The BGSA Mission...
The Black Graduate Student Association exists to provide an infrastructure of unity, support and academic guidance for the betterment of the black graduate student body and the black community.
Georgia Tech Black Graduate Student Association
(a Georgia Institute of Technology student organization)
Preamble
The Black Graduate Student Association does hereby dedicate itself to
the enhancement of the graduate experience for African-American students.
These efforts extend across the entire spectrum of the graduate experience.
This experience includes but is not limited to; facilitating the transition
from undergraduate to graduate school, providing academic support, recruiting,
and providing opportunities for fellowship. This organization will also
seek to expose the Georgia Tech community to elements of African-American
culture.
Article I - Name
The name of this organization will be "Black Graduate Student Association"
(a Georgia Tech Student Organization) hereafter referred to as BGSA
Article II - Purpose
Section 1.
The purpose of the BGSA will be to:
- To assist African-American graduate students by providing information and resources vital to initial and continued success at Georgia Tech.
- To give African-American graduate students the opportunity to fellowship and bond through social outings and activities.
- To provide opportunities for African-American graduate students to network with faculty, staff, and industry members.
- To represent the interests of the African-American graduate student body with respect to the institute.
- To communicate with African-Americans interested in graduate school especially at Georgia Tech.
- To participate in outreach activities and programs to uplift the community.
The BGSA and its membership will abide by the rules set forth by the
Georgia Institute of Technology and its affiliates.
Article III - Membership
Section 1.
Membership in BGSA shall not be based on sex, race, religion, ethnic group or national origin.
Section 2.
There shall be no upper limit for the number of members in BGSA.
Section 3.
- Full membership shall be open to any graduate student enrolled and in good academic standing at Georgia Tech.
- Associate membership shall be open to any student enrolled at Georgia Tech, any member of the Georgia Tech faculty and staff, and any Georgia Tech Alumni.
Meeting attendance is not mandatory to maintain membership.
Article IV - Voting
Section 1.
- Full members as defined in Article III Section 3.1 who have paid dues shall be eligible to vote.
- Only one vote per eligible member will be allowed.
Article V - Officers
Section 1.
The organization shall have the following officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary.
Section 2.
- The President is to represent the organization, oversee all organizationÒs functions, preside over meetings, provide guidance, and to seek the attainment of organizational goals.
- The Vice President is to assume the responsibilities of the President, if the latter is absent. The responsibilities of the Vice President also include assisting the President and overseeing committees.
- The Treasurer serves as the primary custodian of all of the organizationÒs accounts, facilitates monetary exchanges, and will assume the position of the Vice President, if the latter is absent.
- The Secretary shall maintain a record of the meeting minutes (Executive and General Body) and be responsible for the timely distribution of this record to the membership. The responsibilities of the Secretary also include the maintenance of the organizationÒs documents and membership directory.
Officers shall be elected by the vote of the members specified in Section
1 in Article IV. General elections shall be held before the end of the
spring semester of each academic year. The elected officers shall preside
over their respective offices on the first day of the following fall semester,
unless otherwise specified in the by-laws of the organization. Special
elections shall be held to replace officers who resign or are removed from
office before the completion of their term. The members shall be notified
in a timely manner before the Election Day and shall be given the option
to vote via electronic mail or at the elections meeting. The nominees with
the majority vote shall take office.
Article V - Committees
- The Community Services Committee is responsible for organizing activities that promote community involvement.
- The Fundraising Committee is responsible for ensuring financial stability of the organization via fundraising activities.
- The Information Technology committee is primarily responsible for keeping the general body informed and educated with regards to information technology advances. A secondary responsibility of the Information Technology committee is to maintain the organizationÒs forms of information dissemination, such as the mailing list and the WWW pages.
- The Public Relations Committee is responsible for the recording of the organizationÒs activities via photography and the production and maintaining of a corporate sponsor brochure.
- The Recognition Night Committee is to plan the recognition dinner each semester. The recognition dinner is held primarily to honor the organizationÒs graduating Master's and Ph.D. students.
- The Social Committee is responsible for organizing social events for membership.
- The University Relations Committee is responsible for coordinating the organizationÒs involvement in activities sponsored by the institution. The committee is also responsible for keeping the membership informed of current events with respect to the institute.
Article VI - Meetings
Section 1.
General body meetings shall be held bi-monthly.
Section 2.
Executive board meetings shall be held bi-monthly.