University of Wisconsin-Madison / Pi Tau Sigma / Events / Convention / Minutes

Activities | Minutes | Committee | Sponsors | Attendees

Convention Minutes

FRIDAY, November 2 - Plenary Session

Victor Goldschmidt called the meeting to order and made some preliminary remarks challenging the convention to consider the theme for the convention "proud of the past... committed to the future" by considering the following: commitment (to excellence and growth); concern (expressed through service and outreach); and communication (electronic and publications). Mary E. Bestul, Convention Co-Chair, welcomed the delegates on behalf of the University of Wisconsin.

V. Goldschmidt reviewed the different Committees, their function and their charge. The Convention then broke up into their respective sessions. Infrastructure committee, convened by Professor. Griggs and awards committee convened by Professor. Wiens started meeting immediately after the dismissal of the plenary session. Fiscal committee convened by Professor Mistree and convention site convened by Professor Ghazi started half an hour later. Strategic Planning was facilitated by Professor. Goldschmidt.

SATURDAY November 3 - Business Meeting

Convention Site Committee Report: Chair - Mary E. Bestul, Wisconsin Alpha

Motion: M. Bestul, Wisconsin Alpha. Move to move the PTS National Convention date from the Fall to the Spring. I. White, Drexel Xi, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: M. Bestul, Wisconsin Alpha. Move to declare the University of Maryland the host of the next National Convention site. M. Laufer, Colorado State Tau Psi, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: M. Bestul, Wisconsin Alpha. Move to have help sessions on Chapter building, leadership, and other informative topics for non-voting delegates during the Plenary session. J. Berezo, Ohio State Pi Mu, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: J. MacClure, South Dakota State Tau Chi. Move to empower the Committee of 18 (members of the Convention Site Committee at the 2001 National Convention) to make a site selection for the Spring 2004 National Convention. J. Marsh, Missouri Tau Lambda, seconded. Motion passed.

In addition the committee recommended that:

Career building activities not be a part of the national convention
The choice of having a service event during the national convention be left to the host chapter
There be no poster show for chapter service

Fiscal Committee Report: Chair - Nick Gardner, Cincinnati Eta.

Motion: N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta. Move to raise the endowment fee from $2 to $5 starting September 1, 2002. M. Laufer, Colorado State Tau Psi, seconded. Motion passed. It implies a change in the by-laws article ii. 6, which would now read "effective September 1, 2002, there shall be paid into the national treasury the sum of twenty five dollars ($25) per initiate. Five dollars ($5) of this fee is for the PTS Endowment."

Motion: N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta. Move to raise the cap to $50.0 for total membership dues. T. Forton, Michigan State Tau Sigma, seconded. Motion passed. It implies a change in the by-laws article vi7, which would now read "the initiation fee for any chapter shall not exceed fifty dollars ($50)."

Motion: N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta. Move to accept the budget as proposed. J. Beagle, Houston Sigma Zeta, seconded. Motion passed. Note: Budget as accepted is seen in Attachment A to these minutes.

Motion: N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta. "Be it resolved that the Texas A&M Sigma Delta be commended for their leadership in contributing $1500 to the Rolling Travel Fund and an additional $3500 which was used to subsidize travel to the 2000 National Convention at College Station". J. Russell, Virginia Tech Upsilon, seconded. Resolution passed unanimously.

Motion: N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta. "Be it resolved that the National Council proceed to formalize the PTS Endowment according to the guidelines incorporated in the document dated November 1, 2001 and bring the document to the 2002-2003 Convention for formal adoption." Motion passed. See Attachment B.

Motion: N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta. Move to raise the fee for new Chapters from $10 to $1000. N. Howard, Worcester Polytechnic Tau Tau, seconded. J. Marsh, Missouri Tau Lambda moves to table the motion. M. Capellaro, Washington Phi Nu, seconded. Motion to table fee restructuring passes.

Motion: N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta. Be it resolved that PTS reject (ACHS) dues restructuring based on membership to the current one based on expenses. G. Wiley, Louisiana Tau Zeta, seconded. Motion passed.

Strategic Planning Part-I Committee Report: Chair - Adan R.Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to approve the following PTS "core values":

	Integrity: Soundness of character and moral conduct
	Service: Serving the mechanical engineering profession and the community
	Leadership: Being foremost and fostering initiative through example in a professional manner

Lynes, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon seconded.

S. Royston, Prairie View Phi Delta, moved to amend the "integrity" statement, J. Beagle, Houston Sigma Zeta, seconded. The amendment to read: "Soundness of character and ethical conduct". Amendment passes. Original motion with amendment passes.

