Hydrophiles, the Oregon State University Chapter of the American Water Resources Association and the American Institute of Hydrology

Adopted October 7, 1997

Amended December 4, 1998

Amended October 2, 2014

Amended August 10, 2019

 

Article I

Name

The name of this organization shall be Hydrophiles, the Oregon State University Chapter of the American Water Resources Association, and the American Institute of Hydrology.

Article II

Purpose

The purposes of this association are:

  1. To provide a forum for academic, professional, and social interaction among students, faculty, and other members of the Oregon State University community in the fields of hydrologic sciences (broadly defined) and water resources management.

  2. To provide opportunities for the educational and professional development of its members through seminars, field trips, and other activities.

  3. To promote awareness of and educate the Oregon State University community about hydrologic and water resource issues.

  4. To promote the objectives of the American Water Resources Association and the American Institute of Hydrology.

 

Article III

Members

Section 1. Active Members must be a currently enrolled graduate or undergraduate students at Oregon State University and have paid the current dues. Members may be enrolled at any campus including Ecampus.

Section 2. Associate members shall be others interested in the purposes of this group. They shall not be eligible to hold office or vote.

Section 3. All voting members and officers of Hydrophiles must be currently enrolled for at least 3 credits at Oregon State University.


Section 4.  Membership shall not be denied to any student on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.

 

Article IV

Officers

Section 1. The officers of the association shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Symposium Planner, Marys River Watershed Outreach Coordinator, and Webmaster. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by the constitution and bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the association.

Section 2. The roles of President and Treasurer are required to be filled at all times. Other officer roles may be left temporarily vacant if there are insufficient people willing and eligible to serve in those positions. Individuals are permitted to hold multiple positions, with the exception of President and Treasurer. Elections are discussed in Article VII. 

Section 3. The duties of the officers of the association will be as follows:

President (required) - Serves as main point of contact between school administration, student outreach, and general inquiry. Calls officer meetings and supplies agenda in a timely manner. Responsible for overall operation and conduct of the club. Serves as a budgetary authority (in addition to treasurer). 

Vice-President (optional) - Works closely with all officers to add support, direction, and logistical assistance. Serves as a secondary point person to the president regarding contact with club members and other interested groups. 

Secretary (optional) - Maintains all officer and Hydrophiles-related meeting minutes. Assists with student organization projects where needed. Works with the President to determine the agenda and to ensure that the agenda is followed during meetings. 

Treasurer (required) - Manages the finances of the Hydrophiles organization. The treasurer is the main point of contact between the the Hydrophiles and OSU organizations. One of the main tasks of the treasurer is to maintain and foster this relationship and help with big picture planning and budgeting for Hydrophiles events. The treasurer is also the primary authorized user of the Hydrophiles’ bank account and handles all transactions. This includes receiving dues. 

Symposium Planner (optional) - Oversees the planning of the Pacific Northwest Water Research Symposium. Organizes a committee to plan the symposium, calls and runs meetings of the committee, and ensures the symposium and its planning process run smoothly.

  Marys River Watershed Outreach Coordinator (optional) - Serves as the primary liaison to the Marys River Watershed Council. Responsibilities include attending monthly board meetings, and attending special events. 

 

Webmaster (optional) – Maintain and update information on Hydrophiles website and the Pacific Northwest Water Research Symposium website. Manage Hydrophiles social media accounts, advertisement postings and subscriptions to listservs. 

Section 4. Officers shall be nominated between week 5 and week 8 of each spring term by online poll. The election shall be by secret ballot and the candidates receiving the most votes shall be named to their respective offices.

Section 5. Officers shall be elected to serve until their successors are elected, and their terms of office shall begin at the close of the meeting at which they are elected.

Section 6. Vacancies in offices shall be filled by nomination and voting of a quorum of active members.

Section 7. Officers shall have earned at least 6 credit hours in their most recently completed term. This requirement does not apply to first-term freshmen or first-term transfer students.

