English Graduate Student Organization Constitution
As Amended from the By- laws Adopted July 23, 2015
As Adopted by Members September 12, 2003
As Amended from the By- laws Adopted April 19, 1995 and the Original By-laws Adopted February 6, 1976
Preamble
We, the students in the English graduate program at the University of Kentucky, do hereby resolve to maintain a permanent organization for our mutual benefit.
Section One: Name, Purpose, Membership
Article I: The name of this organization shall be the English Graduate Student Organization (EGSO)
Article II: The purpose of EGSO shall be to provide graduate student representation on major departmental committees; to work with the faculty in preparing EGSO members for the demands of their profession; to foster a spirit of cooperation among English graduate students, between those students and the faculty, and between those students and undergraduate English majors at the University of Kentucky; and to provide a support network that is both financial and professional for graduate students as they enter the world of academia.
Article III: All graduate students in English at the University of Kentucky shall automatically be considered members of EGSO regardless of position; therefore, receiving all the benefits and responsibilities of said membership.
Section Two: Officers and Responsibilities
Article I: EGSO shall have an Executive Board elected by membership vote composed of eleven (11) officers (in order of rank), who shall have the following responsibilities and will receive one vote in all motions :
The President shall organize and publicize Executive Board and general meetings; act as a graduate student advocate; act as a liaison to the other university departments; be responsible for membership relations and maintaining the vitality of the organization; be responsible for maintaining the EGSO listserv to which all Executive Board members shall be added, shall create a safe space for all EGSO materials so that they are available to the Executive Board and members, and delegate responsibility as s/he sees fit.
The Vice-President Ph.D. shall assist the President with his or her duties and work with faculty and Executive Board members to implement programs for the professional development of EGSO members and shall
represent the particular interests of the Ph.D. graduate student members of EGSO. In addition, she shall act as Let's Write and Literary Theory
Group liaison, communicating with the DGS and other graduate students about programs when needed.
The Vice-President M.A. shall assist the President with his or her duties and work with faculty and Executive Board members to implement programs for the professional development of EGSO members, shall represent the particular interests of the M.A. graduate student members of EGSO, and shall plan and implement undergraduate outreach endeavors.
The Secretary shall keep records of all Executive Board and general meetings that will be housed in the space designated for EGSO; direct the publication of a tri-annual EGSO newsletter; at the beginning of the academic year, distribute a copy of the then-current EGSO constitution to each new EGSO member; and shall maintain the EGSO website.
The Treasurer shall oversee all EGSO financial transactions, responsible for assisting the President in all fund-raising activities, and brainstorm fundraising activities for EGSO.
The Faculty Representative shall represent EGSO concerns (and encourage additional EGSO attendance) at all open faculty meetings, publicize beforehand the agendas of these meetings, and solicit member opinions on relevant issues, and report the results of these meetings to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for filing.
The Graduate Representative shall represent EGSO concerns at all graduate committee meetings, publicize beforehand the agendas of these meetings, solicit member opinion on relevant issues, and report the results of these meetings to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for filing.
The Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies (WRD) Representative shall represent EGSO concerns to the Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Department, attend faculty meetings if permitted, publicize beforehand the agendas of these meetings, solicit member opinions on relevant issues, report the results of these meetings to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for filing, and serve as EGSO liaison on the joint ENG/WRD taskforce.
The MLA Representative shall represent EGSO concerns regarding matters connected with the MLA (Modern Language Association). He/she shall report any relevant information that comes from the MLA to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for filing.
The New Student Recruiter will be responsible for working with the Director of Graduate Studies and the Executive Board in recruiting new
graduate students to the program and shall be responsible for communicating with prospective students about visits to campus and EGSO sponsored activities.
The MFA Representative shall act as a liaison between the MFA students and faculty and the graduate student body at large.
Article II: Additional committees for fund-raising, research, social and other goals shall be formed at the discretion of the President and the Executive Board. Any trial Executive Board positions that the Executive Board would like to make permanent must be added by amending the Constitution and following all processes that amending the Constitution entails.
Article III: All Executive Board members are responsible for attend ing EGSO sponsored functions; revising and supplying information for The Graduate Student Handbook and EGSO Newsletter; meeting with prospective graduate students when they visit campus; and working at EGSO fundraisers.
