at the Annual Election meeting.

b. Performance of other duties as assigned by the President.

5. The committee provides a secondary voting council.

Article VI Chapter Sponsor

The Sponsor shall be a faculty member or full-time staff member of your school. Each Student Chapter has one Sponsor.

1. The Student Chapter Sponsor shall be a voting member of STARS Alliance and either a member of the faculty or full-time staff of UNCG

2. The Student Chapter Sponsor shall be selected by the Executive Council immediately following the Election Meeting.

3. The Student Chapter Sponsor shall be generally responsible for the activities of the Chapter. Specifically, the Sponsor:

a. Helps provide continuity from year to year as student leadership and personnel change;

b. Promotes good student-faculty relationships;

c. Helps maintain university standards in all activities of the Chapter;

d. Exercises financial supervision, if necessary, by:

i Promoting prompt payment of bills and collection of dues, and

ii Overseeing the settlement of all accounts in the event of dissolution of the Chapter;

e. Represents the Chapter interests to the faculty and administration.

Article VII Standing Committees

1. The standing committees of the Chapter shall be Program, Arrangements, Education, Membership, Publicity, etc.

a. The Program Committee shall plan and make arrangements for the technical programs of the Chapter's meetings in accordance with the membership's interests and the aims of the Chapter as set forth in Article II.

b. The Publicity Committee shall maintain a mailing list and publish and distribute all notices and publicity for and to the members of the Chapter.

Article VIII Temporary Committees

With the advice of the Chapter's Executive Council, the President may appoint such temporary committees as appropriate.

1. A Nominating Committee, consisting of at least three voting members of the Chapter, at least two of whom shall not be members of the Executive Council, shall be appointed by the Chapter President at least two months prior to the Election Meeting.

2. An Audit Committee shall be appointed by the Chapter President at the close of the fiscal year to assure the accuracy of the accounting of the Chapters funds for the year. This Committee should also verify the accuracy of the Financial Report prepared by the Treasurer for submission to the national STARS organization.

Article IX Meetings

1. Meetings shall be held as planned by the Program Committee. The Chapter shall hold meetings only in places that are open and accessible to all members of the Association.

2. The Annual Election meeting should be held at the first meeting of the academic year. At this meeting, the Secretary and Treasurer each shall present the required reports. Also, the election of officers shall be held. Written notices of all meetings shall be distributed to all members at least one week prior to any meeting.

Article X Disbursements and Dues

1. Disbursements from the Treasury for Chapter expenditures shall be made by the Treasurer with authorization of the Executive Council and shall be included in the minutes of its meetings.

2. Dues shall be fixed annually by the Executive Council and are considered to be $0.00 unless otherwise noted by the Executive Council

3. The treasury shall be kept in an on-campus account designated by the Executive Council. A small petty-cash fund of no more than 50$ may be held by the Adviser for emergency occasions.

Article XI Amendment and Voting Procedures

1. All proposed changes to these Chapter bylaws shall be approved by the Executive Council.

2. No official business of the Chapter shall be conducted unless a quorum is present. A quorum of the Chapter shall be defined as 1/3 of the members of the Chapter or at least 7 members, whichever is greater.

3. A simple majority of the voting members present shall be required to carry a motion.

4. Officers will be elected by a plurality of votes cast.