Sample Articles Of Operation

The Articles of Operation for the Board of Governors of Epsilon Pi Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity

Preamble:

We the duly appointed members of the Board of Governors (here in after referred to as “the BOG”), of the Epsilon Pi Chapter (here in after referred to as “the Chapter” of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity Inc. (here in after referred to as “the Fraternity”) with full authority in all matters necessary to the development and progress of the Chapter, pledge to uphold and enforce the National Constitution and Statutes of Phi Kappa Tau and act always in the best interests of the Chapter. In so doing we set forth these Articles of Operation.

Purpose:

In accordance with Title V of the Statutes of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, Inc., this Board of Governor’s is established and authorized as trustees of the Epsilon Pi Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity on this the 23rd day of April, 2006.

I. Membership

1. The BOG shall be composed of at least three (3) Graduate members of the Fraternity.
2. The Chapter shall provide two (2) delegates to represent the Chapter at all meetings of the BOG. These delegates shall be the President and the Treasurer of the Chapter.
3. A graduate member of the Fraternity may nominate themselves or any other “qualified person” for a position on the BOG during the New Business section of any regular or special meeting of the BOG.
4. A “qualified person” is defined as any graduate member in good standing with the Fraternity, a graduate member of another National Fraternity or Sorority, a Parent, Faculty member, or any other person deemed qualified by a majority vote of the BOG.
5. Once a nomination, has been brought before the BOG, and seconded, the motion shall be tabled until the next regular or special meeting. If all BOG members are present the motion may be debated and voted on immediately.
6. A nomination shall be debated and voted on by the seated BOG members in closed-door session. A majority of the votes cast, excluding abstentions, is required to add a new BOG member.
7. The BOG Chairman shall submit the BOG’s consensus recommendation to the COO for final approval.
8. The BOG shall not recognize the candidate as a voting member of the BOG until the nomination receives final approval from the COO.

II. Organization
1. The BOG membership shall Consist of Officers and At-Large members.
2. The officers of the BOG shall be, Chairman, Chapter Advisor, Financial Advisor, Recruitment and Retention Advisor, Scholarship Advisor.
3. The President of the Chapter shall serve as Secretary to the BOG, and will be responsible for recording the minutes of each meeting.
4. Officers of the BOG shall be selected by majority of the votes cast, excluding abstentions.
5. The Duties of each BOG Officer are outlined in the Board of Governor’s Officer’s Manual.
6. Officers shall a serve a term of 2 years, however re-nomination is permissible.

III. Meetings

1. Regularly scheduled meetings of the BOG shall be conducted monthly. Such meetings should be scheduled at a predetermined and continuing date and time. Additional meetings, regular or special, shall be held as necessary at the discretion of the BOG chairman.
2. A quorum shall be a majority of the appointed BOG members.
3. Both of the Chapter’s undergraduate delegates are expected to attend each BOG meeting. If an Undergraduate Delegate cannot attend a meeting, he is expected to notify the BOG Chairman and find someone to attend in his place if possible.
4. Meetings of the BOG are closed, but may be opened to graduate or undergraduate members, or both by a majority of the votes cast, excluding abstentions.
5. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the BOG in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Articles of Operation and any special rules of order the BOG may adopt.
5. The President of the Chapter is responsible for notifying Chapter members who have been summoned to the next BOG meeting.
6. The BOG shall host one (1) Annual Meeting open to all graduate members of the Chapter for the purpose of encouraging alumni involvement with the local Chapter and Fraternity.

IV. Authority

The BOG shall have full authority to enforce the statutes of the National Constitution as they pertain to the Undergraduate Chapter, subject to review by the Chief Executive Officer and the National Council. In matters pertaining to scholarship and finance the authority of the BOG shall be absolute, with the exception of expulsion proceedings, which must follow the statutes for a member trial as outlined in Title VII.

1. The BOG, under the supervision and direction of the Scholarship Advisor, shall review the scholastic performance of the chapter and its members following the completion of each academic term, and shall have full authority to enforce the statutes of the National and Local Constitutions in accordance with these Articles of Operation.
2. The BOG, under the supervision and direction of the Financial Advisor, shall review the financial operations of the chapter at each regular meeting, and shall have full authority to enforce the statutes of the National and Local Constitutions in accordance with these Articles of Operation.
3. The BOG, under the supervision and direction of the Chapter Advisor, shall periodically review the chapter’s progress towards achieving basic chapter expectations as established by the National Council.
3. The BOG, shall have full authority to summon any Chapter member, or Associate Chapter member, with reasonable notice to appear before the assembled BOG.
2. The BOG, shall take all actions necessary to ensure that at least two (2) undergraduate delegates and one (1) graduate delegate attend each National Convention and Leadership Academy.