Section 8. Officers shall be Active Members of the organization. Associate Members are not eligible to become officers.

Section 9. Officers shall not be on disciplinary probation.

Section 10. Officers may be removed from office in accordance with Article IX: Parliamentary Procedure 

Article V

Advisor

Responsibilities of the advisor shall be those assigned by Oregon State University's Student Conduct Regulations. Should the current advisor become unavailable, a new advisor shall be elected in the same manner as the association’s officers.

Article VI

Meetings

Section 1. The regular meetings of the association shall be held monthly from October to May unless otherwise ordered by the association or by the Executive Committee.

Section 2. The regular meeting in May shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purpose of electing officers, receiving reports of officers and committees, and for any other business that may arise.

Section 3. Any meeting may be cancelled due to an illness, injury, or emergency affecting the Officer or Officers originally scheduled to facilitate the meeting. Any meeting may also be cancelled due to severe weather, natural or human hazards, or other conditions that would make meeting attendance unsafe or impractical for members. The President, Vice-President, or Secretary will make the determination to cancel a meeting and notify membership via email. If possible, cancellation emails will be sent out at least 24 hours before the event. Meetings will be rescheduled after consultation amongst the President, Vice-President and Secretary and members will be notified as soon as practically possible via email after an acceptable time has been agreed upon. 

Section 4. Special meetings may be called by the President or the Executive Committee following the written request of ten members of the association. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the notice and three days’ notice shall be given except in cases of emergency.

Section 5. Fifty percent (50%) of the Active Members of the association shall constitute a quorum.

Section 6. Meetings may be held online either in lieu of, or in addition to, the monthly regular meetings. All aforementioned rules described in Section 1-4 apply to online meetings. 

Article VII

Election

Section 1. Elections shall be held each spring term following nominations, and will be conducted by online poll.

Section 2. A member of the Executive Committee that is not seeking re-election will be named Election Chair.

Section 3. One month prior to the date of the election, the Election Chair will open nominations for each position on the Executive Committee to the Membership. Nominations will be sent directly to the Election Chair.

Section 4. Two weeks prior to the date of the election, the Election Chair will close nominations, and notify all nominees of the positions for which they have been nominated. Members who are on disciplinary or academic probation must decline any nominations. Graduate student nominees with a cumulative graduate GPA below 3.0 must also decline any nominations. All nominees, and the positions for which they accepted nomination, will be publicly available to other nominees during this process.

Section 5. In the event that a position remains unfilled, the Election Chair will solicit the Membership for additional nominations and invite existing nominees to run for the unfilled positions, as well. If no additional nominations can be procured, non-required positions may remain empty. 

Article VIII

Committees

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall include the officers of the association. They shall supervise the affairs of the association between its business meetings, make recommendations to the association and perform other duties as specified in the constitution and bylaws. The Executive Committee shall be subject to the orders of the association and none of its actions shall conflict with actions taken by the association.

Section 2. The Symposium Planning Committee will be responsible for planning and organizing the Pacific Northwest Water Research Symposium, which shall be hosted each spring by the association. This committee shall include members of the association who volunteer to assist with the planning of the symposium, and each member will be responsible for one of the following duties: Scheduling, Budgeting/Fundraising, Communications, Networking, Logistics, Workshops, and Arts Showcase. The chair of this committee shall be appointed by the members of the association during regular officer elections. This committee has the ability to spend funds at the discretion of the faculty advisor. 

Section 3. Other special/ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the President of the association or as the Executive Committee deems necessary in order to carry on the work of the association.

Article IX

Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the association in all cases to which they are applicable. In situations where the association’s bylaws and special rules of order are not consistent with Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, the bylaws and special rules of the association shall supercede. 

Article X

Amendments

This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the association by two- thirds vote, provided that the amendment has been submitted to the members of the association in writing at the previous regular meeting or distributed to all Active Members by mail or email at least 10 days before the meeting.