CMLA_UNCC_Constitution_and_Bylaws_(August_2018)_(1)

Constitution for the Collegiate Middle Level Association at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Article I: Organization Name This constitution establishes the Collegiate of Middle Level Association (CMLA) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte This will be the official name and acronym used to refer to our group on and off campus Article II: Purpose Mission Statement: To promote Middle Grades Teacher Education at UNC Charlotte by providing learning opportunities and resources that facilitate the professional development of all members Section 1: To encourage students to become involved in professional organizations related to middle grades education and early adolescent issues at the campus, state, and national level Section 2: To provide resources that advance work with early adolescents These resources may include local resources such as school administrators, teachers, non-profit leaders, or higher education faculty, and materials gained through affiliation with the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) Section 3: To advance the quality of the middle level teacher education program at UNC Charlotte Section 4: CMLA is willing to abide by all UNC Charlotte policies and guidelines relating to on or off campus activities which our club may sponsor or in which we may participate Article III: Membership Section 1: Membership will be open to all students in good standing at UNC Charlotte A person can become a member by attending a meeting and expressing an interest in the group If the person is still interested after attending a meeting, that person must pay any dues that have been determined for membership for that term Failure to pay dues will result in a person no longer being considered a member of CMLA Section 2: CMLA needs funds to support its local and national responsibilities and dues shall therefore be used to support chapter activities and to help defray costs incurred by students attending conferences Section 3: Dues shall be determined on a per year basis determined by the Executive Committee of CMLA Section 4: Any member of CMLA can, at any time, withdraw their membership from the organization Section 5: A member can be removed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee, if he/she is felt to have broken a rule or violated CMLA or UNC Charlotte policy Section 6: In keeping with UNC Charlotte’s policy of nondiscrimination, CMLA does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, and physical or mental ability or disability Article IV: Officers Section 1: CMLA shall be governed by four officers, although the organization reserves the right to create other positions upon demand Officially, these four officers will be called the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer These officers, the faculty advisor, and any other positions created by CMLA will comprise the Executive Committee of CMLA Any other committees will be created based on recommendations made to the Executive Committee by the membership of CMLA Section 2: The President of CMLA shall preside over any meetings and delegate any responsibilities to other officers or members upon agreement with said individual The President shall oversee the process of developing strategic goals for the organization and developing the processes for meeting goals The President shall also work in close relationship with the Vice President to oversee chapter activities Section 3: The Vice President will preside over meetings should the President be unavailable or upon request by the President or advisor The Vice President is to work alongside the President to ensure delegations of responsibilities are fair and agreed upon by officers and/or members The Vice President shall also serve as the Chair of Recruitment to coordinate membership drives and implement strategies to increase and sustain the membership of CMLA Section 4: The Secretary is responsible for keeping a record of all official proceedings of the organization and organizing all hard and electronic copies of materials used in meetings or other events He/she must keep a list of the organization’s members and their contact information, as well as an official record of the names of attendees at meetings and meeting minutes The secretary is responsible for keeping all electronic materials in a folder on Google Drive shared with the rest of the Executive Committee and the faculty advisor This folder will be transferred each academic year to the faculty advisor and incoming Executive Committee so that a permanent record of organization’s history can be maintained Unless these responsibilities are delegated to another member of the Executive Committee, the secretary is responsible for communicating with the membership via email or other communication app and updating the chapter website and/or social media profile Section 5: The Treasurer is responsible for handling money collected through dues and other means and depositing these funds into the CMLA account in the UNC Charlotte Student Organizations office within 24 hours of receiving said funds The Treasurer must also maintain records of funds earned and spent by the CMLA organization These records shall be kept within the shared folder on Google Drive, to which the faculty advisor must maintain permanent access The advisor and the Treasurer shall correspond as needed to keep an accurate track of the organization’s funds All funds obtained by other members of the Executive Committee must be submitted to the Treasurer within 24 hours of receiving them Article V: Functions/Operation Section 1: The officers will be elected by a vote of members Any current member of the organization is eligible to be an officer of the organization Section 2: Nominations will be held at the end of each fall semester Any current member of the organization is eligible to make nominations Section 2: The vote will be a secret ballot The winner is decided by a majority vote Should there be a tie, a new vote will be held between the candidates that had the same number of votes Section 3: The officers will serve one-year terms beginning in January and ending in December, and elections will be held in December of each academic year Section 4: In the event of a vacancy in an office, the duties of office will be shared among the other officers until an election can be held to fill the vacancy Section 5: If an officer violates any rules, the officer can be impeached by voting as a group to remove officer from his/her duties A majority vote of organization members, other than the officer in question, will decide whether the officer is impeached Article VI: Advisors Section 1: There shall be at least one advisor from the faculty of the Cato College of Education who specializes in Middle Level Education Section 2: The advisor shall responsibly advise and assist the members in all activities sponsored by the organization Article VI: Finances Section 1: CMLA plans to finance its activities through fundraising events, as well as using membership dues Article VII: Constitutional Amendments Section 1: Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed orally or in writing by a member of the organization to the Executive Committee Section 2: A majority of the total active members is required to pass an amendment By Laws for the Collegiate Middle Level Association at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Article I: Duties of the Organization Section 1: The duties listed below are duties that can and should be delegated to officers and organization members, first on a volunteer basis and then as needed, so that all tasks are completed when necessary Section 2: The duties include but are not limited to the following: a Be responsible for periodic communications to all members of the organization b Maintain the organization’s website and/or social media profile and update it regularly c Maintain order at the meetings and other events sponsored by the organization d Coordinate election proceedings e Support incoming officers to facilitate the transition between terms of election Section 3: The duties below are optional each academic year and can be decided upon by the Executive Committee a Coordinate and facilitate the organization’s committees b Create and maintain an album (photographs, scrapbook, etc.) of the organization’s activities throughout the year c Appoint an official photographer to take photographs as needed throughout the year d Network with other student groups at UNC Charlotte e Network with other CMLA chapters at other colleges and universities in North Carolina and across the country Section 4: The duties below are those that each member and officer of CMLA is expected to on a continuous basis as long as he/she is a member of the organization a Facilitate productive and respectful dialogue among members b Attend required events and meetings c Represent the organization at affiliate meetings when requested by the state affiliate, the North Carolina Association for Middle Level Education, or national affiliate, the Association for Middle Level Education