United against inequities in disease

​

 

Constitution for United Against Inequities in Disease (UAID)

at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

(Last revision on February 7, 2017)

 

ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSE

 

Section A: NAME

Part 1. The official name for this organization is United Against Inequities in Disease at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

Part 2. This organization will use the official name or its acronym, UAID at UIUC, in all publicity materials and correspondence.

 

Section B: PURPOSE

Part 1. UAID is a volunteer organization that empowers domestic and international communities. UAID promotes research and advocacy in health inequities, and provides testing, counseling, and awareness initiatives to at-risk populations.

 

Part 2. All activities of this organization must be directed toward this purpose.

 

 

ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP

 

Section A: REQUIREMENTS

Part 1. Eligibility to UAID is open to all full-time undergraduate or graduate members of the UIUC community and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex.

 

Part 2. All other UIUC students and UIUC staff, faculty, alumni, and alumnae are eligible to be non-voting members.

 

Part 3. All members are required to demonstrate support for the purpose of this organization.

 

Part 4. Voting eligibility is contingent upon meeting attendance. A member may participate in voting if he/she has attended at least three UAID general meetings during the semester in which the vote is occurring.

 

Section B. RIGHTS

Part 1. All members are eligible to attend all meetings and events of this organization. Participation in certain national programs is contingent on an application or registration process and/or payment.

 

Part 2. If a fee is charged to attend a particular event, the membership will establish a fee scale for voting members, non-voting members, and others as appropriate.

 

Part 3. Only voting members as defined above are allowed to vote in chapter elections.

 

Section C. WITHDRAWAL OF MEMBERSHIP

Part 1. Members may have their membership withdrawn for failure to adhere to the requirements for membership as stated above.

 

Part 2. A simple majority vote of the quorum of membership at a regular or special meeting shall be sufficient to withdraw membership.

 

Part 3. Members to be voted upon in this regard will be notified of the intention to do so in writing at least one week prior to the meeting at which the vote will be taken.

 

 

ARTICLE III. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Section A: OFFICER TITLES
Chapter President
Vice President
Director of Finance & Records

Director of Events
Director of Awareness & Activism
Director of Marketing

 

Section B: DUTIES

Part 1. The UAID Chapter President will be the liaison between the campus chapter and the National UAID Board. National responsibilities include contributions to the UAID blog, weekly updates/conference calls with the National UAID chapter coordinator, updating membership information, and other tasks as required by the National Board. The Chapter President will chair all UAID meetings and will call special meetings as needed. In addition to delegating responsibilities and ensuring that the day-to-day operations of the chapter are running efficiently and effectively, the Chapter President will also produce all official external and important internal correspondence. The Chapter president will additionally maintain a master list of community and campus contacts for the chapter.

 

Part 2. The Vice President will direct communications within the chapter and will assist the Chapter President with official communication with the UAID National Board as needed. The Vice President will be responsible for managing voting procedures including balloting, keeping a calendar of events for the Chapter, and scheduling a room for general Chapter meetings. The Vice President is primarily responsible for organizing and executing the Community Project with a team of general members, and will attend regular calls with the UAID National Director of Community Projects. The Vice President will also act as substitute for the Chapter President at any meetings that the Chapter President cannot attend (including those with the National Board).

 

Part 3. The Director of Finance & Records will maintain financial records and report on all financial transactions of UAID. The Financial Director will also seek funding opportunities, including from the UIUC Office of Student Affairs, off-campus donation support, and partnerships. The Director of Finance & Records will be responsible for maintaining an official record of all Chapter meetings. This includes chronicling general Chapter discussions and calling for attendance of Chapter members.

 

Part 4. The Director of Events is responsible for organizing and executing UAID events on and around campus, including fundraising events. The Director of Events will meet with Project Heads and establish records of all projects. Additionally, the Director of Events will write blog posts for the UAID National Website regarding either the chapter’s executed events or topics in health inequities.