V. Judicial Procedure/Board of Inquiry (Verbatim from National Constitution Title VII.)

ARTICLE 1, Rights of the accused
1.1. Any initiated member of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity who is accused of conduct subject to
consideration for expulsion has the right to the essential elements of due process; namely:
• the right to timely notification of the charges;
• the right to counsel;
• the right to see the evidence against him;
• the right to present evidence in his favor.

1.2. In imposing a penalty other than expulsion from membership, The Board of Governors shall have the
authority given in Title V, number 47 of the Statutes of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity.

ARTICLE 2, The accusation
2.1. Upon receiving accusations signed by three initiated members of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity about a
brother that would make him subject to consideration for expulsion, the president, or if he be the one accused, the next senior unaccused officer, of the resident council of the chapter is to communicate the matter to the chairman of the Board of Governors of the chapter, who is to convene, in writing to each member, the Board of Governors for determining whether the accusations state probable cause.

2.2. A two-thirds majority vote of the members of the Board of Governors present and voting is required to
determine that the accusations state probable cause

2.3. Should the chapter lack a Board of Governors, the matter should be submitted to the Domain Director
or, if the office of Domain Director be vacant, to the CEO of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity. Either the Domain Director or the CEO is to consult with at least two brothers in good standing of his choice to determine whether the accusations state probable cause. A two-thirds majority is required for this.

2.4. If the Board of Governors, or those mentioned in Article 2.3, determine that the accusations state
probable cause, the chapter president or next senior unaccused officer, if it be the president or another officer who is accused, shall ask the accused member whether he wants to withdraw membership voluntarily or whether he wants a trial.

2.5. If the brother chooses voluntary withdrawal, the chapter president or other officer as above shall
transmit that brother’s signed petition form for voluntary withdrawal to the CEO of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, who shall process the petition in the usual manner. For matters of financial delinquency, the amount in arrears must be recorded on the petition.

2.6 If the accusation be against a graduate member, the chairman of the Board of Governors, or Domain
Director if there be no Board of Governors, or another national officer of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity if there be no Domain Director, shall notify the CEO of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, who shall inform the National President. The CEO shall determine the make-up of the tribunal that will try the case.

2.7 The tribunal designated to hear the case of a graduate member is to follow the process established in
this Title.

THE TRIAL
ARTICLE 3, Constituting the tribunal
3.1. When it has been determined that a trial is to take place, the accused is to be notified in writing of the
charges against him, the time and place of the trial and his rights as stated in Article 1 of this procedure. The notification is to be made in person, with the accused signing a document that he has received it or the notification is to be sent to him by registered mail.

3.2 If he refuse to accept the notification within 10 days or if he fail to appear on the day and at the time
and place designated, the presiding officer is to issue a decree declaring him absent from the trial. The trial shall proceed as set forth herein, always preserving the right of the accused to intervene at anytime up to the sentencing and preserving his right of appeal at any level.

3.3. The president, and four members of the executive council, are to serve as judges of the tribunal. No
one who has a special friendship with the accused that would impair his impartiality of judgment is to serve on the tribunal.

3.4. If one or more of the members of the executive council cannot serve for any reason whatever, the one
who presides over the trial shall appoint as many other undergraduate brothers to serve on the tribunal as is
necessary to complete the number of five members.

3.5. The president presides at the trial. If the president be the one accused, the next senior unaccused officer
shall preside. If all of the officers have been accused, the chairman of the Board of Governors shall appoint an undergraduate member of the resident council to preside. He, in turn, is to appoint, in writing, four undergraduate members to serve on the tribunal with him. If the matter at hand involves the entire Resident Council, the BOG, in conjunction with the CEO, may exercise a Chapter Reorganization (see Title VII.67.Reorganization)

3.6. If there be no Board of Governors, the Domain Director shall appoint, in writing as above, an
undergraduate member of the resident council to preside. He, in turn, is to appoint, in writing, four undergraduate
members to serve on the tribunal with him.

3.7. If there be no Domain Director, the matter is to be referred to the CEO of The Phi Kappa Fraternity,
who shall appoint an undergraduate member of the resident council to preside. He, in turn, is to appoint, in writing, four undergraduate members to serve on the tribunal with him.

