Constitution of the Penn State Nuclear Engineering Society (PSNES) 

Article I. Name

The name of this organization shall be the Penn State Nuclear Engineering Society, hereinafter referred to as PSNES or the Society. This Society shall be an affiliate group of the Penn State Engineering Society (PSES).

Article II. Purpose

The purpose of this organization shall be to promote fellowship and communication among the alumni, faculty and students of the Nuclear Engineering Program (NE or Program) in order to work for the improvement of the Program, the Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department, and the College of Engineering.

Hereinafter, reference to Program graduates or alumni includes reference to alumni of the former Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Article III. Membership

Section 1.

Members - All living graduates of Program who have indicated a desire to be a member of PSNES are automatically members.

Section 2.

Associate Members - Penn State graduates who are not nuclear engineering graduates but who desire to become a member of PSNES can do so by either self-nomination or by nomination by a member.  Such a request must be made in writing.

Section 3.

Honorary Members – When appropriate, the Board of Directors may designate non-alumni as Honorary Members in recognition of acknowledged eminence in some area of engineering or who have rendered outstanding service to the Program. Honorary Membership requires approval by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Article IV. Organization

Section 1.

A Board of Directors shall govern the general affairs of PSNES; the Board shall consist of:

(a) the Society Officers: President, Vice-President/President -Elect and Secretary/Treasurer

(b) the Chair of the Program, ex officio with vote

(c) the Director of Radiation Science and Engineering Center, ex officio with vote

(d) a current NE faculty member

(e) the PSNES immediate past president

(f) six to nine members to be elected at-large, and

(g) the President of the PSES or designee, ex officio without vote.

(h) The ANS student section president, ex officio without vote.

Section 2.

All actions of the Board of Directors shall be decided by majority vote when a quorum is present. A majority vote is defined mathematically as one (1) plus half of those Board members who are present (either physically or by telephone conference call, assuming an even number of participants); or the in the case of an odd number of participants (either physically or by telephone conference call) a majority shall be half of the participants rounded to the next higher even number present at any regular or duly called meeting of the Society. 

A quorum shall consist of eight members of the Board.  If a quorum is not present at a scheduled Board of Directors Meeting, a detailed description of the proposed action may be prepared and distributed to all Board Members within 14 days of the meeting. Within 14 days of receiving the proposed action, each member must submit their vote by postal mail or email to the Board Secretary/Treasurer.  A tally of the votes will dictate the disposition of the action.

Section 3.

The Board of Directors may solicit funding from members as necessary to cover the cost of special projects or operations.

Article V. Elections

Section 1.

The Board of Directors will nominate a slate of candidates for at large Board positions and for the society officers: President, Vice-President/President-Elect and Secretary/Treasurer. The nominations will be posted on the web and the membership will be notified of this electronically three months prior to the election. For those members without an e-mail address, the list of candidates will be sent by mail. Additional nominations from PSNES members may be made over the next 30 days after the list of candidates is sent to the membership by e-mail provided that the nominee has agreed to be nominated.

Section 2.

Officers and Board Members shall be elected by a majority vote of those members who have submitted their vote electronically. The electronic vote will be taken by posting nominees names on the web at the PSNES site for one month.

Section 3.

At-large members’ terms shall be staggered such that half (or approximately half) are subject to election/re-election every two years. At-large members may be appointed at any time by the Board of Directors to fill Board vacancies. At-large members so appointed will serve the balance of the unexpired term.

Section 4.

Officers shall be elected for two year terms, with the exception of the Vice President/President-Elect, who upon election will have a four year obligation.

4.a. Commencing in 2009, At-Large Board members shall be elected for four year terms. Vacancies may be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors between every two-year elections. Board members and Officers so appointed will serve the balance of the unexpired term.

4.b. The Board may extend the terms of At-Large Directors in 2008 by one year, and those in 2009 by two years, to allow for the transition from annual to bi-annual elections.

Section 5.

No officers or other Board member may be elected to the same office for more than two consecutive terms. The Vice President/President-Elect will have one combined term of four years.

Article VI. Duties of Officers

Section 1.

The President shall preside at all meetings and shall be responsible for general supervision of all work of the society. The President and Vice-President/President-Elect must be Penn State Program graduates.

(a) The President, or designee, shall serve on all committees as an ex-officio member.

(b) The President, or designee, shall serve as this society’s delegate to the PSES Board of Directors.

Section 2.

The Vice-President/President-Elect shall serve in the absence of the President and shall also perform such duties as may be assigned by the President. The Vice-President/President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event of the incapacity or absence of the President.

Section 3.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the recording and reading of the minutes of all meetings, creating Society correspondence and reports, and shall be responsible for depositing, disbursing and accounting of all monies of the Society.

Article VII. Committees

The President may appoint standing and/or ad-hoc committees as required to accomplish the purposes and objectives of the Society. Furthermore, the President may terminate previously established standing or ad-hoc committees as required.

Article VIII. Meetings

Section 1.

At least one meeting of the membership shall be held each year to be known as the annual meeting, and it shall be held at the time and place fixed by the Board.

Section 2.

Special meetings of the Society shall be called at the discretion of the President. The Secretary shall send, to the membership, written notices (or e-mail if such addresses are available) of the annual and special meetings at least one month in advance.

Section 3.

The Board shall meet at the call of the President or at the request of a majority of the members of the Board. Secretary shall send, to the membership, written notices (or e-mail if such addresses are available) of the Board meetings at least one month in advance.

Section 4.

The committees shall meet on the call of the committee chairman or at the request of the President.

Article IX. Amendments

Section 1.

This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the society members present at any society meeting as defined by article VIII (meetings) above provided:

(1) The amendments have been placed before the Board of Directors at least one month before the meeting, and

(2) The amendments have been approved by a majority vote of the board members as defined in article IV section 2 above.

Section 2.

This constitution and its amendments must not be in conflict with the constitution of the PSES or the rules and regulations for constituent societies as established by the Executive Board of the Penn State Alumni Association.