THE CONSTITUTION
OF
THE NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC HONOR SOCIETY
BETA KAPPA CHI SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, INCORPORATED
REVISED TO APRIL 1, 1965
ARTICLE I - NAME AND PURPOSE
Section 1. The Society shall be called the Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Society.
Section 2. The purpose of this Society shall be to encourage and advance scientific education through (A) original investigation; (B) the dissemination of scientific knowledge; and (C) the stimulation of high scholarship in pure and applied science.
ARTICLE II - CHAPTERS
Section 1. The Society shall consist of chapters which shall be named after the educational institutions in which they are located.
Section 2. A petition for the establishment of a chapter shall be submitted, in writing, to the Executive Secretary.
Section 3. A chapter of the Society may be established at institutions of higher learning which are approved by their'regional accrediting agencies by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the assembled delegates at a national meeting. A minimum number of five members is necessary for the establishment of a chapter. A chapter which is located atan institution which loses its accreditation will be declared inactive until said accreditation is restored.
Section 4. The officers of each chapter shall be a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and sponsor. The sponsor of each chapter must be a college graduate who is a member of the Society.
Section 5. The acts of each chapter shall be governed by the Constitution and By- Laws of the Society. A chapter may adopt other By-Laws for its use, provided that they do not conflict with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society.
Section 6. Any chapter of the Society may be suspended upon the unanimous vote of the Council. A chapter may be expelled by a two-thirds vote of the assembled delegates at a national meeting.
Section 7. Chapters failing to submit a financial report or to elect some student members over a two-year period will be placed on probationary status for one year. The failure to remove this probationary status within the stated one-year period will result in the withdrawal of the charter for the chapter from the institution. The President, Dean, and Chief Personnel Officer of an institution in which such a chapter is located will be informed of these actions.
ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. The Society shall consist of members.
Section 2. The following sciences represent the fields of activity in which one must have shown noteworthy achievement in order to be considered for membership in the Society: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology, Biology, Experimental and/or Clinical Psychology Anthropology.
Section 3. The following, and no others, are eligible to election as members in a chapter of the Society:
A. STUDENT ELECTION.
1. Undergraduate Election.
Any person who is in the upper twenty % of his college class and who has completed at least sixty-four semester hours of college work, seventeen semester hours of which shall be in one of the sciences recognized by this Society with a grade average of at least B in the science area, and a general college average of at least B.
2. Graduate Student Election.
Any person who is regularly enrolled as a graduate student, who has accumulated at least fifteen semester hours in one of the sciences recognized by this Society, and who has earned a grade of A in at least one-third of the hours with grade average of at least B in the remaining two-thirds semester hours.
B. GRADUATE ELECTION.
Any chapter by unanimous vote of the active members may submit to the Council for approval the name of persons who have:
a.) attained the doctorate degree in the recognized fields of Natural Science or mathematics, or
b.) attained the master's degree including at least 20 graduate hours in Natural Science or mathematics and published one research monograph in a recognized Science Journal.
C. LIFE MEMBER ELECTION.
Any member of the Society may be elected to life membership upon unanimous vote of the Council and upon a majority vote of the assembled delegates at a national meeting.
Section 4. Each chapter shall be allowed, through its By-Laws, to set the dates for its initiations; however, immediate notification of each date selected must be given by the chapter to its regional Vice-President.
ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS
Section 1. The national officers of the Society shall be: (a) a president; (b) five vice- presidents; (c) an executive secretary; (d) treasurer; (e) the editor-in-chief of the Bulletin; (t) assistant editor; (g) archivist and historian; (h) student assistant to the executive secretary; and (i) student assistant to the editor; who shall be elected annually and may succeed themselves.
Section 2. The Council of Beta Kappa Chi shall consist of the fourteen national officers, the retiring president, if he is not a national officer, and ten other members elected by the delegates assembled at the national meeting. Five of these ten members shall be students, one from each region.
Section 3. All officers and the ten members of the Council shall be elected by the ballot at the national convention.
Section 4. In case of a tie vote for any of the officers of the Society, the Council shall have the authority to break the tie by ballot.
Section 5. The Officers of the Society shall have the following duties:
(a) The President shall perform the usual functions of that office and shall (I) be Chairman of the Council; (II) preside at all business meetings of a convention.