 

Part 5. The Director of Awareness & Activism will be responsible for raising awareness of public health issues in the local, national, and global community. The Director of Awareness & Activism will write a monthly blog post for the UAID National Website regarding topics in health inequities. The Director of Awareness & Activism will be responsible for updating the chapter’s page on the UAID National Website. The Director of Awareness & Activism will inform UAID members about current public health issues with presentations or speakers.

 

Part 6. The Director of Marketing will direct internal and external communications to advertise the events of the chapter. The Director of Marketing will ensure that all UAID events are adequately marketed to UAID members, the general UIUC student body, and the Urbana-Champaign community, when applicable. The Director of Marketing will be responsible for updating the chapter’s social media presence weekly during the semester, including the chapter social media pages and the chapter website. Additionally, the Director of Marketing will submit UAID events to UIUC General Events. The Director of Marketing will also maintain contacts and information on printing services for the chapter.

 

Section C. REQUIREMENTS FOR RUNNING FOR AND HOLDING OFFICE

Part 1. All officers and candidates for office must be currently enrolled students at The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

 

Part 2. All officers must be voting members of UAID.

 

Part 3. All members who have been active in the chapter for at least one semester are eligible to run for Executive Board positions with exception to the positions of President and Vice-President. To be eligible to run for President and Vice-President, a person must have served on the UAID Chapter Executive Board for at least one academic year.

 

Section D. ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Part 1. Any member interested in becoming Executive Officers will inform the officers of his/her intentions at least three weeks prior to voting and meet with the current elected officer of the desired position. Candidates can either nominate themselves or be nominated by another Executive Board member. The nominee must accept their nomination either in person or in writing to the outgoing Chapter President by a time and date determined by the current Executive Board. A list of all nominees with their information (i.e. background, interest, platform) shall be sent to Chapter members no later than one week prior to the election.

 

Part 2. Any member seeking an officer position must attend at least two Executive meetings.

 

Part 3. Voting ballots with each position and the candidates running will be distributed to voters before the speeches. The position to be voted on will be announced and all the candidates for said position will be presented.  Each candidate will give a brief speech followed by questions from members.  Time limits for speeches and questions shall be determined by the Executive Board. After all candidates for each position have presented, voting for that position will occur.

 

Part 4 Executive Board members shall be elected by a majority of voting members present at the election meeting, provided quorum is met. Quorum is defined as attendance of at least two-thirds of members.

 

Part 5. There shall be no limit on the number of terms an individual may serve.

 

Part 6. Annual elections for the UAID Executive Board shall occur at the end of the first semester. The outgoing and incoming executive boards will then use as much time as necessary until December 31st to transition their roles after the election. By 11:59pm December 31st, the transition must be complete and the full names, titles, and contact information (e-mail, phone number, and address) of the incoming Executive Board must be e-mailed to the National Director of Chapters.

 

Section E. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Part 1. Officers may be removed from office for failure to perform duties or for violation of membership clause.

 

Part 2. Unexcused absences are limited to three general meetings. Officers may not have any unexcused absences from executive board meetings. Absences may be excused by a unanimous vote of the executive board. Failure to comply with these rules may result in immediate dismissal from the executive board.

 

Part 3. Removal of an officer may be voted upon by the general membership. Officers will be notified of the intention to do so in writing at least one week prior to the meeting at which the vote will be taken. A two-thirds majority of quorum present at a regularly scheduled meeting shall be sufficient for removal from office.

 

Section F. TERMS OF OFFICE AND VACANCIES

Part 1. The term of office shall follow the calendar year, with elections occurring before the end of the UIUC Fall semester.

 

Part 2. Should a vacancy in office occur, there will be an election procedure for the vacant office at the soonest convenient opportunity.

 

Part 3. In the meantime, responsibilities of the vacant office will be reallocated among the remaining Executive Officers.

 

 

ARTICLE IV. NON-OFFICER POSITIONS

 

Section A. POSITION TITLES
Community Project Coordinator

Head of Recruitment

Photographer/Videographer

 

Section B. DUTIES

Part 1. The Community Project Coordinator will be the coordinators of individual fundraisers, volunteer opportunities, speaker panels, awareness campaigns, and other events hosted by UAID. There may be as many Project Coordinators as needed for the chapter at a given time. Project Coordinators will be appointed by the executive officers and will report to the executive officers.