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to approve the following PTS "mission statement":

"A Mechanical Engineering honor society striving to create better engineers through commitment to academic excellence and dedication to service"

M. Giasson, Michigan Tech Sigma Iota, seconded.

J. Russel, Virginia Tech Upsilon, moved to amend by replacing "academic excellence" with "professionalism, scholarship". S. Buck, Marquette Pi Delta, seconded.

N. Takahashi, Carnegie Mellon Iota, moved to amend the amendment as follows: "......committed to professionalism, recognition of scholarship....", J. Stanwood Texas A&M Sigma Delta, seconded. Amendment passes. Mission statement as amended passes (final form follows):

"A Mechanical Engineering honor society committed to professionalism, recognition of scholarship, and dedication to service"

AWARDS Committee Report: Chair - James Mastronardi, Lawrence Phi Iota.

Re: endowment

The committee recommended that the endowment be allowed to grow to $250,000. And they supported the increase of national dues to $25. With $5 designated for the endowment fund. They also supported an increase in the initiation chapter dues. The committee suggested corporate support for the endowment fund, leading to:

Motion: J. Mastronardi, Lawrence Phi Iota. Move to add a member to the Organization Committee for the specific purpose of fund raising. D. Gates, Virginia Delta Xi, seconded. Motion passed. WE NEED SOME CLARIFICATION OF WHO AND WHAT IS THE ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE

A motion to act on the disposition of endowment funds in the case of dissolution of the society was ruled out of order as article xiii of the constitution addresses that concern.

Motion: J. Mastronardi, Lawrence Phi Iota. Move that all scholarships given by the endowment fund shall be based solely on merit with the condition that the Faculty Advisor and the student member shall be from different Chapters. B. Hannon, Kansas Psi, seconded. L. Nathan, Northeastern Tau Kappa, moved to amend the wording to read : "All scholarships given by the endowment fund shall be based on merit and financial need". M. Capellaro, Washington Phi Nu, seconded. Amendment failed. Original motion passed. The present policy for scholarships is noted in Attachment C to these minutes

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to table the subject of including qualified Sophomores in Pi Tau Sigma as "honor affiliates" and refer it to the Infrastructure Committee. J. Stanwood, Texas A&M Sigma Delta, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: J. Mastronardi, Lawrence Phi Iota. Move to approve the requirements for Chapters in Good Standing. J. Jaar, Penn State Zeta, seconded. Motion passed. The requirements are noted in Attachment D to these minutes

Motion: J. Mastronardi, Lawrence Phi Iota. Move to list the Chapters in good standing on the webpage, prensent them with a certificate at the National Convention, and send a letter to the Dean of the College. M. Laufer, Colorado State Tau Psi, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: J. Mastronardi, Lawrence Phi Iota. Move to endorse the Awards Committee's actions leading to the selection of outstanding performance and outstanding service chapter awards, to be announced during the banquet. A. Lynes, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon, seconded. Motion passed.

Infrastructure Committee Report: Chair - James Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move that Article V, section 3, of the By-Laws be amended to read: "The fee for a Charter shall be fifty dollars". L. Nathan, Northeastern Tau Kappa, seconded. M. Capellaro, Washington Phi Nu, moved to amend to raise the fee from $50 dollars to $200 dollars. B. Glowack, Purdue Beta, seconded. Amendment passed. Note: this motion took care of the tabled motion from fiscal committee. An additional amendment for a two tiered fee, depending on whether the chapter was a new one or a reformed one did not pass. The amended motion, reading "the fee for a charter shall be $200" passed.

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to add a new Article II-8 to the By-Laws to read:

A Chapter may appoint as "honor affiliates" Sophomores with a declared major in Mechanical Engineering, and a scholastic ranking in the top 10% of their class. These "honor affiliates" would have voice and voting privileges, and would be expected to attend general meetings and participate in special activities. They would not be members of pi tau sigma, but would simply be "designated by the (name) chapter of pi tau sigma as an honor affiliate to the (name) chapter. They would lose that designation in lack of participation, or by losing their academic 10 percentile ranking. There would be no fee, nor a certificate issued by the National Office. Chapters should, however, list any "honor affiliates" in their annual reports. S. Morrow, Oregon State Omega, seconded.

S. Morrow, Oregon State Omega, moved to amend to read "-----and voting privileges, with the exception of voting on new members,-----". J. Berezo, Ohio State Pi Mu, seconded. Amendment passed. Amended motion passed.

