The Consitution
Sigma Alpha Delta Constitution
Restated as of Spring
2011
Article I – Name
Article II – Mission and Purpose
- A) Mission
- B) Purpose
Article III – Membership
- A) Categories
- B) Requirements
Article IV – Activities and Committees
- A) Disciplinary Items
- B) Disciplinary Remedies for Candidates, Inducted and Prospective Members
- C) Disciplinary Remedies for Candidates, Inducted and Prospective Members
(Executive Board)
Article V – Organization
- A) Executive Board
- B) Duties of the Executive Board
- C) Officers
Article VI – Activities and Committees
Article VII – Elections
- A) Quorum
- B) Eligibility
- C) Voting
- D) Procedure
- E) Succession in Office
- F) Length of term in Office
Article VIII – Finances
Article IX – Amendments
Article X – Miscellaneous
- A) Representation
- B) Bylaws
- C) Website
- D) Motto
Article I – Name
This society shall be known as Sigma Alpha Delta Honor Society. It was
established in 1932 in what was then known as the City College School of
Business and Civic Administration, and was later renamed to Baruch College of
the City University of New York. The evening chapter was added in 1959.
Hereinafter, Sigma Alpha Delta shall be referred to as “The Society” and Baruch
College will be referred to as “The College.”
Article II – Mission and Purpose
A) Mission
The mission of the Society is to provide character development with an emphasis
on pursuit of academic excellence, personal and professional development,
service to the College and the community, as well as a lasting relationship with
its members through networking opportunities and camaraderie.
B) Purpose
The Society shall be dedicated to conferring distinction for high achievement in
undergraduate studies at the College, in student leadership, and community
service. The Society shall strive to foster a community spirit amongst its
members, to associate outstanding leadership in mutual understanding for the
advancement of a democratic society and to encourage both their intellectual and
personal development. The Society shall stand for freedom of mind and shall
impose upon members the highest citizenship responsibilities. The Society shall
promote altruistic conduct through voluntary service and enrich the College
community through events, which uphold our mission.
Article III – Membership
A) Categories
• Candidate – An individual within the College, who holds a minimum GPA of 3.2
• Prospective Member – A candidate seeking induction. Prospective members can
become vice chairs of assistant a) being selected by an officer of the executive
board and b) approved by the president and the vice president.
• Inducted Member – A member who has met all of the induction requirements including the minimum GPA of 3.5
• Honorary Member – A member that meets all of the induction requirements with
the exception of the academic requirement. Honorary membership will consist of
no more than 20 of the hardest working member that have dedicated a great deal
of time and effort into the society. Honorary members will be chosen by the
executive board. Honorary members must also hold a minimum GPA of 3.2. *Refer to Bylaws
• Officer – Members of the executive board.
• Alumni – An inducted member of the Society who has graduated from the College.
• Distinguished Leader – Any person who has influenced their respective field or
endeavors will be available for this membership. The eligibility for the
distinguished leader membership will be contingent upon the society’s values as
determined by the Executive Board. A distinguished leader cannot vote or run for
position.
•Professional Membership – Any professional who has shown substantial interest
in Sigma Alpha Delta and has significantly contributed to the society will be
deemed as a professional member of Sigma Alpha Delta. Professional members will
have voting rights at elections.
B) Induction Requirements
1. Academic
Must have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the Undergraduate Division of
Baruch College. Exceptions will not be made for those with a GPA lower than a
3.45.
Twelve academic credits are necessary if student entered the College as a
freshman.
Twelve academic credits taken at Baruch College are required if student entered
the College as a transfer student.
2. Service to the Society
Must have been consistently active in the Society and their respective
Committee. Prospective members must attend 2 on-campus event hosted by the
society aside from the Induction Ceremony and/or New Candidates Dinner.
3. Service to the community
Must have participated in at least two community service events sponsored by the
society (i.e. “volunteering events”).
4. Policy of Non-discrimination
The Society does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, age,
social status, language skills, religion, sexual orientation, income or any
other basis for discrimination. Membership benefits are outlined in the Bylaws.
