Constitution and Laws June 2008 Article I. A. Name of Organization Molecular and Cell Biology Graduate Student Organization (MCB-GSO) B. Purpose To promote the education and welfare of graduate students in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Activities include the selection of student representatives to standing committees of the faculty of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and representative communication of graduate student concerns and needs from within the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. Article II. A. Membership Members of MCB-GSO shall be chosen and accepted without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, age, or sexual preference. B. Qualifications for Membership All graduate students within the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology are eligible. C. Offices i. Divisional Representatives (6) The Divisional Representatives are responsible for attending faculty meetings and voicing the concerns of graduate students to the faculty. Divisional Representatives shall distribute meeting minutes [deemed by the faculty division head to be discosable] to the GSO executive board and MCB students of the division. The divisions of Cell and Developmental Biology, Genetics, Immunology and Neurobiology shall have one representative and the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology division shall have two representatives. The divisional representatives shall be elected by the graduate students from that division. The divisional representatives are elected for one year. ii. First Year Class Representative The First Year Class Representative will voice the concerns of the first year class to the GSO. He/she is also responsible for planning the First year/Second year picnic held during orientation week, and updating the letter sent to incoming students. In addition, the first year rep will serve as a student liaison to the GAO during recruitment, to facilitate student participation in recruitment calls, panels, and other recruitment events, including the student-hosted party and Bay Area activities. He/she will work with the recruitment representative and faculty co-chair of the admissions committee in planning recruitment events, and will be present at admissions committee meetings when recruitment is discussed. The first year class shall have one representative and be elected by the first year class. The first year representative is elected for one year. iii. Graduate Affairs (2) The student representatives on the Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC) serve as the voices for graduate student interests on the committee. Semi-regular meetings (approximately 4 per year) concerning various topics of graduate student interest (including course restructuring, stipend continuations, etc.) occur throughout the year. The Graduate Affairs Representative is responsible for ensuring that the minutes of GAC meetings are distributed to the Divisional Representatives, the GSO executive board, and MCB students. The Graduate Affairs Representatives are elected for two years. The positions are staggered such that one new representative is elected each year. iv. THERPS (2) The Thesis Evening Research Presentations (THERPS) Committee is responsible for the organization and running of the THERPS seminars, which are thesis presentations given by finishing students on a voluntary basis. The Committee must solicit speakers from the 5th and 6th year classes each semester, arrange the schedule, reserve a room, purchase the refreshments, publicize the talks, and arrange for/run any audio/visual equipment. Students are elected for one year. v. Marian E. Koshland Seminar Series (4) The duties of this committee include organizing the pre-seminar teas and post-seminar receptions for each speaker, handling student nomination and election of speakers, and inviting the speakers and arranging student hosts and accommodations during their visits. This job allows members of the committee to shape the content and running of this popular seminar series as well as to meet the speakers. Four members of the Marian Koshland Lecture Series committee are elected each year for two year terms. All members are responsible for inviting and hosting speakers. vi. Graduate Assembly (1 Delegate + 1 Alternate) The student representatives to the Graduate Assembly represent the department of MCB in UC Berkeley’s graduate student government. The Graduate Assembly meets once a month to discuss issues relating to graduate students. GA Representatives shall distribute [disclosable] meeting minutes to the GSO executive board and MCB students. The Graduate Assembly Delegates and Alternates are elected for two years. The official(s) receiving the most votes will serve as delegate(s) and those receiving fewer votes will serve as alternates. If an elected delegate and an elected alternate mutually agree to switch responsibilities, they may do so at any time without GSO approval. At least one MCB representative is required to attend every other meeting of the GA. vii. Admissions (6) The student members of the Admissions Committee participate fully in the selection of the following year’s entering class. The divisions of Cell and Developmental Biology, Genetics, Immunology and Neurobiology shall have one representative and the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology division shall have two representatives. The admissions representatives shall be elected by the graduate students from that division for a one year term. Only graduate students who will be in their third year or beyond at the time of service are eligible. viii. Careers for Life Sciences PhDs (2) The student members of this committee are responsible for organizing the seminar series “MCB295: Careers for Life Sciences PhDs.” This course is designed to assist graduate students in the biological sciences with planning their postgraduate careers. Weekly guest speakers will present their experiences in a variety of career areas and/or offer training in: academia; job searches; setting up a laboratory; patent law/technology transfer; public policy/regulatory