Bylaw

(note that this is subjected to change)

September 6, 2023

Bylaws of Society of Manufacturing Engineers at University of California, Davis

Article 1: Organizational Membership

Section I: National Chapter Membership

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers at University of California, Davis (SME@UCD) is the U231 chapter of the national society of SME, formerly the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Section II: UC Davis

As a university club, SME@UCD is recognized by UC Davis as a registered student organization (RSO). The host department is the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) with Professor Barbara Sabine Linke as the faculty advisor at the time of this writing.

Section III: Renewal

The president must renew both the national chapter membership so that the student chapter will continue to be recognized by the society, as well as the UC Davis RSO membership so that the student organization will continue to be recognized by the university. The RSO membership must be renewed by the president of the commencing year and the deadline is around June. The membership of the chapter must be renewed by the president of the upcoming year and the deadline is around October.

Article 2: Leadership, Administration, and Officer Selections

Section I: Position: President

This position is also known as chair at the national society’s chapter level. There shall only be one (1) president/chair at a time. This person shall be the chair for the national society’s chapter as well as the president of the UC Davis’s RSO. Once the president has committed, they are expected to serve the full term of the academic year from September to the next year’s June. From June to September (summer time),

If the president serves an additional term, then they would remain active as the president during this time
If the president steps down after that academic year, they would still remain as the president during this time until the next president is decided, in which case the new president would take place

The president must be an undergraduate student with at least one major in the College of Engineering. The president should express interest in manufacturing. The president is responsible for their own fees as a member of SME. This membership is required to register the chair’s name as the chair of the society student chapter.

Only during extreme circumstances–such as severe sickness, long-term travel, or other circumstances–shall the president be allowed to resign. In this circumstance, the president informs the faculty advisor and the general public, notify the national society as well as the UC Davis Center of Student Involvement as necessary. The vice president shall immediately be the interim president, the vice president shall be the interim until a president is replaced; or if the vice president fills the president position and the interim appoints a new vice president. If the stepped down president has served at least 2 quarters, that president shall be named president emeriti.

The chair cannot serve for no more than two (2) terms, or an equivalent of two academic years. At the end of a president’s final serving term, that retiring president should appoint someone new as the president, whether it is a current officer or a non-officer, prior to the beginning of the next academic year. The retiring president shall be titled president emeriti of the local chapter. While not a requirement, emeriti are encouraged to be available to be contacted by future members and officers.

Section II: Position: Vice President

There shall only be one (1) vice president at a time. This position is appointed by the president prior to the year of appointment. For example, the 2022-2023 president shall appoint the vice president of 2023-2024. If the president is unable to make a determination, then the faculty advisor would be the decider. In case of the vice president’s absence, the president and secretary would fill the position of both.

The vice president will fill any positions that are vacant until they are filled, or positions when other officers are absent.

Only during extreme circumstances–such as severe sickness, long-term travel, or other circumstances–shall the vice president be allowed to resign. In this circumstance, the vice president informs the faculty advisor and the president, notify the national society as well as the UC Davis Center of Student Involvement as necessary. The president must appoint a new vice president within 2 weeks of the resignation. A vice president must serve 3 full quarters to be named vice president emeriti.

Section III: Position: Graduate Advisor

There shall only be one (1) graduate advisor at a time. This position is optional and to be appointed by the president prior to the year of appointment. For example, the 2022-2023 president shall appoint the graduate advisor of 2023-2024. If the president is unable to make a determination, then the faculty advisor would be the decider. The graduate advisor must be a graduate student in Biological Systems Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and/or Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Section IV: Position: Treasurer

There shall be at least one (1) treasurer at a time. Responsibilities include

To keep track of the funds.
To participate in fundraising projects, such as the semi-annual Crowdfunding and outside fundraising.
To write grant proposals for fundraising.
To outreach in fundraisings.
To coordinate with other officers about the advertising of fundraisings.

Section V: Position: Secretary

There shall be at least one (1) secretary at a time. Responsibilities include

In the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair, to call meetings to order and assume the duties of the Chair.
To prepare the call and minutes for officer and general meetings.
To maintain the roll of members via the emailing lists and add members.
To engage with new and current members.
To retain permanent records of the proceedings of details of officer meetings and make information available to all officers.