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move that the 29 Chapters that have not had initiations for the past two years be contacted by the Vice-Presidents of their respective regions and be informed that, unless they resolve the deficiencies by March 1, 2002, that their Charter will be withdrawn and they will be declared inactive. M. Laufer, Colorado State Tau Psi, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to place the following names on the floor as nominees for the three national offices that are to be filled at this time: Victor Goldschmidt, for President; Farrokh Mistree, for Secretary-Treasurer; and Massoud Kaviany*, for Central Region Vice President. The candidates were considered separately. Names of other candidates were placed from the floor. After further discussion, the nominations of the listed candidates were seconded and the motion passed. *(To keep the rotation of officers consistent with the By-Laws, this election is to complete 2 years remaining in the 3-year term of this office). Professors Goldschmidt and Mistree excused themselves from the session during this time of discussion and vote.

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to add a new item under Article IV-3 of the By-Laws to read as follows:

Article IV-3 (d) Regional Vice-Presidents shall assume primary responsibility of communicating with Chapters in their region relative to maintaining their status as active Chapters in good standing. Each Vice-President will contact Chapters within his/her Region at least once in the Fall and once in the Spring. G. Wiley, Louisiana Tau Zeta, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to eliminate the requirement of supplying individual membership cards to each new member and amend the By-Laws accordingly. (???) seconded. Motion failed.

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to amend the last sentence of Article VIII-1 of the By-Laws to read: The National Council shall post a copy of the Condenser on the web and send two hard copies to each Chapter every year. W. Chan, Vanderbilt Delta Alpha, seconded. Motion passed with a vote of ???..

Motion: J. Clisset, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to amend the last sentence of Article VIII-2 of the By-Laws to read: The National Council shall post Story of Pi Tau Sigma on the web and distribute two hard copies to each Chapter when revised. J. Ng, Stevens Phi Omicron, seconded. Motion passed with a vote of ???..

Motion: H. Frej, Central Florida Delta Sigma. Move to have the Vice-Presidents send "Your Chapter is at risk of being declared inactive" type of letter to the appropriate College Deans. M. Capellaro, Washington Phi Nu, seconded. M. Capellaro, Washington Phi , moved to amend to include a copy be sent to the Department Head also. J. Wickey, Western Michigan Phi Pi, seconded. Amendment passed.

Strategic Plan Planning Part-II Committee Report: Chair - Adan R. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon

Motion: S. Morrow, Oregon State Omega. Move to accept the following four goals together: (1) Networking - facilitate communication with industry and between Chapters. (2) Outreach - develop activities to reach out to individuals within the major, school, and community to build skills used in engineering. (3) Recognition - to promote "Core Values" by awarding exemplary members. (4) Chapter Operations --improve transition between current and newly elected Officers. J. Stanwood, Texas A&M Sigma Delta, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to accept the following Networking Objectives: (1) Individual Chapters develop a list of industry contacts to be placed on the PTS National website. Send contacts to National Secretary who refines the list and post by December 31, 2001. (2) President implement a second semester PTS member take industry alumni to dinner night focusing on unique interests of students. (3) Improve networking by dividing Chapters into regions with a delegate from each Chapter to meet in the Fall to work on a regional task to be presented in the Fall, all of which should be supported by the National Office. (4) Website should be built by the PTS National Webmaster to allow members to search for jobs, internships, co-ops, and research opportunities, which should be completed and introduced by the year 2002 National Convention. A. Lynes, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon, seconded.

J. Stanwood, Texas A&M Sigma Delta moved to amend Objective (1) to read:"---industry contacts, who give permission,---". D. Fryar, Missouri Tau Lambda, seconded. Amendment passed.

M. Laufer, Colorado State Tau Psi, moved to amend Objective (1) to read:" Send contacts to the PTS webmaster---". J. Russell, Virginia Tech Upsilon, seconded. Amendment passed.

L. Nathan, Northeastern Tau Kappa, moved to amend Objective (3) to read: "----so that delegates meet in the Fall and present task in the Spring---". D. Fryar, Missouri Tau Lambda, seconded. Amendment passed.

The amended network objectives were approved.

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to accept the following Outreach Objectives: (1) Each Chapter should create a design/build activity for elementary school, and have it established by the end of each semester. (2) Unite majors across campus by setting up a design competition, which would utilize the talents of all different majors, set up each semester by PTS members. (3) Implement tutoring program to teach strategic problem solving skills in a tutorial session and set up database of tests and quizzes for preparation by 2002. J. Shertzer, Penn State Zeta, seconded.

J. MacClure, South Dakota State Tau Chi, moved to amend Objective (3) to read: "------tests and quizzes of courses, with the approval of the professors in charge of those courses, -----" J. Shertzer, Penn State Zeta, seconded. Amendment passed.

The amended outreach objectives were approved.

