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CONSTITUTION WILDLIFE GRADUATE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, GAINESVILLE |
Participation in student organizations is an important component of students' academic education and professional development. As such, involvement in the Wildlife Graduate Students Association shall be construed as an enhancement of the students' experiences in the Graduate Program of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. In recognition of the importance of a holistic educational experience, we hereby establish this Constitution of the Wildlife Graduate Students Association.
I. Organization:
A. The name of this organization shall be Wildlife Graduate Students Association (WGSA).
B. WGSA is affiliated with the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (WEC) of the College of Agricultural Sciences in the Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) of the University of Florida (UF), Gainesville, Florida.
A. To promote cohesion and cooperation among WEC graduate students;
B. To foster interaction between the faculty and graduate student body of WEC;
C. To lobby for WEC and IFAS support for graduate students;
D. To disseminate information to students regarding Graduate School, IFAS, and UF procedures, requirements, and other pertinent administrative policies and functions;
E. To inform students of funding possibilities;
F. To keep students abreast of professional activities, particularly on a state and regional level;
G. To provide liaisons between WEC, IFAS, and UF organizations.
III. Membership:
A. Shall be limited to graduate students in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.
B. Students must be enrolled for at least one (1) credit hour in order to belong to WGSA, and at least three (3) credit hours in order to hold office.
C. Members and Officers agree to abide by all other rules, regulations, and laws that otherwise may apply to UF and its students.
D. Members are free to leave or disassociate without fear of retribution or harassment.
E. There shall be no initiation rites or hazing in conjunction with WGSA or any of its activities.
F. There will be no discrimination in any activities or functions of this organization on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, national origin, race, sex, or sexual orientation.
IV. Meetings
A. Regular business meetings of WGSA shall be held at least once per month, except during the winter and summer breaks. Meetings are open for attendance by both members and nonmembers.
V. Executive Officers and Faculty Advisor:
A. The Faculty Advisor of WGSA shall be the Chair of the WEC Department or another WEC faculty member appointed by the Chair of the WEC Department.
B. Elected officers and their duties are outlined below:
1. President - provide policy leadership; call, set agenda for, and run regular business meetings and executive board meetings; oversee committees and other activities; attend faculty meetings and report details to the membership; serve on WEC seminar committee; chair the WGSA Web Committee; maintain group cohesion.
2. Vice-President - advertise WGSA meetings and other WGSA-related activities and issues; chair the Nominating Committee and the WGSA-Invited Speaker Committee; attend Graduate Student Council meetings and report details to the membership; act in place of President in her/his absence.
3. Treasurer - collect dues and any other funds made available to WGSA; disburse funds as necessary and directed by the board; manage WEC graduate student copy machine accounts; oversee assignment of study carrels; manage the WGSA Travel Awards and Awards of Merit (service, science, photographs, logo) act in place of Vice-President in her/his absence.
4. Secretary - take minutes at all WGSA meetings; transcribe minutes into electronic format; distribute minutes to the membership and to the chair of the Web Committee (President) for publishing on the WGSA web site; update and distribute WEC graduate student contact directory each semester; act as alternate Graduate Student Council liaison if Vice-President is unable to attend a Graduate Student Council meeting; act in place of Treasurer in her/his absence.
C. Miscellaneous:
1. Officers shall be elected by a majority of the voting membership present at the last WGSA meeting of the Spring semester.
2. Terms of service for elected Officers are one year.
3. Officers are eligible for re-election to the same or other Office.
4. If an Officer can not continue the duties of her/his Office, a replacement shall be selected by the remaining Officers and approved by the voting membership present at the subsequent WGSA meeting.
5. An Officer may be removed from office by the membership for failure to fulfill the duties of the office for which he/she was elected. To remove an officer from office, a motion to solicit a vote of no-confidence must be made and seconded at a regular committee meeting. The motion is subsequently put to vote by the membership. A majority vote is required to pass the motion.
VI. The Standing Committees of WGSA shall be as follows:
A. Travel and Awards Committee – chaired by the Treasurer, composed by one or more student members.
1. Travel – Updates application materials; stocks printed applications in WEC lounge; sends reminder notices for WEC travel grant deadlines; collects application packages; determines award recipients according to approved WGSA protocol; notifies award recipients, sends notice congratulating awardees to membership; works with WEC staff and award recipients to assure proper disbursement of funds.
2. Awards – Advertises for and collects nominations for the WGSA Student of the Year Award; reviews nominations and selects the Winner according to approved WGSA protocol; submits name to the appropriate administrative personnel; purchases blank award certificates when needed; prints award certificate for each winner; purchases Goerings Bookstore gift certificates for winners; requests donations from appropriate organization(s) to support this award; drafts letter(s) informing those organizations of the Winner.
B. Nominating Committee – chaired by the Vice-President, composed by one or more student members.
1. Solicits nominations from the membership; confers with nominees regarding eligibility and interest in holding office; prepares and presents the slate to the membership; tallies votes, presents newly elected officers to the membership.
C. WGSA-Invited Speaker Committee – chaired by the Vice-President, composed by one or more student members.
1. Solicits nominations from members for proposed invited speakers; presents slate to members for vote; tallies vote and notifies members of winners; invites speakers; organizes speaker visits according to WGSA established protocol; works with appropriate WEC staff to coordinate necessary details.
2. Solicitation of speakers, voting, and contacting of Spring speakers should occur in the first two to four weeks of the Fall semester. Solicitation of speakers, voting, and contacting of Fall speakers should occur in the first two to four weeks of the Spring semester.
D. Web Committee – chaired by the President, composed by one or more student members.
1. Maintains and improves the WGSA web pages; acts as liaison to the WEC Information Technologies committee; works with appropriate WEC faculty and/or staff.
E. Greening WEC Committee – composed of one or more WGSA members.
1. Mission Statement – The Greening WEC Committee is a student-based group organized to increase environmental awareness and sustainability within the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. We believe that a department that focuses on conservation as one of its primary disciplines should do so both in the classroom and in the overall management of the department, from the ground up. The Greening WEC Committee is designed to be a forum for students, faculty, and staff to generate new ideas on how to improve efficiency of natural resource consumption by the WEC. The Greening WEC Committee then works with the Department to assess the feasibility of these options and to implement those ideas that are economically acceptable.
VII. WGSA Copy Machine Accounts:
A. All WEC graduate students are entitled to use the School of Forest Resources and Conservation (SFRC) copy machine provided a proper account is established and payments received upon request. The Treasurer shall establish student accounts upon request. Upon receiving periodic bills from the SFRC accountant, the Treasurer shall transfer bills to individual student account holders, collect student payments, and transfer funds to the SFRC accountant.
B. A non-refundable $1.00 fee will be collected each semester by WGSA from each WEC student holding an active copy machine account. Such fees will be used to cover the cost of printing bills, mailing refunds at the close of accounts, and to maintain a financial buffer to cover costs in the case of delinquent payments. Students will be required to maintain a minimum working balance of $10.00 in their account and to submit payments upon request of the Treasurer. Members may not graduate unless copy accounts have first been paid in full to the Treasurer.
C. A base copy cost is set by the SFRC. Current WGSA copy charges are $0.02 per copy greater than the base copy cost.
VIII. This constitution may be amended as follows:
A. Amendment(s) shall be drafted by the Officers and approved by the membership.
B. Draft amendments shall be presented to the membership prior to regularly scheduled meetings.
C. Discussion shall follow presentation of the draft amendment(s). Proposed changes shall be discussed and a vote shall be called. A majority of the members present shall be required to pass an amendment. Any accepted changes shall be made by the committee.
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