National Residence Hall Honorary Constitution
Gina M. Vanacore Chapter
Stony Brook University
Article I: Name
The name of this organization shall be the Gina M. Vanacore Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary, here after referred to as NRHH.
Article II: Statement of Non-Discrimination
NRHH shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, handicap or age in any of its policies, procedures, selection, practices or membership
Article III: Organization and Membership
This organization shall consist of four types of membership: Active, Early Alumni, Alumni and Honorary. The General Body shall consist of Active Members.
Section A: Qualifications
1. Shall reside in the residence halls during the semester of selection.
2. Shall be a student in good judicial standing with the Department of Campus Residences and Stony Brook University.
3. Undergraduate members shall have a minimum of a 2.75 cumulative GPA.
4. Graduate members shall have a minimum of a 3.2 cumulative GPA.
5. Shall have demonstrated outstanding service and leadership in the residence halls at Stony Brook University
Section B: Types of Membership
1. Active Membership
a. Must currently reside in the Undergraduate or Graduate residence halls of Stony Brook University.
b. Failure to meet GPA requirements shall result in Early Alumni Membership until GPA meets membership standards.
c. Fulfills responsibilities as outlined by the NRHH Executive Board.
d. Active members who do not meet a semester’s membership requirements (excluding GPA and Judicial Record) will be placed on probationary status. The following semester is considered the probationary semester and said member will need to complete additional responsibilities as specified by the executive board. Probationary members will still have the full benefits and voting privileges of active membership.
2. Early Alumni Membership
a. Member of NRHH who is still living on campus but can no longer meet the chapter membership expectations.
b. Shall not count toward 1% membership cap.
c. Member and/or chapter must apply for early alumni membership status by completing the early membership application, obtained from the Regional AD-NRHH, as stated in article II: Section 3: Early Alumni Membership of the NRHH Policy Book.
3. Alumni Membership
a. Members of NRHH who have graduated.
b. Members who no longer reside in the Undergraduate or Graduate residence halls of Stony Brook University. This includes, but is not limited to, students transfer from the university, graduate from the university, or choose to leave the residence halls to live off campus.
4. Honorary Membership
a. Must show outstanding leadership and service within the Stony Brook University residence halls.
b. Consists of faculty and staff, and graduating seniors. Graduating seniors must submit an application to the selection committee chair for induction as stated in Article IV: Section B: Section and Induction.
c. Chosen by the executive board during the selection process.
Section C: Membership Capacity
1. General Body membership into NRHH is limited to the top 1% of the total resident population at Stony Brook University as determined by the Department of Campus Residences.
2. The number of Honorary Members inducted per academic year shall not exceed ten percent of the NRHH membership cap.
3. There is no limit on the number of Alumni and Honorary Members recognized by NRHH.
4. Any student who is a member of an NRHH Chapter at another NACURH NRHH affiliated school shall automatically be declared a member of the Gina M. Vanacore chapter of NRHH and shall assume the membership type as outlined in this constitution.
Section D: NRHH Advisor(s)
The advisor(s) shall be appointed by the Department of Campus Residences.
Article IV: Induction of New Members
Section A: Nomination
1. An unlimited number of nominations may be submitted by any member of the NRHH General Body, Resident Assistants, Residence Hall Association (RHA), Residence Hall Directors, and any Residence Life staff member.
2. All student OTM nominees will be considered by the Executive board for nomination into NRHH.
Section B: Selection and Induction
1. Upon nomination, each candidate will receive a congratulatory letter from NRHH and an application. The application package is to be completed by the candidate and submitted to the Selection Committee.
2. The selection of new nominees shall be concluded by the first General Body meeting in March.
3. Inductions shall take place no later than the last week of April for the following academic year.
Article V – Graduating Members
Section A: Honor Cords
Honor Cords shall be determined by the Executive Board for all active members to be given for graduation. History of new inductees shall be reported and a rubric for honor cord eligibility will be produced. Then the rubric will be used for the eligibility of receiving an honor cord.
Article VI – Executive Board
The officers of NRHH shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary/Recording Treasurer, OTM Coordinator, Community Service Coordinator, and Public Relations Coordinator. The President shall not have voting rights except in the event of a tie or in the event that quorum of the general body is not met.
