UK EGSO

As Amended from the By-Laws Adopted February 16, 2018

As Amended from the By-laws Adopted July 23, 2015

As Adopted by Members September 12, 2003

As Amended from the By-laws Adopted April 19, 1995

and the Original By-laws Adopted February 6, 1976

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Preamble

We, the students in the English graduate program at the University of Kentucky, do hereby resolve to maintain a permanent organization for our mutual benefit.

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Section One: Name, Purpose, Membership

 

Article I:        The name of this organization shall be the English Graduate Student Organization (EGSO).

 

Article II:       The purpose of EGSO shall be to provide graduate student representation on major departmental committees; to work with the faculty in                         preparing EGSO members for the demands of their profession; to foster a spirit of cooperation among English graduate students,                                   between those students and the faculty, and between those students and undergraduate English majors at the University of Kentucky;                               and to provide a support network that is both financial and professional for graduate students as they enter the world of academia.

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Article III:       All graduate students in English at the University of Kentucky shall automatically be considered members of EGSO regardless of position;                         therefore, receiving all the benefits and responsibilities of said membership.

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Section Two: Officers and Responsibilities

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Article I:        EGSO shall have an Executive Board elected by membership vote composed of fourteen (14) officers who shall have the following

responsibilities and will receive one vote in all motions:

 

The President shall organize and publicize Executive Board and general meetings; act as a graduate student advocate; act as a liaison to the other university departments; be responsible for membership relations and maintaining the vitality of the organization; be responsible for maintaining the EGSO listserv to which all Executive Board members shall be added, shall create a safe space for all EGSO materials so that they are available to the Executive Board and members, and delegate responsibility as s/he sees fit.

 

The Vice-President Ph.D. shall assist the President with their duties and work with faculty and Executive Board members to implement programs 2 for the professional development of EGSO members and shall represent the particular interests of the Ph.D. graduate student members of EGSO. In addition, she shall act as Let's Write liaison, communicating with the DGS and other graduate students about programs when needed.

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The Vice-President M.A. shall assist the President with their duties and work with faculty and Executive Board members to implement programs for the professional development of EGSO members, shall represent the particular interests of the M.A. graduate student members of EGSO, and shall plan and implement undergraduate outreach endeavors.

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The Secretary shall keep records of all Executive Board and general meetings that will be housed in the space designated for EGSO; direct the publication of a tri-annual EGSO newsletter; at the beginning of the academic year, distribute a copy of the then-current EGSO constitution to each new EGSO member; and shall maintain the EGSO website.

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The Treasurer shall oversee all EGSO financial transactions, collaborate with the President, the Events Coordinator, and the Labor Representative in all fund-raising activities, brainstorm fundraising activities for EGSO, and discuss all financial concerns with the President and the Executive Board.

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The Faculty Representative shall represent EGSO concerns (and encourage additional EGSO attendance) at all open faculty meetings, publicize beforehand the agendas of these meetings, and solicit member opinions on relevant issues, and report the results of these meetings to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for filing.

 

The Graduate Representative shall represent EGSO concerns at all graduate committee meetings, publicize beforehand the agendas of these meetings, solicit member opinion on relevant issues, and report the results of these meetings to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for filing.

 

The Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies (WRD) Representative shall represent EGSO concerns to the Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Department, attend faculty meetings if permitted, publicize beforehand the agendas of these meetings, solicit member opinions on relevant issues, report the results of these meetings to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for filing, and serve as EGSO liaison on the joint ENG/WRD taskforce.

 

The MLA Representative shall represent EGSO concerns regarding matters connected with the MLA (Modern Language Association). He/she shall report any relevant information that comes from the MLA to the Executive Board and the membership and shall turn said report to the Secretary for 3 filing.

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The New Student Recruiter will be responsible for working with the Director of Graduate Studies and the Executive Board in recruiting new graduate students to the program and shall be responsible for communicating with prospective students about visits to campus and EGSO sponsored activities.

 

The MFA Representative shall act as a liaison between the MFA students and faculty and the graduate student body at large.

 

The Labor Representative will be responsible for regularly contacting English graduate students receiving funding to solicit their weekly working hours and to maintain accurate data on reported labor hours. Additionally, at the discretion of the Executive Board, they may share this data with other university labor representatives or with the administration in advancing student labor concerns and in advocating for improved labor conditions.

 

The Events Coordinator shall oversee all EGSO events and assist both the President and Treasurer in the implementation and advertising of fundraising initiatives. Additionally, they shall organize and announce weekly Happy Hours; schedule the meeting room for monthly EGSO meetings; oversee the EGSO Symposium committee; and support the Secretary by participating in the maintenance of EGSO’s various social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram).

 

The EGSO Representative to the Graduate Student Congress must fill the responsibilities outlined in the GSC’s Constitution (https://www.uky.edu/StudentOrgs/GSC/constitution.html). Fulfilling these duties guarantees the eligibility of all English Department graduate students for GSC Travel, Research, and Service Awards. Moreover, the Representative should serve as liaison between the English graduate students and the GSC; they should voice English graduate student issues, questions, and concerns to the GSC, and promote GSC funding, professional development, networking, and advocacy opportunities to their home department.

 

Article II:       Additional committees for fund-raising, research, social and other goals shall be formed at the discretion of the President and the Executive

Board and may include English graduate students not currently holding a position on the Executive Board. Each year, the Executive Board shall convene a Symposium committee to assist the Events Coordinator in their duties. Any trial Executive Board positions that the Executive Board would like to make permanent must be added by amending the Constitution and following all processes that amending the Constitution entails.

