THE BYLAWS OF
Ithaca College Chapter # 201
of
THE HONOR SOCIETY OF PHI KAPPA PHI, INC.
A Nonprofit Corporation
PREAMBLE
For the purpose of promoting high academic standards at Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York; maintaining a chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (to be referred to as “the Society” or “Phi Kappa Phi”) chartered and installed at Ithaca College on November 2, 1977; and furthering the ideals and objectives of the Society; the members of the Ithaca College chapter do hereby adopt the following Bylaws for its governance.
ARTICLE I
Name and Mission
Section 1. The name of this organization is the Ithaca College, Chapter #201 of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Section 2. The mission is to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others. The Society also recognizes outstanding achievement by students, faculty, and others through various awards and through invitation to membership.
Section 3. This organization shall be governed in accordance with the Bylaws of the Society, as adopted by the Biennial Convention on August 9, 2014, with amendments, if any, that may be made from time to time, and by the provisions of these Bylaws with amendments, if any, that may be made from time to time.
ARTICLE II
Governance
Section 1. Functions of Chapters
1.1 Recognize outstanding achievements through invitation to membership.
1.2 Sponsor programs and activities that support and recognize scholarship and/or service.
1.3 Hold two or more meetings a year, one of which should be an initiation.
1.4 Send a delegate to Society Conventions and other relevant meetings or workshops.
Section 2. Chapter Bylaws
2.1 Align chapter bylaws with the bylaws of the Society.
2.2 File revisions with the Executive Director of the Society.
2.3 When chapter bylaws are updated solely to reflect changes in Society bylaws as approved by a Convention, the chapter bylaws affected by those national changes may be amended without a vote of the general membership.
2.4 When the Society bylaws are changed in such a manner that necessitates revision of chapter bylaws, if any chapter has not sent updated bylaws to the Headquarters within 90 days of receipt of those revisions, the Headquarters staff will make the necessary revisions and send the updated version to the chapter.
Section 3. Chapter Governance
3.1 The elected officers of this chapter shall be a President, a President Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Member-at-Large, and two Student Vice-Presidents, all of whom shall be affiliated members. With the exception of the Student Vice-Presidents, the elected officers shall not be students. These officers, together with the immediate Past President, shall constitute the chapter Executive Committee. Additional offices to be held by faculty/staff, students, or alumni may be established as the chapter may prescribe. Chapter officers must maintain active membership (see Article III.2.1) in order to hold office.
3.2 Chapters will determine the terms of office. When an election occurs, a report will be sent promptly, and in no case later than June 15, to Headquarters.
3.2.1 The Member-at-Large, President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected by mail ballot before the end of the spring semester. The President-Elect shall serve for two years, then become President. The Secretary, Treasurer and Member-at-large shall also serve terms of two years on the chapter’s Executive Committee. The Immediate Past-President will remain as a member of the chapter Executive Committee for a two-year term.
3.2.2 The Student Vice-Presidents shall be elected by the student membership for one-year terms. Before the end of the academic year, but after the induction of new student members, students will be asked to self-identify if they would like to serve on the chapter Executive Committee during the following academic year. Ballots will then be sent to all returning student members, with the top two being declared the Student Vice-Presidents.
3.3 The management of the chapter will be vested in the Executive Committee.
3.4 At Conventions or times the Society deems necessary, the chapter’s delegate will vote on behalf of the chapter.
Section 4. Chapter Meetings
4.1 Chapter meetings will be held upon call of the President or the Executive Committee. All active members will be duly notified of chapter meetings by the Secretary.
4.2. Ten Affiliated Members, including at least a majority of the Executive Committee, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any chapter regular or special meeting.
4.3 In all matters not specified by these Bylaws or the Society Bylaws, the procedures set forth in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order will be used.
Section 5. Chapter Obligations to the Society
5.1 Chapters will submit by the specified date certain reports to Society Headquarters. These include, but are not limited to, the Chapter Officer List, the Chapter Annual Report, and the Chapter Finance Report.
5.2 Chapters will submit all initiation materials, including but not limited to the Transmittal Checklist, Permanent Record of Election Forms, and initiation fees, to Society Headquarters within 30 days of the initiation. All initiation materials are due at Society Headquarters by June 15.
5.3 It is the responsibility of chapters to send appropriate delegates who are active chapter members to Society conventions and other Society meetings.
ARTICLE III
Membership
Section 1. Membership in this Chapter is open to scholars with integrity and high ethical standards from all academic disciplines without regard to race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, genetic information, or sexual orientation.
Section 2. The following membership categories are authorized:
2.1 Active members of the Society are those who have paid Society dues for the current year. Those who pay both Society dues and chapter dues (where required by the chapter) are also active members of the Society and the chapter. Members who choose may become active members in more than one chapter by submitting chapter dues to each chapter.
2.2 Life members are those who have been invited and initiated and have paid the life membership fee or have been accorded this status by the action of the Board. Life members of the Society who wish to remain active chapter members must continue to pay any required chapter dues, as determined by each chapter.
2.3 Special Memberships are conferred upon approval of the Executive Director, Society President and appropriate Regional Vice President and upon the payment of appropriate fees.
2.31 A member who has served the Society in an outstanding manner may be nominated for distinguished membership by a member or a chapter. The individual will receive a life membership in Phi Kappa Phi and a distinguished member certificate.
2.32 A nonmember (not an alumnus/alumna, employee, or student of the chapter’s institution) who has achieved eminence in some academic, creative, intellectual or other career endeavor may be nominated for honorary membership by a member, chapter, or the Board. The individual will receive a life membership in Phi Kappa Phi and an honorary member certificate.