Section A: Qualifications
1. Must be an Active Member of NRHH for one semester with the exception of the President and Vice-President who must have been Active Members for one year.
a. Exceptions to the one semester requirement will be determined at the discretion of the current NRHH executive board and a vote by the NRHH general body.
2. Conflict of interest prevents a Stony Brook University Resident Assistant from being a Residence Hall Association Executive Board Member. Therefore, the NRHH President shall not be a Resident Assistant.
3. Whereas the Vice-President assumes the office of the President in the event of a vacancy, and the President shall not be a Resident Assistant, the Vice-President shall also not be a Resident Assistant.
Section B: Duties and Responsibilities
1. President
a. Shall hold eight (8) office hours a week in the RHA/NRHH Office.
b. Shall meet weekly with the NRHH advisor(s) and bi-weekly with the RHA advisor(s).
c. Shall preside over all executive and special meetings.
d. Shall represent NRHH to RHA and serve on the RHA executive board and uphold all duties and responsibilities there-of.
e. Shall serve as the primary liaison to the regional and national NRHH officers.
f. Shall ensure NRHH maintains good standing with NEACURH, NACURH, and Stony Brook University.
g. Shall uphold the constitution.
h. Shall appoint, remove or oversee committee chairs. This duty can be delegated to another Executive Board officer at the discretion of the President.
i. Shall attend regional and national boardroom meetings. This duty can be delegated to another Executive Board officer at the discretion of the President.
2. Vice President
a. Shall hold two (2) office hours a week in the RHA/NRHH Office.
b. Shall meet bi-weekly with the NRHH advisor(s).
c. Shall act in capacity of the President in his/her absence.
d. Shall preside over General Body meetings.
e. Shall coordinate the selection process and chair the Selection Committee.
f. Shall coordinate the constitutional revision process.
3. Secretary/Recording Treasurer
a. Shall hold two (2) office hours a week in the RHA/NRHH Office.
b. Shall meet bi-weekly with the NRHH advisors(s).
c. Shall maintain all NRHH correspondences.
d. Shall take minutes at all Executive Board and General Body meetings, and make them available to all members and advisors.
e. Shall maintain an accurate listing of all members and their status.
f. Shall take attendance at all Executive Board and General Body meetings.
g. Shall develop and maintain the NRHH budget.
h. Shall be coordinate and maintain the NRHH Blackboard.
4. OTM Coordinator
a. Shall hold two (2) office hours a week in the RHA/NRHH Office.
b. Shall meet bi-weekly with the NRHH advisor(s).
c. Shall coordinate the OTM process.
d. Shall submit chapter OTM winners to the regional level.
e. Shall serve as the chair for the OTM committee.
5. Community Service Coordinator
a. Shall hold two (2) office hours a week in the RHA/NRHH Office.
b. Shall meet bi-weekly with the NRHH advisor(s).
c. Shall coordinate community service efforts.
d. Shall chair the Community Service Committee.
6. Public Relations Coordinator
a. Shall hold two (2) office hours a week in the RHA/NRHH Office.
b. Shall meet bi-weekly with the NRHH advisor(s).
c. Shall maintain all publicity responsibilities of the Chapter.
d. Shall facilitate the relations between NRHH and other student organizations.
Section C: Election of Officers
1. The election process shall commence at the first General Body meeting in March. Elections shall take place at the first General Body meeting in April. Elections shall be conducted by secret ballet and overseen by the NRHH advisor(s).
2. Elections shall take place in the following order: President, Vice-President, Secretary/Recording Treasurer, OTM Coordinator, Community Service Coordinator, and Public Relations Coordinator.
3. Should no qualified candidate accept a nomination for an office, the election for that office shall move to the end of the process.
4. Officers must be elected by simple majority with quorum being met.
Article VII – Impeachment and Resignation
Section A: Grounds for Impeachment of Executive Board Members
1. Executive board members may be impeached for not fulfilling their duties as assigned or no longer meeting NRHH requirements, such as GPA and residing on-campus.
