CHAPTER BYLAWS
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
OF THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY CHAPTER OF
THE PUBLIC RELATIONS STUDENT SOCIETY OF AMERICA
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Beth Wood Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America at Indiana University.
ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this Chapter shall be to encourage the understanding of current theories and procedures in the practice of public relations, to provide and promote a better understanding of the functions of public relations and its values, to stimulate and encourage public relations professionalism through public relations education, to apply the skills, creativity and energy of public relations to help solve social problems, to develop the individual abilities of its members, to provide students of public relations with the opportunity to become acquainted not only with their peers but with professional practitioners as well, and to encourage students to adhere to the highest ideals and principles of the practice of public relations and to instill in them a professional attitude.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall comprise undergraduate and/or graduate students who are either public relations majors or have demonstrated an interest in public relations. Membership will not be based on or refused to anyone for reasons of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or age. Only those students enrolled at Indiana University-Bloomington shall be eligible for membership.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS AND ADVISERS
The officers of this Chapter shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Director, Historian, National Assembly Delegate and Alternate Delegate, and other officers as deemed necessary by the Chapter. The offices of Treasurer and Secretary may be combined. In addition, the National Assembly Delegate and Alternate delegate may simultaneously hold another office within the Chapter. Election of officers and advisers shall be held before April 15 each year, with those elected assuming office the following June 1 for one calendar year. Other Chapter officers may be elected to handle local needs. One‑third of the dues‑paying membership of the Chapter shall constitute a quorum. A simple majority vote of the quorum is required for election to office.
ARTICLE V. DUTIES OF OFFICERS
The duties of the President, Vice President, Historian, Secretary, Treasurer (or Secretary‑Treasurer), Public Relations Director shall be such as usually pertain to the offices they hold, as described in Article XII, Section 6(b) of PRSSA National Bylaws.
ARTICLE VI. FACULTY ADVISER
The Chapter shall elect or ratify annually, before April 15, for a one‑year (renewable) period the Faculty Adviser who is a Member or Associate Member of PRSA . S/he shall teach at least one of the public relations courses required for the establishment of a PRSSA Chapter. The Faculty Adviser shall be recognized as the official faculty representative in and to the Chapter, and shall act as the official link between the student Chapter and the Public Relations Society of America. The elected Faculty Adviser shall assume office on June 1.
ARTICLE VII. PROFESSIONAL ADVISER
The Chapter shall elect or ratify annually, before April 15, for a one‑year (renewable) period one or two Professional Advisers who are Members of the Public Relations Society of America, at least one of whom must be a Member who has at least five (5) years of professional public relations experience or is Accredited, who shall represent the practice rather than the academic. Professional Advisers must be members in good standing of the PRSA Chapter sponsoring the Chapter application and may not be associate members. To facilitate the students’ election of Professional Advisers, the officers of the sponsoring PRSA Chapter shall nominate eligible members of their Chapter annually as possible Professional Advisers and submit the names to the student group for ratification. While the PRSSA Chapter is not obliged to choose the submitted nominees, any Professional Advisers elected annually must be Members of PRSA and must agree to volunteer his or her time for the betterment of the students and the student Chapter. The elected Professional Adviser(s) shall assume office on June 1.
ARTICLE VIII. MEETINGS
The Chapter shall meet at least once during each month that school is in session at a designated location within the campus community.
ARTICLE IX. NATIONAL DUES
National dues shall be collected from each member by the Chapter Treasurer at the outset of each academic year and sent to PRSSA Headquarters not later than November 1 and March 1. National dues for students joining the Chapter on November 1 shall be forwarded by the Chapter Treasurer, together with the official forms provided by PRSSA, to PRSSA Headquarters in the fall. On payment of said dues, a student is entitled to one full year’s membership, extending from November 1 to October 31 of the following year. National dues for students joining the Chapter on March 1 shall be forwarded by the Chapter Treasurer, together with the official forms provided by PRSSA, to PRSSA Headquarters in the spring. On payment of said dues, a student is entitled to one full year’s membership, extending from March 1 to the last day of February the following year. There shall be no prorating of dues during either one‑year period.
ARTICLE X. CHAPTER DUES
Each Chapter may establish its own initiation fee and dues structure in addition to National dues as may be necessary to carry local expenses. Any initiation fee or local dues shall be collected by the Chapter Treasurer at a time to be established by the Chapter officers.
ARTICLE XI. REMOVAL FROM CHAPTER OFFICE
Any Chapter officer may be removed by a two‑thirds vote of the entire Chapter membership during a special meeting held for this purpose. Petition for removal must be submitted to all parties concerned at least three weeks in advance of a special convocation of the Chapter and all parties concerned shall have the opportunity to present their cases. Grounds for removal shall be intentional misconduct so as to bring discredit to PRSSA or PRSA, dereliction of assigned duties, intentional violation of PRSSA Bylaws or the Chapter Bylaws, and/or failure to maintain acceptable academic standards. Proceedings in such cases shall be confidential. A removed officer shall be replaced by one elected by a plurality vote of the Chapter membership.
ARTICLE XII. CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
All activities of the Beth Wood Chapter of PRSSA at Indiana University must be taken in the name of the Chapter. The Chapter may not merge with other organizations. No Chapter activity shall impose any liability or obligation upon the Public Relations Society of America.
ARTICLE XIII. AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be amended by a three‑quarters favorable vote of the membership of the Chapter, provided that the amendment shall have been proposed at least one meeting previous to the time of voting. Amendments to the Chapter Constitution and Bylaws, however, shall become effective only upon their approval by the National Committee of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Such amendments shall conform to the National Bylaws of the Public Relations Society of America.