2.4 Members who fail to pay Society dues for the current year are inactive members who do not enjoy the privileges of voting, serving on committees, or serving as chapter or Society officers.
Section 3. Eligibility for membership in an institutional chapter may be determined separately for each academic unit or program, e.g., department, school, or college. For those institutions that do not rank students using grades, the chapter will include the method of determining eligibility in its chapter bylaws. Those persons who are recognized by individual chapters may be invited in compliance with the following standards:
3.1 Undergraduate students in any department of a college or university who have completed at least 24 semester hours or the equivalent at that institution, and
3.11 who, in their junior year, rank academically in the upper 7.5 percent of the class, after completing at least two academic years or 72 semester hours or the equivalent, or
3.12 who, in their senior year, rank academically in the upper 10 percent of the class after completing at least three academic years or 90 semester hours or the equivalent at the time of invitation.
3.2 Graduate and professional students in any department of a college or university who have completed at least 18 semester hours (at least 15 credits for the School of Business at Ithaca College) or the equivalent at that institution and as post baccalaureate students rank academically in the upper 10 percent of all graduate and professional students.
3.3 Former students who meet the requirements for membership who have graduated since the most recent invitation of members in the chapter.
3.4 Members of the institution’s faculty, administration, professional staff, alumni, or community leaders who exhibit excellence and high ethical standards may be extended membership.
3.41 The number invited may not exceed 4 percent of the number of students invited by the chapter that year.
3.41.1 The number of members elected in any year from the alumni shall not exceed 1 percent of the number of undergraduate and graduate students elected that year. (If fewer than 200 student members are elected per year, a maximum of two members may be elected each year from the eligible alumni.)
3.42 Chapters that invite fewer than 200 students per year may be allowed to initiate a maximum of eight persons per year.
3.42.1 The number of members elected in any year from the faculty, administration, and professional staff, with the exception of the first five years after the installation of the chapter, shall not exceed 2 percent of the number of students elected that year. (If fewer than 200 student members are elected per year, a maximum of four members may be elected each year from the eligible faculty and staff.)
3.43 Faculty and Administrative nominees are required to have completed a minimum of three full years of service at Ithaca College.
3.44 Professional Staff nominees are required to have completed a minimum of three full years of service at Ithaca College, in addition to possessing the following attributes: a record of distinguished accomplishments in one’s field; support for honor and excellence in academics; being student oriented; and willingness to support the Ithaca College chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.
Section 4. All invitations to membership for student inductees must be approved by the chapter’s Executive Committee. All other chapter invitations to membership will be approved by a majority of those voting by ballot sent to all active members.
Section 5. Active members (see Article IV.2.1) have access to all available benefits offered by the Society and are eligible to serve on Society committees and hold Society office.
Section 6. Membership Responsibilities
6.1 Members should conduct themselves at all times in a manner consistent with integrity and high ethical standards.
6.2 If a member fails to behave with integrity and high ethical standards, the person’s membership may be revoked by the chapter’s Executive Committee or by the Society’s Board of Directors. If the membership is revoked, the person has the right to appeal this decision to the Executive Director, the appropriate Regional Vice President, and the Board.
ARTICLE IV
Fees, Dues, and Assessments
Section 1. Society Fees, Dues, and Assessments
1.1 The following types of fees, dues, and assessments may be collected by the Society:
1.11 Chapter chartering fees
1.12 Initiation fees
1.13 Membership dues
1.14 Special assessments
1.2 Establishment of amounts
1.21 The Board recommends the amount of fees, dues, and assessments for approval by Convention or by a majority of chapters voting electronically.
Section 2. Chapter Fees and Dues
2.1 Each chapter will have authority to determine chapter initiation fees, chapter dues, and chapter Life dues.
2.11 Each newly elected member before initiation shall pay to the National Headquarters, through the chapter Treasurer, an initiation fee established by the Society entitling him/her to a membership certificate and a standard badge. Also included in this fee are the first year’s national dues, which entitle the member to a one-year subscription to the Phi Kappa Phi Forum (the Phi Kappa Phi journal) and the Newsletter. In addition, he/she shall at the same time pay an initiation fee established by the chapter, which shall be equivalent to the current year’s chapter dues, such monies to be used to pay expenses incurred by the chapter for initiation ceremonies and other activities. No membership shall be valid unless these fees have been paid.
2.12 All active members other than those newly initiated shall pay to the National Office local annual dues in an amount determined by vote of the chapter together with national annual dues in an amount determined by the Society’s Board of Directors. All dues payments shall be made to the National Office in response to the annual dues statement sent to each member.
ARTICLE V
Amendments and Revisions of Bylaws
Section 1. These chapter Bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote submitted by two-thirds of the active members, provided the proposed amendment or amendments have been given to the active chapter members thirty days prior to the meeting.
Section 2. All amendments to these Bylaws will be in harmony with the Bylaws of the Society.
Section 3. When chapter Bylaws are updated solely to reflect changes in Society Bylaws as approved at a Phi Kappa Phi Convention, the chapter Bylaws affected by those national changes may be amended without a vote of the general membership of the chapter within 90 days after the relevant Society Bylaws revisions have been approved. If revised chapter Bylaws have not been sent to the national office for approval within 90 days, national staff will make necessary revisions and return an updated version.
Date Revised - October 2015
Date Approved by Ithaca College members - December 2015
Date Posted - February 2016