affairs; bioinformatics; science writing/technical support; forensic science; postdoctoral positions in industry; teaching, and other topics of interest. Postdoctoral researchers are invited. Only graduate students who will be in their fourth year or beyond at the time of service are eligible. The term is one year. ix) Recruitment Representative (1) The recruitment representative is responsible for working with the first year representative, the faculty co-chair of the admissions committee, and the GAO to coordinate student efforts during recruitment, including the recruitment party and bay area activities, student hosts for these activities and for prospective students, and student panel speakers during recruitment. The recruitment representative will be present at admissions committee meetings when recruitment is discussed. The student will be elected for a term of one year and should be in the second year or beyond at the time of service. xi) Head of the GAO The head of the GAO is an ex officio member of the GSO. As such, s/he is informed of and invited to all GSO meetings and receives the list of current members after elections, the most recent constitution, and meeting minutes. D. Selection of Officers i. Eligibility All graduate students in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology who will be in their 2nd- through 5th-year for the duration of the appointment period are eligible to be an officer except: 1. The First Year Representative must be a 1st year. 2. Officers of the Careers for Life Sciences PhDs must be in their 4th-year or beyond, unless otherwise approved by a vote of the GSO. 3. Admissions officers must be in their 3rd year or beyond. ii. Elections The election of all officers except the First Year Representative is to be held in May, with the term of office beginning in the fall semester. The First Year Representative is to be elected during the fall semester, with the term of office beginning immediately. Ballots shall include descriptions of all offices as outlined in Article II, Section C as well as the Procedure for Excusal outlined in Article II, Section D-iv. All officers shall be elected by a plurality of the vote cast by all 1st- through 5th-year graduate students of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology except: 1. Where specified that the officer shall be elected by division (while divisional reps may be nominated by students in any division, students should only vote for reps in their own division). 2. The First Year Representative is elected by a plurality of the vote cast by all 1st year students. iii. Notification Students who receive a plurality for more than one office are notified so that they may decide which office(s) they would like to hold. Any vacancies are filled by the runner-up for the given office. Consequently, all students are notified of the new GSO officers and a GSO meeting is held with the outgoing and incoming officers no sooner than one week from the department notification. iv. Procedures for Excusal of a Newly Elected Officer 1. Students who have previously held an elected office are not obligated to serve again. 2. No student is obligated to serve more than one office during any single year unless he/she chooses. 3. All students who are otherwise obligated to serve, and who wish to decline their elected position, must write a letter of declination to the GSO. The letter should include the reason(s) why the student cannot serve on the GSO. After assessing the points in the letter, the GSO shall vote on whether accept or decline the letter in the first meeting after the spring election. E. Length of Term of Office All terms of office shall be one year in length except where specified for two years. Officers may hold more than one term of office by being re-elected. F. Executive Board The Executive Board shall be elected by all Graduate Student Officers at the first yearly meeting of the MCB-GSO. 1. President Shall be responsible for calling, coordinating and running meetings of the MCB-GSO and informing students and faculty of newly elected officers. 2. Vice President Shall be responsible for the President’s duties if the President is not able to fulfill his/her duties either temporarily or permanently. 3. Secretary Shall be responsible for maintaining minutes of MCB-GSO. Minutes from a previous meeting shall be presented to the GSO for approval and then posted on the GSO website. The Secretary will also be responsible for directing the minutes to the Head Graduate Affairs Officer and the Head Graduate Advisor by email. If the Secretary is unable to take the minutes, the Vice President shall fulfill this duty. Article III. All amendments, additions or deletions to the Constitution shall be adopted only after a two-thirds vote of a quorum of the MCB-GSO. A quorum will have representation from 4/6 of the divisions of MCB and at least 1 representative from each of the committees. Laws for MCB-GSO 1. All students holding office of the MCB-GSO Executive Board shall be in good academic standing as defined by the university. 2. Faculty concerns with a student representative on a faculty committee are to be addressed in writing to the Head Representative of the MCB-GSO for consideration by the Executive Board. The Executive Board retains the right to remove and replace any student representative. 3. Removal of a student representative due to inappropriate behavior will be accomplished by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the MCB-GSO. 4. All official actions of the MCB-GSO shall require the presence of a quorum of its members at an official meeting. 5. All binding votes by the MCB-GSO shall require a simple majority vote of the quorum. 6. The power to call a meeting of the MCB-GSO shall rest with the President or Vice President. 7. The faculty shall provide, in writing, specific details of any alteration they feel should be made to the rights and responsibilities of the faculty committee representatives as they have been outlined in the MCB-GSO Constitution. The faculty shall provide the same information for any new faculty committee that requires student representation.