Article IV – Disciplinary Actions
A) Disciplinary Items
In the event that it becomes necessary to reprimand a disruptive candidate,
member, prospective, inducted, honorary, or alumni (including Executive Board
members), or a member who does not adhere to the constitution, bylaws or the
overall mission of the society, the organization has the right to take
disciplinary action up to and including removal of said member from the
organization.
Each incident will be looked at on an individual basis and the society must
demonstrate a reasonable effort to address the situation in a professional and
objective manner before further disciplinary action is taken.
A quorum of 75% of the Executive Board must be present and decision will be made
by outcome of a simple majority vote.
B) Disciplinary Remedies for Candidates, Inducted and Prospective, Honorary,
or Alumni.
Any Inducted member, Candidate, Prospective, Honorary or Alumni may be voted out
of the organization by a majority vote by the Executive Board if it is found
that said member is disruptive and acting contradictory to the organization
constitution, bylaws and the overall mission of the organization.
C) Disciplinary Remedies for Executive Board Members
Any member of the Executive Board may be voted out of the organization by a
majority vote (in the presence of a quorum) of the Executive Board and the Vice
Chairs and the Executive Consultants, if it is found that said member is
disruptive and acting contradictory to the organization constitution, bylaws and
overall mission of the organization.
In the event that a member is terminated, he or she may not reapply to the
Society for at least one semester after the semester in which they were
terminated.
Article V – Organization
A) Executive Board
The Society’s activities are directed by a governing body, The Executive Board.
The Executive Board comprises of ten Officers, four of which are the immediate
Executive Board, which includes:
1. The President
2. Vice President
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
The remaining Executive Board members are the elected Chairpersons of the
following committees/departments: Public Relations and Marketing, Events
Management, Volunteering, Web Design and Technology, Alumni Relations, and Human
Resources.
B) Duties of the Executive Board
Individual rights and responsibilities of the members of the Executive Board are
outlined in the Bylaws. As the governing body of the Society, the Executive
Board has the following responsibilities:
• When deemed feasible and necessary the Executive Board can establish or
eliminate or restructure a new committee.
• outline long term and short term strategies and goals for the achievement of
the Society’s mission
• submit budget proposals to USG (Undergraduate Student Government) and approve
internal budgets based on other revenues
• make changes to the Bylaws and Constitution whenever necessary
• make changes to the organizational structure of the Society
• call General Meetings
• approve the introduction or extinction of any of the Society’s programs
• approve the admission of honorary members
• address any disruptions as defined and in accordance with section IV
“Disciplinary Actions”
• make waivers of requirements when they see fit
The Executive Board should meet regularly at least once a month. Decisions of
the Executive Board must be agreed by a simple majority of its members;
therefore, it is the responsibility of every member of the Executive Board to
participate at every meeting. When this is not possible they should delegate a
substitute. The Secretary or his/her substitute will file the minutes of all the
Executive Board’s meetings and take note of all such delegations.
Article VI – Activities and Committees
The society is entitled to engage in any activities, inside and outside the
College, provided they are legal and in compliance with this Constitution, the
policies of the College, and the Society’s Bylaws, as approved by the Executive
Board. The society shall have several committees responsible for developing its
activities. Functions of a committee are to be outlined in the Bylaws. Existing
committees are as follows: Alumni Relations, Events Management, Public Relations
& Marketing, Volunteering, Web Design & Technology, and Human Resources. When
deemed feasible and necessary the Executive Board can establish, dissolve or
make inactive a committee.
Article VII – Elections
A) Quorum
A quorum for any election meeting consists of a minimum of 23 of the active,
inducted, and honorary members. For the purpose of elections, Active Membership
comprises of all members who have met the inducted membership requirements prior
to Election Day.
B) Eligibility
Only members who have been inducted prior to Election Day are eligible to run
for any Officer positions. Any voter can nominate another active member for
office. All candidates must be Active Members and must attend the undergraduate
division of the College in the semester following the Election Day. In the
event that there are insufficient qualified candidates for any of the offices,
the current Executive Board can waive the requirements for eligibility.
