hkn:lsu :: officer duties

APPENDIX A. DUTIES OF OFFICERS

***All officers shall complete ALL paperwork for their TERM OF OFFICE BEFORE THEY LEAVE OFFICE***

PRESIDENT

Formal duties of the President, as outlined in the Constitution state that he/she shall preside at all meetings and shall call special meetings at the request of not less than five members or whenever he/she deems it necessary. This does not pretend to cover all the responsibility that a successful chapter President can and should assume to guarantee chapter success.

Chapter activities of previous years should be reviewed by the President, so that he/she may have a full understanding of what has gone on in the past and profit by the knowledge of the successes and failures. The President should confer with the faculty advisor or other faculty members, who undoubtedly will be able to steer the chapter away from many pitfalls into which an unseasoned organization might be led.

Plans for the ensuing season should then be formulated. The President should make an outline of what he/she believes would be a good program. This should next be discussed informally with the other chapter officers and the faculty advisor and perhaps with other members of the faculty. A meeting of all the members of the chapter then should be called to discuss these plans and prepare a definite program of meetings and activities for the year. Securing the grades of the Junior and Senior students who are eligible for membership is another important duty of the President, either personally or through a supervised member representative. No mistakes in such lists are excusable and care should be taken not to repeat any confidence that is required in obtaining them. No use should be made of such lists other than the one for which they are intended.

The President always should preside at elections of members and should see to it that each candidate has every consideration due him. The President personally should notify successful candidates of their election whenever possible, and should delegate this duty only if that is imperative. The President should preside at the induction and should sign all membership certificates. It is essential that the President learn the ritual. When the ritual is read haltingly the ceremony is not impressive.

VICE-PRESIDENT

The Vice-President should be the right-hand man of the president in laying plans for the year. The Vice-President assumes the duties of the president in his/her absence. He/she should take the responsibility for the details of the programs for meetings such as securing speakers and seeing that the arrangements for meetings are correctly made. The Vice-President is often placed in charge of all pledge activities. The Vice-President should take charge of the preparation of the room for the induction, secure the necessary equipment, and see that all is in readiness beforehand. The Vice-President shall perform any other duties that may be delegated to him/her by the President.

RECORDING SECRETARY

The Recording Secretary's responsibilities include keeping a record of all meetings and issuing notices for special meetings. A suitable book should be provided for keeping a record of the meetings of the chapter. In this the Recording Secretary should enter the minutes, name of all in attendance, motions made and action taken on them. Where a speaker appeared on the program, his name and connection should be given, the subject and manner in which his talk was received.

The Recording Secretary signs the membership certificates.

The Recording Secretary shall perform all other duties assigned to him/her by the President.

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

All correspondence with National Headquarters is, in general, conducted by the Corresponding Secretary. It is his/her duty to confer with the president of the chapter in all matters which concern National Headquarters, to see that action is taken and to report back to Headquarters without delay.

Securing membership certificates and keys for the elected members in time for the induction is one important duty of the Corresponding Secretary.

Notice should be given in writing of all officers when they are elected. A list of these officers, their college addresses, phone, fax, and E-mail numbers is to be mailed promptly to Headquarters on the notice of election of officers form

Ballots taken on national affairs should be transmitted to the Executive Secretary immediately after the meeting at which the vote was taken.

All other correspondence, including that with other chapters, is handled by the Corresponding Secretary.

The Corresponding Secretary should cooperate with the Bridge Correspondent in contacting alumni.

BRIDGE CORRESPONDENT

Along with the other officers, the Bridge Correspondent should take a part in laying plans for the year and should take a definite responsibility for some phase of each program.

Preparing reports of all chapter activities for publication in The Bridge is, of course, the major work of this officer. The Bridge Correspondent should cooperate with the Corresponding Secretary in contacting the alumni and securing alumni personals for The Bridge. As to the type of reports desired, he/she should consult issues of The Bridge that are available; prepare reports as thus published -- not as a letter. Include nothing else on same pages as report. He/She should be able to distinguish between those reports that ramble and leave out many important details and those that are accurate and readable. Photographs can be included as a part of the report.

The Bridge Correspondent should also act as the publicity agent of the chapter. He/She should watch for news of the chapter and furnish it to the college and local papers. Where activities of a member are such that they will interest persons in his/her home town, suitable articles should be prepared and furnished to such papers. Proper mention of Eta Kappa Nu should be made without the appearance of advertising the organization. When new members are pledged or inducted, and when new officers are elected, these are always acceptable subjects for news items in the college and home-town papers of each inductee and new officer.

The local newspapers always are glad to publish news items about their citizens in college. Election of one of their sons or daughters to Eta Kappa Nu is acceptable news to their readers. If your college has a public relations staff, they will assist you.

TREASURER

As fiscal officer of the chapter, the Treasurer has charge of its funds.

The treasurer is required by the Constitution to collect all dues. This is interpreted to mean all fees for induction, local dues if charged, any assessments that may be levied for any purpose, and for any enterprises, such as dinners, mixers, electrical shows or other activities that are conducted by the chapter.

The Treasurer shall pay out funds for any purpose only on the order of the chapter. Checks should be cosigned by the President or Faculty Advisor. This is very important, as otherwise it is impossible to keep a satisfactory check on the chapter's finances. No variation from this procedure should be permitted.

In order that there may be no difficulty in presenting proper reports of the activities, the Treasurer should keep records in which are entered all financial transactions, and a balance should be kept for the inspection of the chapter at any meeting or when it is requested by the president. The Treasurer should see to it that all college requirements governing the handling of funds by student organizations are complied with, particularly those regarding the method of making payments, keeping records and having audits made.

He/She should also handle any other duties of any sort that are delegated to him by the President.

FACULTY ADVISOR

Designated by the chapter, the Faculty Advisor provides the needed stability and continuity that greatly helps a chapter be successful year after year.

The Faculty Advisor serves as a liaison officer between the chapter and the college.

He/She should normally give advice rather than direct the affairs of the chapter.

According to the Constitution, the Faculty Advisor shall be a member of Eta Kappa Nu and a faculty member in electrical engineering of the school in which the chapter is located.