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Officers' Responsibilities

Student chapters generally have the following elected officers: president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Some chapters combine the offices of secretary and treasurer. Any individual to be considered for election as a student chapter officer must be an SPE student member in good standing. All these elected officers constitute the executive committee.

The term of office for all student chapter officers is generally one academic year with elections normally being held at the close of the current academic year.

Responsibilities of the President

The president is the chief officer and leader of the student chapter. He/she is responsible for guiding the student chapter and developing the organization into an effective group to meet the needs of his/her school, student members, and the society. He/she assumes all executive responsibilities of the chapter not otherwise delegated. He/she is the chief spokesperson and contact with the chapter’s sponsoring section. His/her job is certainly the most important and demanding position in the student chapter. Duties and responsibilities include the following:

  1. Presides at all student chapter meetings. The president should be familiar with accepted parliamentary procedures.
  2. Chairs the executive committee.
  3. Is responsible for regularly checking and maintaining the chapter’s SPEmail account.
  4. Plans and coordinates student chapter meetings to ensure worthwhile, well-planned agendas.
  5. Monitors and motivates student chapter officers and committee chairpersons.
  6. Communicates with SPE section/student chapter liaison to achieve maximum interaction with sponsoring section, informing them of projects, objectives, and events. Where possible, the president may wish to attend section board meetings and should attend section monthly meetings.
  7. Appoints all committees specified in the student chapter bylaws and those necessary for efficient student chapter operations. Such appointments should be made as soon as possible after taking office.
  8. Appoints a nominating committee to select a slate of candidates for office for the following year. Elections should be held before the last meeting of the academic year. Provisions should be made for acceptance of additional nominations from the chapter’s general membership at the time of the election.
  9. By 1 April, the president prepares the annual report and financial statement and sends it to SPE. Annual reports and entry forms are used in selecting the SPE Outstanding Student Chapter and required to receive Travel Reimbursement. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE FOR LATE ANNUAL REPORTS.
  10. Upon leaving office at the end of the academic year, the outgoing president should transfer all records necessary to the operation of the chapter to the incoming president.

Responsibilities of the Vice-President

The vice president assists the president in accomplishing all of his/her organizational duties. His/her responsibilities include the following:

  1. Acts on behalf of the president on all chapter business during the absence of the president.
  2. Chairs the program committee.
  3. May serve as chairperson of the publicity committee.

Responsibilities of the Secretary

It is the responsibility of the secretary to attend all meetings of the chapter and executive committee and to record all important decisions made in those meetings in a written form. Specific duties include the following:

  1. Records the minutes of the chapter and executive committee meetings. The minutes of a chapter meeting should always include the number of SPE student and non-student members present at a meeting.
  2. Notifies SPE of significant events in the chapter for possible publication on the SPE web site.
  3. Informs SPE of the names of new officers immediately after elections (see Officer Report ).
  4. Maintains all stationary (see Stationary Order Form ) and SPE forms necessary to the correct operation of the chapter. Orders new supply of forms from SPE or photocopies them when quantities are diminished.
  5. Assists the president in communicating with the faculty sponsor, the sponsoring section, and SPE.

Responsibilities of the Treasurer

The treasurer is the financial officer of the chapter and as such it is his/her responsibility to monitor and keep exact records of the chapter’s funds. Specific duties include the following:

  1. Receives all money and pays all debts of the chapter authorized by the executive committee.
  2. Make necessary deposits and withdrawals from chapter bank accounts.
  3. Prepares academic-year budget for approval by the executive committee.
  4. Prepares financial statement at the academic year-end for the executive committee to submit to the faculty sponsor for certification. A copy of the financial statement must be submitted to SPE.
  5. Collects and records all dues paid and owed.