Candidates for the seat of President must have already served for a full term as
a member of the Executive Board at the time of the elections. Members who have
not met this requirement will not be eligible to run for the position of society
President.
A Sigma Alpha Delta member cannot run or hold a Sigma Immediate Executive Board
position, if they are a part of another Executive Board in another student
organization in Baruch College. A Sigma Alpha Delta member cannot run or hold a
Sigma Executive Board position, if they are pledging for an intensive service
oriented organization such as a business and social fraternity.
C) Voting
Voting shall be performed by secret ballot. All officers and members of the
Executive Board are elected with a simple majority of present votes. In case of
a tie for any of the Permanent Officers, the departing Executive Board shall
make a decision. Under extreme circumstances and/or if an unusual conflict
arises, the Faculty Advisor or a minimum of 3 Alumni, (or a greater odd number),
can nominate a new President or a new Executive Board or both.
D) Procedure
Election meetings shall occur twice a calendar year before the end of the months
of May and December, respectively and any time it is necessary following the
resignation, graduation or exclusion of an Officer. All meetings are conducted
in accordance with this Constitution and the Bylaws. Specific order of elected
positions is to be established by out going President or highest ranking
presiding officer.
E) Succession in Office
In the event that an Officer is dismissed or resigns, the Officer immediately
subordinated to the departing Officer will temporarily assume the position until
the following elections. Each current Officer is expected to identify and
propose a replacement for his or her position from among the Active members at
the time of departure.
F) Length of term in Office
A person cannot hold the same position within the Executive Board for more than
two consecutive terms, where each term is the majority of one semester,
excluding the summer and winter semesters. That does not include any “Acting”
term. “Acting” refers to a situation where an individual temporarily runs a
committee while another individual holds the official title to the Office.
A term is defined as one semester.
Article VIII – Finances
The Society is mainly funded through funds provided by the Undergraduate Student
Government (or a similar entity should this name change in the future), who is
empowered by the College to administrate the Student Activity Fee. In addition,
the Society can accept donations from any person or organizations provided that
the donors do not request any explicit benefits in return. In the event of
dissolution of this Society, all accrued funds and assets shall become the
property of Bernard Baruch College Association, Inc. The society can also raise
funds to be placed in a private account.
Article IX – Amendments
An amendment to the Constitution, after being proposed at a prior meeting, must
receive an acceptance of a quorum of the Officers present in order to be
adopted. Each amendment shall be attached to the Constitution, be dated,
publicized immediately, and posted on the website for it to become applicable.
Article X – Scholarship
As of spring 2011 Sigma Alpha Delta will be adding a scholarship to be called
that Sigma Alpha Delta Diversity Scholarship. The scholarship shall be
awarded to an inducted member who is chosen after a 2 step deliberation process.
In order to qualify, one must:
a) be an active inducted member
b) have a 3.2 GPA
c) be registered for the undergraduate division of Baruch College for the
upcoming semester with 12 credits
d) fill out the application by the set due date
The first round shall be held by the executive board to narrow the number of
applicants to no less than five. The second round is an interview round with a
board of three to five faculty, staff and/or alumni. There shall be no excess
than one alumnus on this board. This board shall be created by the Sigma Alpha
Delta Executive Board. All fundraising for this scholarship must be placed into
the private account. We have a separate line in the private account in Baruch
College, to be exclusively used for the Sigma Alpha Delta scholarship. See
bylaws for additional information
Article XI - Miscellaneous
A) Representation
The Society is supervised by a Faculty Advisor who acts as a liaison with the
College and ensures its continuity and compliance with College policies. The
society and the Immediate Executive Board comprised by the President, Vice
President, Treasurer and Secretary, are required to update their registration
file with the College at the commencement of every semester.