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to accept the following Recognition Objective: National Council to develop and implement a points system to keep track of individual participation and reward the most active individuals or Chapters by the next fiscal year. C. Moody, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon, seconded.

G. Wiley, Louisiana Tau Zeta, moved to change the word "implement" to "propose". J.D. Leou, Cornell Pi Tau, seconded. Amendment passed.

The amended recognition objectives were approved.

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to accept the following Operations Objective:(1) Each Chapter should create a better transition for newly elected officers: "Each current officer should create a written method (notebook and/or diskette) to pass to each newly elected officer, at least one month before the transition," (National Secretary add to the Chapter Manual). (2) Regional Vice President organizes a yearly gathering to train potential Chapter officers.

J. Ng, Stevens Phi Omicron, seconded. N. Gardner, Cincinnati Eta, moved to amend by striking out Objective (2), N. Howard, Worcester Tau Tau, seconded. Amendment passed.

J. MacClure, South Dakota State Tau Chi, moved to strike out the word "should" appearing in two places in Objective (1). J. Berezo, Ohio State Pi Mu, seconded. Amendment passed.

The amended operations obective was approved.

Note: The entire strategic plan, as approved (except for minor editorial changes), is now included in Attachment E to these minutes

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to have the following "Additional" Objectives be added to the Minutes as a matter of record for future consideration: (1) Motivate and attract students from all majors, (2) Work to enhance the learning experience, (3) Build overall knowledge of PTS initiation traditions in general, (4) Promote donations in the community, (5) Increase national visibility and prestige. M. Vaccariello, Boston Alpha Mu, seconded. Motion passed.

SUNDAY, November 4

Motion: M. Laufer, Colorado State Tau Psi. Move to make the effective date for the $200 Chapter Charter fee September 1, 2002. J. Russell, Virginia Tech Upsilon, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to authorize Gloria Wiens and the Chair of the Awards Committee to respond to the appeal of a Chapter that was declared inactive, and hence ineligible to apply for or receive an award, but who became active 12 hours earlier and is appealing to have its application for an award considered. A. Lynes, Texas Tech Sigma Upsilon, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: A. Nims, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to authorize the National Council the option, if the Council deems it necessary, to appoint an ad-hoc assistant to each Regional Vice President at a cost not to exceed $1500 per year. B. Lynch, Maryland Tau Mu, seconded. Motion passed.

Motion: A. Nims, Florida Sigma Omicron. Move to have the due date for the receipt of an Award Application from a Chapter to be no later than 2 weeks before the Convention date. D. Fryar, Mu Tau Lambda, seconded.

J. Russell, Virginia Tech Upsilon moved to amend: that activities through Fall 2002 can be included in the Award Applications for the Spring 2003 Convention. J. Mersh, Missouri Tau Lambda, seconded. Amendment passed. The amended motion passed.

Motion: M. Araya, Georgia Tech Nu. Move to have a the Society's webpage done by a professional. B. Hannon, Kansas Psi, seconded. Motion failed.

Motion: A. Cano, Texas Tech Sigma Epsilon. Move to refer the webpage question to the Georgia Tech Chapter for further study. J. Marsh, Missouri Tau Lambda, seconded. Motion passed.

THE FACULTY ADVISORS PRESENT, .... LIST THEM BY NAME... WERE RECOGNIZED, AND A SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WAS GIVEN TO PROFESSOR GRIGGS FOR HIS EXCELLENT SERVICE AS NATIONAL SECRETARY/TREASURER, AS PRESIDENT, AND AS VICE PRESIDENT. HE TRULY REPRESENTS AND EMBODIES THE BEST OF PI TAU SIGMA.

Sunday's session INCLUDED Amy Nehls ??? DANIELLE HOFFMAN ???, Wisconsin Alpha, summarizing the output from a discussion held with non-voting delegates at the same time as the friday evening committee meetings., and leading a discussion on ideas for Chapter activities. Included were: Hosting volleyball (or other sports), Robotics or other types of tournaments....etc. tutoring, inviting Corporate Officers to Chapter meetings which would increase attendance/memberships, Chapter members talking to Freshmen and Sophomores giving them tips on internships/co-ops...etc and questions/answers. Inviting companies to some of the activities would give them free advertisement and perhaps give PTS some financial support. Attachment F includes a reporting on these suggestions ??? Danielle, was this in writing? Could you provide a short summary as an attachment ???

The session closed with: a round of applause for Amy Nehls and Mary Bestul for their superb organization and leadership in a record making convention, acknowledgement of Derek Ploor who served as parliamentarian and right-hand person to the presiding officer, a word of thanks by Amy and Mary and an invitation by the Maryland chapter to the next convention.