2. Impeachment may occur in the instance of excessive residence hall disciplinary incidents.
3. Failure of executive members to improve upon the written charges provided by executive board or chapter members.
Section B: Impeachment Process of Executives
1. The executive board member shall be notified of poor performance in his/her duties by the member(s) in writing.
2. The executive board member shall have a meeting with the individual(s) bringing forth charges and the advisor.
3. The executive board member shall be given two weeks to improve upon these charges from the date of the meeting with the advisor.
4. After a two week period there will be a review by the executive board of the charges and will be discussed with the advisor.
5. If performance has not improved, a recommendation for impeachment shall be brought forth before the chapter and must be approved by a 2/3 vote of the membership to continue proceedings.
6. If majority rules, then impeachment proceeding will begin and the entire chapter will be apprised of the charges, the executive board member being brought up on charges will be afforded the opportunity to speak, and will then leave the room.
7. A discussion by the general body will then take place and a vote as to whether or not the executive board member shall be impeached will occur. A 2/3 vote is needed to impeach the executive board member.
Section C: Resignation from Executive Board
1. If an executive board member cannot fulfill his/her duties, then he/she may resign by submitting a formally written resignation two weeks prior to their resignation at a scheduled executive board meeting. At the following general body meeting, an announcement will be made to the general body.
Section D: Vacancy of Office
1. Should the office of the President become vacant, the Vice President shall assume the office of the President.
2. In the event of a vacancy in any other position, the Executive Board shall delegate the duties and responsibilities of that office until a member has been elected to assume the vacant office.
Article VIII – Committees
Section A: Selection Committee
1. Shall be chaired by the Vice-President.
2. Shall be represented by members of the General Body who wish to participate on the committee.
3. Shall coordinate the application and induction process as they deem appropriate.
Section B: OTM Committee
1. Shall be chaired by the OTM Coordinator.
2. Shall be represented by members of the General Body who wish to participate on the committee.
3. Shall determine monthly winners of OTM for each category.
4. Shall plan and participate in OTM tabling during Campus Life.
Section C: Community Service Committee
1. Shall be chaired by the Community Service Coordinator.
2. Shall be represented by members of the General Body who wish to participate on the committee.
3. Shall coordinate the community service initiatives and activities as needed
Section D: Ad Hoc Committees
1. Ad hoc committees shall be created as the Executive Board deems necessary and appropriate for NRHH.
2. The chair of established committees will be determined by a 2/3 majority of the Executive Board.
3. Committees will meet for a designated period of time as determined by the Executive Board.
a. The duration of the committees shall be determined by the Executive Board at their discretion.
Article IX – Meeting Procedures
Meetings shall be run in accordance with the basic tenants of Robert’s Rules of Order (most recent edition)
Section A: Executive Board Meetings
1. The NRHH Executive Board shall meet on a weekly basis during the academic Fall and Spring Semester.
2. Meetings shall be held on a day and time as determined by the Executive Board.
Section B: General Body Meetings
1. The NRHH General Body shall meet on a bi-weekly basis during the academic Fall and Spring Semester.
2. Meetings shall be held on a day and time as determined by the Executive Board.
3. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Board on an as-needed basis but with a minimum of one week notice to the General Body. This is not counted against members required attendance. However, it can replace an absence at a previously required General Body Meeting.
Section C: Quorum
1. Quorum for the NRHH Executive Board shall be constituted by a simple majority presence of the recognized Executive seats.
2. Quorum for the General Body shall be constituted as 30% of active members, excluding the President.
3. Quorum for business conducted via the internet shall be constituted as One-Half (1/2) of the general body and the executive board, excluding the president.
Article X – Amendments
1. Amendments must be submitted to the Executive Board in writing one (1) week prior to voting by the General Body.
a. Any NRHH General Body member wishing to write an amendment must meet with an executive board member for assistance to assure compliance with NEACURH/NACURH standards.
2. Amendments to the constitution may be adopted by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the General Body, quorum being met.
Article XI – Affiliation
NRHH shall remain in good standing with the National Office of The National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) and the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH).
Article XII – Constitution
This constitution shall supercede all previous constitutions of the Gina M. Vanacore Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary. This constitution shall be ratified by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the NRHH General Body
Members inducted in the Spring of 2007 or prior must retain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 and any previous judiciary situations will not prevent the member from holding active membership.
This constitution shall be reviewed annually by the NRHH Executive Board.
Revised for: Spring 2009