ARTICLE 4, The order of the trial

4.1. Initiated members of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity may be present at the trial; however, they are not
permitted to intervene in the procedure unless called as witnesses.

4.2. All proceedings of the trial are to be electronically recorded, then put in writing by the secretary of the
Chapter or other person designated by the one who presides over the trial.

4.3. The one who presides over the tribunal shall read the charges brought against the accused and shall set forth the evidence in support of these charges.

4.4. The accused then has the right to offer evidence rebutting the evidence against him and to place
additional evidence in his favor before the tribunal.

4.5. At the conclusion of this part of the process, the presiding officer is to decree, in writing, that it has
concluded and that the accused is to have up to three hours to prepare and set forth in writing any additional
argument he shall have in his favor.

4.6. When the accused has submitted his additional argument or the three hours has elapsed, the presiding
officer shall issue a written decree that the presentation of the case has been concluded.

4.7. The tribunal is then to convene in private and determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. A four-fifths majority vote of the members of the tribunal is required to convict the accused.

4.8. The presiding officer of the tribunal has a maximum of five days in which to put forth the decision of
the tribunal in writing.

ARTICLE 5, The process following the trial

5.1. The presiding officer of the tribunal is to submit all of the documents of the case to the chairman of the
Board of Governors; or, if there be no Board of Governors, to the Domain Director; or, if there be no Domain Director, to the CEO of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity.
5.2. The chairman of the Board of Governors is to convene, in writing the members of the board who shall
serve as a review tribunal in the matter.

5.3. In this review, the one who presided over the trial shall present the case to the Board of Governors but
shall not have a vote.

5.4. If there be no Board of Governors, the Domain Director shall preside over the review and is to appoint,
in writing, two other graduate members of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity to serve on the review tribunal with him.

5.5. If there be no Domain Director, the matter is to be referred to the CEO of The Phi Kappa Fraternity,
who shall appoint a graduate member of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity to preside. He, in turn, is to appoint, in writing, at least two other graduate members of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity to serve on the review tribunal with him.

5.6. The review tribunal can either ratify the original tribunal’s sentence or can decide that the case is to be
retried according to the procedure in Article 6.

5.7. If the review tribunal ratify the original sentence, the convicted brother has the right to appeal the
matter to the National Council of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity (Article 7). This appeal must be entered within 60 days of his receiving notification of the sentence.

5.8. Such an appeal is to be submitted by the one who presided over the review tribunal, along with a copy
of all of the documents of the case, to the CEO of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, who shall transmit it to the National President of the The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity.

5.9. After review, the National Council shall decide by two-thirds majority vote whether to uphold the
sentence or retry the case.

ARTICLE 6, The retrial by the Board of Governors
6.1. If the Board of Governors, or other review tribunal described in Articles 5.4 and 5.5 of this procedure,
decide to retry the case in accord with Article 5.6, the tribunal is to follow the same process as followed in the first trial, Article 4, of this procedure, with the exception noted in article 6.2.

6.2. For a re-trial by the Board of Governors, the tribunal is to be composed of no less than three members.

6.3. If the sentence of this tribunal concur with that of the first tribunal, the matter is settled and there can
be no further appeal.

6.4. A sentence of expulsion is to be put in writing and communicated, along with all of the documents of
the case, to the CEO of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, who shall process the expulsion in the usual manner to amend
the membership status.

6.5. A sentence of exoneration is to be put in writing and communicated to the brother and to the one who
presided over the first trial.

6.6. There is no further appeal from a sentence of exoneration issued by the review tribunal.

ARTICLE 7, Appeal of ratification by the Board of Governors

7.1. If the convicted brother appeal the ratification by the Board of Governors or other review tribunal, the
National Council is to review all of the documents of the case and decide the matter by a two-thirds majority of those voting.

7.2. Their decision is to be communicated in writing by the National President to the brother in question, with copies to the president of his chapter, the chairman of his chapter’s Board of Governors and the Domain Director.

The Board of Governor’s of the Epsilon Pi Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau, Fraternity effects, and ratifies these, Articles of Operation on the 17th day of September 2006. Articles passed by division.

Signed: _______ Greg Wolking

Signed: _______ Don Weiss

Signed: _______ Curtis Clay

Signed: _______ James Cropper

Signed: _______ Rob Ours

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License

SSL configuration warning

This site has been configured to use only SSL (HTTPS) secure connection. SSL is available only for Pro+ premium accounts.

If you are the master administrator of this site, please either upgrade your account to enable secure access. You can also disable SSL access in the Site Manager for this site.