Section Three: Elections, Resignations, Impeachment
Article I: The New Executive Board shall be elected prior to April 1st during the spring semester of each year to ensure that the New Executive Board and the current Executive Board have at least one Board meeting together for a smooth transition from the old to new Board. The election will be supervised by the current Executive Board, which will solicit nominations for all elective offices from the membership. A member of the English Department faculty or staff shall be designated by the Executive Board to tabulate final votes without aid or intervention from any EGSO member.
Article II: During the nomination process, any member of EGSO may only hold one officer position during a given academic year to ensure the most participation on the Executive Board, which means that no member may run for multiple offices during any given election. Upon accepting a nomination for a position on the Executive Board, each candidate shall provide a statement indicating his/her qualifications for said position.
This statement must be provided to the current EGSO President at least one week prior to the election so that EGSO members may make an informed voting decision.
Article III: The new Executive Board shall assume its responsibilities immediately after the close of the spring semester, on the first Monday following exam week; therefore, the previous Executive Board must hand over all necessary materials and change all necessary documents before leaving for the summer.
Article IV: In the case that three (3) different EGSO members submit to the Executive Board, within a single semester, letters of complaint in criticism of an
Executive Board member’s performance of his/her duties, a special meeting of the Executive Board shall be called, during which the performance of the officer in question shall be reviewed. The officer shall be present at this meeting and shall be allowed to vote. Upon a majority vote to continue the impeachment process, the Executive Board shall conduct a general impeachment survey of the membership, and upon two- thirds (2/3) agreement of the membership, the Executive Board member in question shall lose his/her position.
Article V: In the case that a member of the Executive Board is impeached or must resign his/her position before the end of his/her term, the remaining members of the Executive Board will call for volunteers among the membership to submit a statement indicating his/her qualifications for the open Executive Board position. The remaining Executive Board members will then vote to select the replacement till the next election, and the appointment is subject to the agreement of seven (7) of the remaining ten
(10) members of the Executive Board.
Section Four: Meetings
Article I: The Executive Board shall meet at least once a month during the academic year. After the elections of the New Executive Board, the current Board and the Board-elect must hold one joint meeting.
Article II: Any motion during an Executive Board meeting must be passed by two- thirds (2/3) vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Executive Board membership. If for some reason all eleven (11) Executive Board members are not present at said meeting, then the Secretary will post the motion to the EGSOlistserv within twenty- four (24) hours of the meeting. Each Executive Board member will have forty-eight (48) hours from the posting to cast their vote. At the end of the forty-eight (48) hour period, the voting will be closed and the motion will be decided by a majority vote as described above.
Article III: General meetings open to all members of EGSO shall be held at least once per semester. These meetings will be publicized reasonably in advance, and items for consideration will be solicited from the membership.
Section Five: Accumulation and Disbursement of Funds
Article I: EGSO shall maintain a treasury, the funds for which shall be raised in various ways, as deemed appropriate by the Executive Board.
Article II: Either the President or the Treasurer may disburse funds from the treasury, but neither officer shall disburse funds exceeding ten dollars ($10) a month without consultation and two-thirds (2/3) assent from the Executive Board.
Article III: The current EGSO Board will leave their administrative term with no less than two hundred dollars ($200) in the treasury.
Article IV: During each academic year, EGSO will provide funding for EGSO members to participate in conferences and other professional activities. The amount of funding available to members will be based on the treasury during each academic semester. The Executive Board must also consider funding for activities sponsored by EGSO before allocating funding to members. The Executive Board may never allocate funding so that there is less than two hundred dollars ($200) in the treasury by the termination of that Board’s term.
Article V: In order to receive funding from EGSO, members must fill out a funding application form and meet all of the specifications set forth in said application. A copy of that application may be picked up from the EGSO President or Secretary or downloaded from the EGSO website. The deadlines for the application are as follows:
Fall November 1st
Spring April 1st
Summer May 1st
Article VI: The EGSO Executive Board will reimburse those members that receive funding no later than the final day of the semester for the particular deadline.
Article VII: In the event that an EGSO Executive Board member requests funds from EGSO, that person shall not participate in the vote to grant or withhold funds.
Section Six: Adoption and Amendments of Constitution
Article I: This Constitution will go into effect upon approval by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the membership through a voting process approved and implemented by the Executive Board, with a quorum of received votes no fewer than twenty-five (25).
Article II: Amendments to this Constitution shall be subject to a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the membership through a voting process approved and implemented by the Executive Board, with a quorum of received votes no fewer than twenty-five (25).