(b) The Vice-Presidents shall perform the usual functions of that office and each shall be the regional representative of the Society in one of the five separate regions where chapters are located. If the office of the president becomes vacant, the Council shall elect one of the vice-presidents to the office of the president to serve during the unexpired term.
(c) The Executive Secretary shall perform the usual duties of that office and shall (I) keep a record of all chapter activities on forms provided by himself; (II) cause to be published in the Society's Bulletin the names of the new initiates once each year; (III) issue receipts for all monies received from members of the chapters for certificates, charters, keys, and subscription fees; (IV) keep an accurate record of all monies of the Society and shall report and forward all monies immediately to the treasurer; (V) be the custodian of the Seal and the Archives of the Society; and (VI) in consultation with the president and treasurer, shall plan and direct the affairs of the Societ% subject to the approval of the Council. If a vacancy occurs in this office, the Council of the Society shall elect a new executive secretary to serve during the unexpired term.
(d) The 'treasurer shall perform the usual duties of that office and shall (I) deposit all monies in a bank to the credit of the Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Society, with his signature as the sole disbursing officer; and (II) submit financial statements every two months to the president and executive secretary, and a financial report to the general membership at each national meeting. Withdrawals of monies shall be made only upon written authorization of the executive secretary. If a vacancy occurs in this office, the Council shall elect a new treasurer to fill the unexpired term, and shall certify to the bank that a new treasurer has been elected.
(e) The Editor-in-Chief of Beta Kappa Chi Bulletin shall be Chairman of the Board of Editors, and with said Board of Editors, have charge of the publication of the Bulletin of the. Society. If the office of editor-in-chief becomes vacant, a member of the Board of Editors will be chosen by the Council to fill the unexpired term of the editor-in-chief. The editor-in-chief shall submit to the Council annually a list of at least fifteen names from which at least ten names may be chosen to constitute the Board of Editors. It is, however, within the authority of the Council to substitute any other names it desires within the limit of ten to the Board of Editors. (1) The Assistant Editor shall assist the editor-in-chief of the Beta Kappa Chi Bulletin and perform such duties as assigned by the editor.
(g) The Archivist and Historian shall preserve and maintain the historical records of the Society. He shall also write and revise the official history of Beta Kappa Chi.
(h) The student assistant to the executive secretary shall (1) serve as a liaison between individual student members of BKX, student regional officers, and the executive secretary of BKX; (II) keep a record of the location of graduate members and new inductees of BKX; (Ill) be encouraged to attend regional and national meetings.
(i) The student assistant to the editor shall (I) obtain information on jobs and awards, and submit these items to the editor for publication; (II) receive the minutes from student sessions of the national conference of BKX for publication in the Bulletin; (III) communicate various noteworthy chapter activities for publication in the Bulletin; (IV) be encouraged to attend regional and national meetings.
(j) The student regional council member shall (I) have a list of each chapter president in his region and communicate with these individuals; (II) assist in planning the regional conferences; (III) be encouraged to attend all regional and national meetings.
ARTICLE V - NATIONAL MEETINGS
Section 1. The Council of the Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Society shall plan for a national meeting at least annually. At least one of the sessions of each of these meetings shall be devoted to the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the public. The Council shall handle all matters pertaining to standing committees.
Section 2. The national meeting shall be composed of the members of the National Council and of one or more delegates from each chapter in good standing. Each Chapter represented shall have one vote, and each member of the National Council shall have one vote. Inthe absence of any elected delegate or proxy representing any active chapter, the national meeting shall have power to seat as the delegate from said chapter any member of the chapter who may be in attendance at the national meeting. In the event such substitution is made, and the regular delegate or proxy then arris, the said delegate or proxy shall assume his rights and privileges as delegate or proxy.
Section 3. Delegates or proxies from a majority of the active chapters entitled to representation by delegates shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any session of the national meeting.
ARTICLE VI- AMENDMENTS
Proposed amendments to the Constitution of Beta Kappa Chi shall be submitted through the executive secretary to the Council whereby, upon a majority vote, the amendments shall be submitted to the various chapters of Beta Kappa Chi six months prior to the national meeting. If a majority of the active chapters of the Society are represented by delegates, a majority vote of the assembled delegates will be necessary for approval of the proposed amendment.