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Article III:      All Executive Board members are responsible for attending EGSO sponsored functions; revising and supplying information for The Graduate

Student Handbook and EGSO Newsletter; meeting with prospective graduate students when they visit campus as coordinated through the New Student Recruiter; and working at EGSO fundraisers.

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Section Three: Elections, Resignations, Impeachment

 

Article I:       The New Executive Board shall be elected prior to April 1 st during the spring semester of each year to ensure that the New Executive Board

and the current Executive Board have at least one Board meeting together for a smooth transition from the old to new Board. The election will be supervised by the current Executive Board, which will solicit nominations for all elective offices from the membership. A member of the English Department faculty or staff shall be designated by the Executive Board to tabulate final votes without aid or intervention from any EGSO member.

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Article II:       During the nomination process, any member of EGSO may only hold one officer position during a given academic year to ensure the most

participation on the Executive Board, which means that no member may run for multiple offices during any given election. For each contested position, each candidate shall provide a statement indicating their qualifications for said position. This statement must be provided to the current EGSO President at least one week prior to the election so that EGSO members may make an informed voting decision.

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Article III:       The new Executive Board shall assume its responsibilities immediately after the close of the spring semester, on the first Monday following

exam week; therefore, the previous Executive Board must hand over all necessary materials and change all necessary documents before leaving for the summer.

 

Article IV:      In the case that three (3) different EGSO members submit to the Executive Board, within a single semester, letters of complaint in criticism of

an Executive Board member’s performance of their duties, a special meeting of the Executive Board shall be called, during which the performance of the officer in question shall be reviewed. The officer shall be present at this meeting and shall be allowed to vote. Upon a majority vote to continue the impeachment process, the Executive Board shall conduct a general impeachment survey of the membership, and upon two- thirds (2/3) agreement of the membership, the Executive Board member in question shall lose their position.

 

Article V:      In the case that a member of the Executive Board is impeached or must resign their position before the end of their term, the remaining

members of the Executive Board will call for volunteers among the membership to 5 submit a statement indicating their qualifications for the open Executive Board position. The remaining Executive Board members will then vote to select the replacement till the next election, and the appointment is subject to the agreement of nine (9) of the remaining thirteen (13) members of the Executive Board.

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Section Four: Meetings

 

Article I:       The Executive Board shall meet at least once a month during the academic year. After the elections of the New Executive Board, the current

Board and the Board-elect must hold one joint meeting.

 

Article II:       Any motion during an Executive Board meeting must be passed by twothirds (2/3) vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Executive Board

membership. If for some reason all fourteen (14) Executive Board members are not present at said meeting, then the Secretary will post the motion to the EGSO listserv within twenty-four (24) hours of the meeting. Each Executive Board member will have forty-eight (48) hours from the posting to cast their vote. At the end of the forty-eight (48) hour period, the voting will be closed and the motion will be decided by a majority vote as described above.

 

Article III:      General meetings open to all members of EGSO shall be held at least once per semester. These meetings will be publicized reasonably in

advance, and items for consideration will be solicited from the membership.

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Section Five: Accumulation and Disbursement of Funds

 

Article I:        EGSO shall maintain a treasury, the funds for which shall be raised in various ways, as deemed appropriate bythe Executive Board.

 

Article II:       Either the President or the Treasurer may disburse funds from the treasury, but neither officer shall disburse funds exceeding ten dollars ($10)

a month without consultation and two-thirds (2/3) assent from the Executive Board.

 

Article III:      The current EGSO Board will leave their administrative term with no less than two hundred dollars ($200) in the treasury.

 

Article IV:      During each academic year, EGSO will provide funding for EGSO members to participate in conferences and other professional activities.

The amount of funding available to members (2-4 applicants per term) will be based on the treasury during each academic semester. The Executive Board must also consider funding for activities sponsored by EGSO before allocating funding to members. The Executive Board may never allocate funding so that there is less than two hundred dollars ($200) in the treasuryby the termination of that Board’s term. If the treasury reaches the two hundred dollar ($200) minimum balance, no conference funding shall be distributed until funds sufficiently exceed the stipulated minimum balance.

 

Article V:       In order to receive funding from EGSO, members must fill out a funding application form and meet all of the specifications set forth in said

application. Priority will be given to EGSO members who have not received EGSO funding and to members who are active participants in EGSO meetings and events. A copy of that application may be picked up from the EGSO President or Secretary or downloaded from the EGSO website. The deadlines for the application are as follows: Fall September 15th Spring February 15th

 

Article VI:      The EGSO Executive Board will reimburse those members that receive funding no later than the final day of the semester for the particular

deadline.

 

Article VII:     In the event that an EGSO Executive Board member requests funds from EGSO, that person shall not participate in the vote to grant or

withhold funds.

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Section Six: Adoption and Amendments of Constitution

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Article I:       This Constitution will go into effect upon approval by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the membership through a voting process approved

and implemented by the Executive Board, with a quorum of received votes no fewer than twenty-five (25).

 

Article II:       Amendments to this Constitution shall be subject to a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the membership through a voting process approved

and implemented by the Executive Board, with a quorum of received votes no fewer than twenty-five (25).

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The former EGSO Constitution may be viewed here

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