 

Part 2. The Head of Recruitment will be responsible for actively seeking new membership for the Chapter. The Head of Recruitment will attend all Registered Student Organization (RSO) recruitment events such as the RSO Involvement Fairs, and will organize Chapter presence at these events.

 

Part 3. The Photographer/Videographer will be responsible for recording evidence of Chapter events.

 

Section C. REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-OFFICER POSITIONS

Part 1. All holders of Non-Officer Positions must be currently enrolled students at The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

 

Part 2. All holders of Non-Officer Positions must be voting members of UAID.

 

Section D. APPOINTMENT OF COMMUNITY PROJECT COORDINATORS

Part 1. Any member interested in becoming Community Project Coordinators will inform the current Executive Officers of his/her intentions to coordinate an event or project hosted by UAID.

 

Part 2. The Executive Officers will decide to accept or reject the proposed project.

 

Part 3. Project Heads are appointed by gaining approval from three of the six Executive Officers.

 

Part 4. There will be no limit on the number of projects an individual may head.

 

Section E. APPOINTMENT OF OTHER NON-OFFICER POSITIONS

Part 1. Any member interested in filling a Non-Officer Position will inform the current Executive Officers of his/her intentions.

 

Part 2. Appointment is gained by approval of three of the six Executive Officers.

 

Section E. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Part 1. A holder of a Non-Officer Position may be removed from the position for failure to adequately complete their duties.

 

Part 2. A holder of a Non-Officer Position to be voted upon in this regard will be notified of the intention to do so in writing at least one week prior to the meeting at which the vote will be taken.

 

Part 3. A two-thirds majority of the Executive Officers will be sufficient for removal from the position.

 

ARTICLE V. MEETINGS

Section A: Regular meetings will be held at least once a week.

 

Section B: Executive Board meetings will be held weekly, time and date to be determined for each semester at the first meeting of that semester.  Special meetings may be called by any combination of three of the officers. Notice of special meetings must be communicated to all members at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting.

 

 

ARTICLE VI. FUNDS

 

Section A: Possible sources of funding for UAID at UIUC include donations from local, national, and international businesses; organizations; and awards from grants and fellowships.

 

 

ARTICLE VII. AFFILIATIONS

 

Section A. University Affiliation

Part 1. This organization is a recognized student organization at The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, but is not part of the University itself.

 

Part 2. In all correspondence and business transactions, it may refer to itself as an organization at The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, but not as part of the University itself.

 

Part 3. UAID at UIUC may not include “UIUC” or “University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign” before “UAID” in any communications.

 

Part 4. UAID at UIUC accepts full financial and production responsibility for all activities it sponsors.

 

Part 5. UAID at UIUC agrees to abide by all pertinent University policies and regulations. Where University policies and regulations and those of UAID at UIUC differ, the policies and regulations of the University will take precedence.

 

Part 6. This organization recognizes and understands that the University assumes no legal liability for the actions of the organization, and that the University is not providing blanket indemnification insurance coverage for any activities of the organization, unless those activities expressly benefit and further the goals of the University, and have received prior review, approval, and consent of Campus Activities, Risk Management, and/or General Counsel.

 

 

ARTICLE VIII. BY-LAWS AND AMENDMENTS

Section A. BY-LAWS

Part 1. By-laws can be added to this constitution by a simple majority vote of the entire membership at a regular meeting of UAID at UIUC.

 

Part 2. This constitution takes precedence over any and all by-laws.

 

Section B. AMENDMENTS

Part 1. This constitution can be amended by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership at a regular meeting of UAID at UIUC.

 

Part 2. Notification of such a motion must be made to members at least one meeting in advance of the one in which the actual vote is taken.

 

 

ARTICLE IX. DISSOLUTION CLAUSE

Section A. In the event that UAID at UIUC should dissolve, any remaining assets shall be distributed to UAID National or to another institution as chosen by a unanimous vote of the executive board.