THE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY, STUDENT CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION Created on February 25th, 2001 Last Modified: 11/04/2015 1
Table of Contents Article I. Name... 4... 4 Article II. Charter... 4... 4 Article III. Objectives... 4... 4 Article IV. Membership... 4... 4... 4... 4 Section 4)... 5 Article V. Officers and the Executive Board... 5... 5... 5... 5 Section 4).5 Article VI. General Board Officers.5.5.5.5 Article VII. Student Government Officers.6.6.6.6 Article VIII. Advisors... 6... 6 2
... 6 Article IX. Student American Veterinary Medical Association Membership... 6... 6 Article X. Amendments... 6... 6... 6... 7 Section 4)... 7 Section 5)... 7 Section 6).7 3
Article I. Name The name of the organization shall be the College of Veterinary Medicine, at Cornell University, Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (Cornell University SCAVMA). Article II. Charter The chapter shall operate under an official charter granted by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Article III. Objectives The objectives of the Cornell University SCAVMA shall be as follow: a. To foster a united school spirit and to provide support of issues for the benefit of students within the college as the acting student government; b. To provide opportunities for members to gain additional professional knowledge and an understanding of professional ethics; c. To provide students with the benefits offered by the American Veterinary Medical Association to its student chapters and the advantages of belonging to a professional organization; d. To support, facilitate, and encourage student, faculty, and administration involvement in activities of benefit to the overall personal and professional growth of the general student body; 4
e. To develop the characteristics of leadership through training received in conducting the Cornell University SCAVMA s affairs; f. To foster and maintain relations between the students, college, university, surrounding community, New York State Veterinary Medical Society, American Veterinary Medical Association. Article IV. Membership Only candidates of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program in the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, may become members. Annual membership shall be established by payment of dues for the current year determined by the Executive Board and the Student American Veterinary Medical Association. The Cornell University SCAVMA may bestow honorary membership on any person selected according to the procedures stated in the Bylaws. Section 4) A Member in Good Standing shall be defined by the following: a. Be a paid member of the Cornell University SCAVMA for all years in attendance at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. b. Attend a minimum of one AVMA sponsored lecture, prior to graduation. c. Attend a minimum of one New York State Veterinary Medical Society sponsored lecture, prior to graduation. d. Volunteer for a minimum of three SCAVMA sponsored events prior to graduation. e. If a student wants to be in good standing after missing membership payments for previous years they may retroactively pay for membership. They must pay SAVMA national dues and local chapter dues for the amount of years missed (up to three years will be accepted) to the Cornell SCAVMA chapter. The student must still be able to fulfill all other membership requirements prior to graduation in order to graduate in good standing. Article V. Officers and the Executive Board The Executive Board shall consist of the following positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, SAVMA Senior Delegate, SAVMA Junior Delegate, New York State 5
Veterinary Medical Society Senior and Junior Delegates, and Class Representative(s) for each class. Officers shall consist of all the members of the Executive Board as well as Chairs of all standing and ad hoc committees. All officers will be chosen in accordance with Article III and Article V in the Bylaws. Section 4) Officers shall perform their duties in accordance with what is outlined in their SOP. Article VI. General Board Officers The General Board Officers shall consist of the following positions: Social Chair, Retail Chair and Committee members, Fundraising, IVSA, Junior and Senior PR chairs, Junior and Senior Alumni Chairs, IM Sports, Junior and Senior Philanthropy Chairs, and Webmaster. All officers will be chosen in accordance with Article II and Article V in the Bylaws. Officers shall perform their duties in accordance with what is outlined in their SOP. Article VII. Student Government Officers The Student Government Officers shall include the following positions: Honor Board, Curriculum Committee, Admissions Committee, GPSA Representative, and Pre Veterinary Society Representative. These positions are not members of the SCAVMA General Board. However, as a courtesy to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, SCAVMA proctors their elections and provides assistance to these officers, should they require it. The Pre Veterinary Society Representative will be chosen by the undergraduate society. All officer positions will be open to any student of the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine regardless of SCAVMA membership status. As such, these positions do not hold any voting power on the General or Executive Boards unless they are concurrently SCAVMA members but do act as student representatives in their respective positions. 6
Section 4) Officers shall perform their duties in accordance with what is outlined in their SOP. They are still required to attend all SCAVMA meetings as members of the student government with the exception of Honor Board and Admissions Committee due to the sensitive nature of their positions. These positions are not required to come, but are highly encouraged to come to all meetings. Article VIII. Advisors One faculty or teaching staff member who is an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association shall serve as Advisor. Other members of the faculty or administration may serve as Affiliate Advisor. Article IX. Student American Veterinary Medical Association Membership The Cornell University SCAVMA shall be a member of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association. Article X. Amendments This constitution may be amended by written proposal presented to the Officers at a regular meeting. The proposal shall be read and voted upon at the next consecutive meeting. A quorum will be defined as greater than fifty percent of General Board Officers. This quorum is required for a vote to take place. Once a quorum is established, any SCAVMA member at the meeting can vote on said Amendment. The Amendment requires two thirds approval to pass. Section 4) No Absentee ballots are permissible for Amendment changes. Section 5) The President shall advise the Executive Vice President of the American Veterinary Medical Association of any amendments. 7
Section 6) The ratified amendment shall become effective upon approval by the American Veterinary Medical Association. 8