B) Bylaws
The Bylaws are the Revolving Regulatory Statute for all members in conducting
their activities. It is regularly updated at the beginning of every semester,
but can also be updated at any time by the Executive Board. The Executive Board
is required to post it on the Society’s website for it to become applicable to
all members. The current Bylaws contain: Committee Descriptions, Detailed
Responsibilities for Executive Board Members, Membership Benefits, The Oath of
Membership, Programs Guide, Meetings and Events Guide, Culture and Current
Goals. A committee designated by the Executive Board shall propose a complete
version of the Bylaws within 5 weeks from the passing of this Constitution.
C) Website
The society maintains a website at www.sigmabaruch.org for the purpose of
registration, posting listings of members, posting the Bylaws and any other
relevant information. The maintenance of the website should be supported with
Society’s funds. When such funds are lacking, the society can solicit the help
of Alumni members of the Society. The responsibility of updating and maintaining
accurate information on the website falls on its current leadership.
D) Mottos
Daniel LaMazza, Fall 2007 – “I Change Myself I Change the World”
Harb Johnson, Spring 2008 – “Passion Knows No Limits”
Hosni Mubarak, Fall 2008 – “Fortune Favors The Bold”
Yaphet Murphy, Spring 2009 – “Join The Experience”
Najeeb Alam, Fall 2009 – “In Union There Is Strength”
Jennifer Cobos, Spring 2010 – “Carpe Diem”
Shaif Uddin, Fall 2010- “Per Aspera ad Astra”
Vita Kazais, Spring 2011- “Passion is Contagious”
Jessica Gil, Fall 2011 - "Become Your Dream"
Executive Board of Spring 2012:
– President – Sara Dowd
– Vice President –Kevin German
– Treasurer – Dennis Chang
– Executive Secretary – Mariya Tuchinskaya
– Human Resource Manager – Jane Bugai
– Chair of Alumni Relations – Eugene Frankel
– Chair of Events Management – Hong Pan
– Chair of Marketing and Public Relations – Nikita Singh
– Chair of Volunteering – Kamylle Mac Intosh
– Chair of Web Design and Technology Committee – Wu Chen
– Executive Board Consultant – Jessica Gil
– Executive Board Consultant – Vita Kazais
Bylaws – Fall 2009
A. Committee Descriptions
a. Volunteering Committee
b. Alumni Relations Committee
c. Events Management Committee
d. PR & Marketing Committee
e. Web Design and Technology
Committee
B. Responsibilities of the Executive Board
C. Membership Benefits
D. The Oath of Membership
A) Committee Descriptions
a) Volunteering Committee:
Volunteering Committee strives to work together to attain excellence of
volunteerism within the Baruch College and the local community. Its goals
include raising awareness of the beneficial and significant contributions that
volunteering has within a community as well as nation-wide, building an
effective team that will uphold the value of volunteering and encourage other
members of the Baruch community to freely give back to our society, and being a
strong and visible voice that will work effectively with local volunteering
organizations and lend a helping hand to those in need.
The positions of Volunteering Committee include but are not limited to:
• Vice Chair of Communication
• Vice Chair of Events
• Vice Chair of Fundraising
• Project Manager
b) Alumni Relations Committee:
Alumni Relations Committee strives to obtain and maintain a rich connection with
Sigma Alpha Delta Alumni through valued relationships. It enhance the legacy, pride
and current developments of Sigma Alpha Delta by gathering knowledge of our
history from our founders and builders. It honor the hard work, dedication,
philanthropy, and achievements of Sigma Alpha Delta’s Alumni. Its goals include
enhancing relationships with Alumni by obtaining more accurate records of our
current Alumni and creating a standard for how we collect and find Alumni
information in the future.There will be one database that the Alumni Chair will be responsible for updating every semester. The Alumni committee is responsible for highlighting and drafting two Alumni Story in each of
our Bi-semester Sigma Newsletters, increasing Baruch College’s awareness of our
efforts to reconnect with our Sigma Alpha Alumni. It specializes in increasing Sigma Alumni participation at our current events, increasing sponsorship of Sigma by Alumni, hosting social events with Sigma alumni, and maintaining an Alumni appreciation webpage on the website.