Section VI: Other Positions

An officer is a person that is recognized by the current president, or the president themselves, to serve as the ambassador for SME@UCD. An officer may be chosen in any method by the president or faculty advisor.

Prior to the end of the current term, the current president shall decide whether or not to remove or add specific positions from the commencing year to the upcoming year. During the academic year, the active president has the freedom to add specific positions as needed. These positions may include, but not limited to,

class year representatives (e.g. freshman representative or others)
social media manager
competition coordinator
industry relations manager
campus outreach
graphics designer
academic liaison
newsletter author
special events manager
webmaster
photographer
video producer
chef

These positions must have a confirmed elected candidate by the president prior to the official announcement of the new position. Any positions formed that are not on this bylaw document must have their roles detailed on a separate document transparent to all officers. All positions must be recognized by the faculty advisor. All positions and the corresponding officer must be transparent on the SME@UCD website. At least one active officer must have a personal vehicle that they are willing to use for transportation for club purposes. All officers are expected to be actively contributing to the behind-the-scenes of the club, be well versed about the ongoings of the club, and communicate with other officers. All officers must be current UC Davis students. With the exception of the graduate advisor or any exceptions made by the faculty advisor, all officers must be undergraduate students.

Section VII: Roles, Responsibility, Officer Removal, and Officer Selections

In all these capacities, the SME @ UCD officers shall:

Serve as ambassadors to strengthen communication and engagement with students of the College of Engineering who are interested in manufacturing
Host events based on the context of the manufacturing community and the UC Davis campus such as quarterly meetings, competitions, tours, etc.
Assist other officers in their needs to complete tasks and meet deadlines
Fundraise budget money according to the needs to the local chapter (treasurer)
Encourage diversity in identity and department/major representation.

Only the president is allowed to separate officers as they deem inactive or fail to adhere to their roles and bylaw. The president must decide and announce the format of officer selection for the next academic year, whether it is elections or internal selections.

The “board” is defined as the group of active officers in SME@UCD.

Section VIII: Emeriti Status

Graduated officers and officers who served sufficient terms, namely three (3) quarters for non-president, of service shall be named emeriti, an unofficial title recognized by the local chapter. The recognition shall be on the records of the SME@UCD website.

Section IX: Planning, Coordination, and Communication

The president of the current year shall decide an established form of communication amongst the officers and outbound to the students. There shall be at least one officer meeting, although preferably more and one at the beginning of, each quarter. Call for a Meeting: at least six days before each meeting of the board, the president shall send at least one copy of the call to the meeting and ask for availability. The agenda shall include the plans for the quarter, the next quarter, and any tasks each officer should be aware of, and reports from each officer.

There shall be at least one general meeting towards the beginning of each quarter to the students. Call for a Meeting: at least four days before each general meeting. Advertisements must be made to the public.

Article 3: Bylaw

Section I: Revision

Any revision to the bylaw must be reviewed by both the current president and the faculty advisor. All revisions must be made known via a notification within the current board. All revisions (such as deletion, addition, or changes of wordings) must be explicitly marked in the newer version’s appendix. All legacy revisions must be on the latest bylaw version. The date of the establishment of the current bylaw must be on the top of the bylaw document. The bylaw must be reviewed annually and a new version must be published, even if no explicit revisions are made.

Section II: Publicity

The current version of the bylaw must be made available to the public via the SME@UCD website.

Article 4: Appendix

Section I: Revisions

September 6, 2023:

renamed SME, the name
Dr.-ing Barbara Linke is now Professor Barbara Linke
Section II: Renewal is now Section III: Renewal, also the wording of the first sentence is changed to be concise in wording about which membership. Rough deadlines are added
Article 2’s Section I is now Position: President ~~and Chair~~ and the wording of that section is also changed to reflect the dual wording, also specified the responsibility for the fees paid
Corrected typo in Article 2’s Section III and added Biological Systems Engineering
Defined “board” and “officer” in Article 2, and a rough selection process

August 11, 2023 is the first draft.