Name

The official name of the organization will be the Yale Society for Environmental Engineering and Sustianability.

The organization shall be known as YSEES.

Article II

Purpose

• To promote interest in environmental engineering and foster an environmentally educated community with a spirit of global stewardship;
• To provide a channel for the exchange of ideas and information between students, departments, as well as between Yale and its surrounding corporate and civil society;
• To track environmental engineering connections and resources in order to provide a database of internships, jobs, governmental contacts, as well as educational and reference materials regarding environmental engineering; and
• To increase communication with Yale on the needs of environmental engineering students as we head into what could be the "environmental" century.

Article III

Affiliation

This student organization is an official undergraduate organization of Yale University.

This is an independent, tax-exempt, not-for-profit association. In the event of its dissolution, any assets of the organization shall be returned to Yale University as managed by the discretion of the organization's faculty advisor.

Article IV

Membership

• Membership is open to all of the Yale community including undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctorate adjuncts, and professors.
• Associate membership may be awarded by the organization's board to those persons who are not Yale students but have a strong interest in the field of environmental engineering and demonstrate a committed interest in the organization. This may be particularly appropriate for some community and corporate partners or professors who wish to serve in an advisory but not participatory capacity.
• Those who are not official members are encouraged to attend meetings and events organized by this organization as all meetings and resources will be free and open to the public with the exception of board meetings. Board meetings may be declared open or closed at the discretion of the board.
• Dues shall not be collected regularly. The board reserves the right to ask the membership to volunteer to share the costs of any activities which may arise which require funding; such contribution will be voluntary and at the discretion of the membership, with the understanding that the activity in question may not proceed until funding is procured.

Article V

Officers of the Board

• The President shall preside over all meetings, shall be responsible for keeping track of all activities, and serve as the head representative of the organization.
• The Vice President shall assume all responsibilities of the President in the absence of the latter. The Vice President will also assist the President in conducting the meetings and in keeping up with the activities of the organization.
• The Secretary shall keep meeting minutes, administer membership, and preside over newsletters, membership-wide email correspondence, and other forms of communication.
• The Treasurer shall keep record of all income, expenditures, and all other financial matters and keep the members informed of the group’s financial situation.
• The Special Events Chair shall create a web site for the organization and keep it updated. The web page will include a mission statement, meeting minutes, newsletters, information on our activities, announcements on recent and upcoming events, and serve as the primary medium of the environmental engineering database outlined above in the Purpose.

• Elections will be held every spring to select from the membership the officers for the following school year. Officers shall be selected by a vote of the majority of the membership.
• Should an officer resign, mid-term, elections shall be held at the earliest possible convenience to fill the vacancy; in the interim, the remaining officers shall meet and determine how best to share the resigning officer's responsibilities.
• Officers may be replaced on the grounds failure to perform their responsibilities by 2/3 majority vote of membership.

• The organization shall also retain at all times a Faculty Advisor to serve as a liaison between the organization and Yale University. The Faculty Advisor shall be expected to participate actively in the organization and use his/her greater experience to inform the organization, provide perspective, and foster new ideas. In the event of the organization's dissolution, the Faculty Advisor shall arrange for the organization's assets to be returned to Yale University.

Article VI

Meetings

The full membership will meet at least once a month to review the organization's activities and plan new initiatives. This membership conference may be combined with other activities of the organization as long as time is designated solely for organizational business.

The board shall also meet at least once a month; the board meeting may be combined with other organization meetings as long as time is designated solely for board business.

The President may call "priority" meetings of the board or membership without prior scheduling if deemed necessary. A special meeting may also be called at the request of at least 10% of the members.

Decisions internal to the organization will be made on the basis of majority vote.

Article VII

Committees

Committees will be created as needed and will be dissolved when they are no longer necessary. Members and non-members may volunteer to serve on such committees. Each committee will have a member as Committee Chair who will lead the committee in their goal and keep the officers informed of their progress.
 

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