The positions of Alumni Relations Committee include but are not limited to:
• Vice Chair of Alumni Database
• Vice Chair of Historians
• Vice Chair of Biographers
• Interviewer/ Article Writer/ Editor (Biographers)
• Historical Researcher / Historical Scribe (Historians
• Alumni Correspondent/ Alumni Researcher (Database)
• Internal Communicator
c) Events Management Committee:
Events Management Committee strives to provide, develop, and execute objectives
at hand vital for Sigma Alpha Delta. It assists, arranges and organizes
organization’s members to formulate a cohesive committee which serves as the
backbone to our organizational events. Its goals are to efficiently and
effectively coordinate constructive events, to plan and utilize resources ahead
of deadlines, to emphasize the allocation of funds that are available, to
successfully execute events in all phases, and to continue to serve as
ambassador to encourage qualified students to join.
The positions of Events Management Committee include but are not limited to:
• Vice-Chair of Event Management
• Event Analyst
• Internal Communicator
• Budget Analyzer
• Catering Specialist
• Supply Officers
• People Specialists
d) Public Relations & Marketing Committee:
PR & Marketing Committee strives to effectively advertise all events, develop
and strengthen relationships with prospective members, current members, faculty,
student, organizations and alumni, effectively coordinate, modify and upgrade
the different communication/IT resources (website, blogs, Facebook, blackboard),
assist in the creation of Sigma Products, and provide opportunities for members
to be active through various key positions. Its goals are to obtain and maintain
strong relationships with students clubs and organizations, create, edit, and
prepare the bi-semester Newsletter, obtain and maintain strong relationships
with Faculty and Staff, advertise, get Sigma opinion into the Ticker and other
communication mediums establish and maintain a PR Table and participate in
Spring Fling and Club Fairs, run the Stress Relief Workshop, and develop
promotional products and make them accessible for sales for Sigma members.
The positions of PR & Marketing Committee include but are not limited to:
• Vice Chair of PR & Marketing
• Marketing Data Analyst
• Internal Communicator
• Director of Graphic Design
• Director of Promotions
• Director of Campus Relations
• Graphic Design Artist
• Promotion Specialists
• Campus Liaison
• Press Secretary
e) Web Design and Technology Committee
Web Design and Technology Committee maintains an up to date website that serves
as an essential communication tool to students and alumni. It also finds new
ways to improve the website and its accessibility to alumni and other parties
outside Baruch College.
The positions of Web Design and Technology Committee include but are not limited
to:
• Vice Chair of Web Design & Technology
• Web Developer
• Internal Communicator
• Photographer
B) Responsibilities of the Executive Board
• Plan, develop and implement strategies, initiatives and programs, which
promote an environment suitable for the continued learning and enhancement of
all officers, committees and overall organization.
• Ensure that the organization, committees and officers reflect the values and
best practices outlined in the constitution and bylaws.
• Maintain focus on service, academic achievement and tight bonds between
members so to ensure that Sigma Alpha Delta has wider recognition as being
Baruch College’s Honor Society.
C) Membership Benefits
• Sigma Alpha Delta provides Baruch’s Top Students with networking opportunities
with a prestigious body of Alumni, Corporate Speakers as well as other bright
students who are members of the Society. It also aims to allow students to bond
among themselves and achieve self-fulfillment goals by providing services to
other students. This, in turn, will compound their academic achievement with
social and community achievements.
• You will get to know, interact and progress with your generation of Baruch’s
best students and future Leaders.
• The Society will stay in touch with you as you progress after school and
provide you with information, advice, and connections to your old friends and
colleagues whenever necessary.
• Most Events, Social Meetings, and Parties are held conveniently on Friday
evenings immediately after work (or weekends) for about two hours.
• Sigma Alpha Delta Honor Society also has programs which allow students to
practice their skills and interact with people while in school. We have a
variety of positions that will allow you to practice your management,
leadership, and teamwork skills.
D) The Oath of Membership
“I do solemnly
promise to adhere to the
constitution, mission and bylaws
of Sigma Alpha Delta Honor
Society, to abide by its principles,
and to support the Society to the
best of my ability while a student
and after graduation.”
