Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Advisory Council Bylaws
Last Updated: August 2023
Purpose/Mission
The purpose of the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Advisory Council (ME GSAC) is to improve graduate student life in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The goals of the council include the following:
- Serve as a connection between graduate students, faculty, and staff,
- Organize events for graduate students to socialize and network,
- Support initiatives to create and support a more inclusive environment within the department,
- Provide resources for professional development.
Membership
All members of the ME GSAC must be graduate students (Ph.D. dissertators, Ph.D. pre-dissertators, M.S. students, or accelerated M.S. students) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Elected officers are tasked with attending regular meetings and furthering ME GSAC objectives. However, all are welcome to participate in planning and executing events and activities through various committees headed by the officers. Committees will be formed at the annual meeting in July. Students starting their graduate degree in January can join committees in February.
Surveys will be sent out to all attendees of events organized by the ME GSAC. These surveys will include a question asking if they are interested in joining the ME GSAC. The ME GSAC will invite interested graduate students to become members.
Non-Discrimination Clause:
Student organizations that select their members or officers on the basis of commitment to a set of beliefs (e.g., religious or political beliefs) may limit membership, officer positions, or participation in the organization to students who affirm that they support the organization’s goals and agree with its beliefs, so long as no student is excluded from membership, officer positions, or participation on the basis of his or her race, color, creed other than commitment to the beliefs of the organization, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status or parental status, or, unless exempt under Title IX, sex.
ME GSAC Committees
There will be total of six officers for the ME GSAC: one chair for each of the four committees, one president, and one vice-president. Each committee has an officer that will be in charge of managing committee operations and coordinate with the council. General members of the ME GSAC are welcome to join any committee.
Social and Communications Committee:
Officer: Social and Communications Chair (1)
Social Duties:
- Organize social activities for Mechanical Engineering graduate students at a minimum frequency of one event per semester (coffee hours, game nights, welcome event for new students, semester kick-off, etc.)
Communications Duties:
- Work with staff to develop and update websites pertaining to graduate student activities, including, but not limited to, the ME GSAC website,
- Promote recognition of ME graduate students through announcements of their accomplishments (through newsletters, emails, social media, etc.),
- Write and release communications to ME graduate students for ME GSAC updates and events.
Diversity, Outreach and Recruitment (DOR) Committee:
Officer: Diversity, Outreach and Recruitment Chair (1)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Duties:
- Plan activities to promote recruitment and retention of underrepresented students within the department (participate in conferences like National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), etc.),
- Work with Graduate Engineering Research Scholars and Graduate Women+ in Mechanical Engineering to promote events and support communities for underrepresented students.
Outreach Duties:
- Promote STEM education to surrounding communities through outreach activities,
- Assist in events organized by Department of Mechanical Engineering and College of Engineering (Engineering Expo, etc.)
Recruitment Duties:
- Work with faculty and staff to plan graduate recruitment events (Visit Wisconsin, etc.),
- Answer prospective students’ emails and connect them with faculty and other graduate students based on their interests,
- Serve on graduate student panels for prospective student events,
- Promote graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to prospective students at conferences like NSBE, SACNAS, SHPE, SWE, Society of Asian Scientists & Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, etc.
Professional Development Committee:
Officer: Professional Development Chair (1)
Seminar Duties:
- Meet with faculty to plan Graduate Seminar (ME 903) and Mechanics Seminar (ME 601) speakers, and promote topics and speakers of interest to graduate students,
- Meet with seminar speakers.
Professional Development Duties:
- Plan and promote professional development events for students seeking industry and academic career paths.
- Organize talks by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, UW-Madison Writing Center, etc.
Financial Committee:
Officer: Financial Chair (1)
Financial Duties:
- Create an annual budget based on events planned throughout the year and propose it to the department,
- Write grants for funding and seek sponsorship for ME GSAC events,
- Keep track of incoming and outgoing finances for ME GSAC,
- Open and manage a bank account.
Team Leaders:
Officers: President (1), Vice-President (1)
Team Leaders’ Duties:
- Act as chief executive officers of the council,
- Create agendas and run ME GSAC meetings,
- Attend Mechanical Engineering Graduate Committee meetings once a month,
- One officer attends College of Engineering Graduate Student Advisory Council (CoE GSAC) meetings once a month,
- Register and maintain as a registered student organization,
- Communicate with the officers of each committee on progress,
- Make sure committees have the resources required to fulfill their duties,
- Ensure smooth operation of the different committees,
- Point of contact between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the ME GSAC.
Officers
Officers are expected to create agendas and run meetings for their committees on a regular basis. All officers are expected to attend bi-weekly ME GSAC meetings. The time of these meetings will be determined based on the availability of the officers. These meetings should last less than an hour and address past and future events, provide updates from officers for their committees, and an open session. Decisions on action items will be made by a majority vote of the officers that are present. Online voting can be used with a reasonable but explicit end date.
Elections
Elections for new officers will be held annually in July. All ME GSAC members will be invited to and highly encouraged to attend the election meeting. Nominations will be sent to the officers before or during this meeting. All nominations are welcome, including self-nominations. Individuals can be nominated for multiple positions, but can only accept one. Individuals who accepted their nomination will give an informal 5-minute talk addressing the following:
- Why they are interested in the position,
- How they would make sure that the activities planned for the whole year get addressed,
- What changes they would like to see in the ME community within a year.
Election will be held with anonymous voting and the incumbent president will tally all votes. In the event that ME GSAC members cannot attend the meeting in-person, votes can be tallied anonymously by other means. The term of office will be one year.
Officer Removal
Officers can be removed if 2/3 of the officers vote for removal during a meeting. In the event that monthly meetings are not being held and the officers wish to remove a president, an officer may organize a meeting in which they invite all officers including the presidents.
Amendments
Amendments to the constitution must be ratified by 2/3 vote from the officers. Draft amendments should be distributed to all officers in advance of the meeting.