CONSTITUTION

STUDENTS FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (SFPA)

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

(Revised Spring 2005)

 

ARTICLE I

NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION

 

The name of this organization shall be Students for Public Administration (SFPA).

 

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

 

The purpose of this organization is to bring students interested in public administration together in a forum to create collegiality among members, and to create an awareness of the public administration field and profession.

 

ARTICLE III

OFFICERS

 

    Section 1. The officers of this organization shall be President, Vice‑President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Public Relations Director.

 

    Section 2. The President and Vice President of this organization are required to be public administration majors or minors.  All officers must be in good standing with the University (i.e. not on Academic Probation).

 

    Section 3. The President shall schedule, set the agenda, and chair all meetings.  The President shall notify the faculty advisor(s) of the agenda one day prior to a scheduled meeting.  The President shall supervise the organization's activities, and shall appoint chairpersons and members to committees.  The President is responsible for completing the Student Organization Reserve Fund (SORF) application and turning it in to the Office of Student Development before the application deadline in September.  The President shall organize and maintain a binder with important SFPA materials.

 

   Section 4. The Vice‑President will preside at meetings in the absence of the president and act as parliamentarian at all meetings.  The Vice-President shall aid the president in the supervision of the organization's activities.  The Vice-President shall coordinate guest speaker forums, make a calendar of SFPA activities for each meeting, monitor the progress of committees, and provide career information to members from professional publications, newspapers, and Internet listings.

 

   Section 5. The Treasurer shall transfer all monies of the club to the SFPA savings account at the Bancorp South within four (4) banking days of receipt.  All monies shall be disbursed on joint authorization of the president and the treasurer on SFPA expense request forms.  The treasurer will present reports at each meeting of the club, and keep accurate records of receipts (credits), disbursements (debits), and SORF funds.  The Treasurer must attend a SORF training session to learn how SFPA's SORF money can be spent and to learn about the University's regulations regarding the processing of paperwork.  The Treasurer will present the records to the faculty advisor(s) and student development officials as necessary.  When a student joins SFPA the Treasurer will receive their dues and provide the student with a receipt and a copy of the SFPA Constitution.

 

    Section 6. The Secretary shall record the minutes of all meetings, post the minutes of each meeting outside Liberal Arts 123 on the Department of Political Science, Geography, and Public Administration bulletin board and keep records of attendance at meetings.

 

Section 7. The Public Relations director will notify members of upcoming meetings, make posters to announce upcoming meetings, display posters in strategic locations several class days before the scheduled meeting, notify the Pine Log f and other sources of campus announcing, to ensure that meetings are announced in all public administration classes, engage in other public activities, keep track of alumni, promote alumni relations, coordinate “Take it to the Streets” program and handle all correspondence relating to the needs of the organization.

 

    Section 8. All officers shall be elected by majority vote by members when there is a quorum present.

 

    Section 9. Elections for officers will be held at the end of the spring semester or as required to fill vacancy.  Nominations for officers are solicited at the meeting prior to the elections.

 

    Section 10. Officers that miss two or more meetings in a semester may be removed from office by the impeachment process.

    

    Section 11. The faculty advisor(s) will be chosen by a majority of the members present at the elections.  The faculty advisor(s) shall act as liaison between members and the University. 

ARTICLE IV

MEMBERSHIP

 

    Section 1. SFPA is open to all SFASU students and membership is contingent upon the student paying dues as stated in Article V.

 

ARTICLE V

DUES

 

    Section 1. Dues shall be $5.00 per semester.

 

ARTICLE VI

AMENDMENTS

 

   Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be introduced at any regular meeting of SFPA, and shall be voted on at the next regular meeting.  Amendments approved by a simple majority of members present at the meeting shall be adopted.

 

ARTICLE VII

IMPEACHMENT

 

   Section 1. Officers may be removed from office with a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the members present and voting.

 

ARTICLE VIII

MISSION

 

   Section 1. SFPA will:

A.  Solicit public administration practitioners to address the organization 

     B.  Maintain contacts with all alumni

C.  Form committees for various activities

D.  Be involved in community service projects

E.  Establish quorum with fifty (50) percent of the members present

F.  Follow some version of parliamentarian procedures such as Robert's Rules of Order

G.        One member can hold more than one office          

     H.  Major issues shall be voted on in the following meeting to allow for all possible members to be present.