LPPA Constitution

Longhorn Pre-Pharmacy Association Constitution

Article I: Longhorn Pre-Pharmacy Association (LPPA)
The name of this organization shall remain a part of the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

Article II: Purpose
Section 1: The purpose or mission of this organization shall be to inform and prepare pre-pharmacy students who are entering the college of pharmacy of their choice. Guest speakers shall appear at most general meetings to discuss a range of topics such as admissions, career opportunities, continuing education, and personal experiences within the field of pharmacy. This organization will also provide volunteering and social opportunities for all members and guests.

Article III: Membership
Section 1: Membership in LPPA shall be open to any and all students, faculty, and staff at the University of Texas at Austin.

Section 2: Dues are required of all members and prices are to be set by the Executive Committee each year. These dues are nonrefundable under all circumstances. The dues will cover all general meetings and most of the projects and trips that are carried out by the organization. Additional fees may be incurred on members throughout the year and will be kept to a minimum. All members must pay dues by a deadline determined by the officers. If their dues are not paid they will not be considered an official member of the organization.

Section 3: In order to be considered an active member by LPPA, the member must have accumulated a minimum amount of points determined by the Secretary at the end of the Fall Semester. Points will be determined by the following guidelines:

Attending a general meeting – 1 point
Attending a committee meeting – 1 point
Attending an officer meeting – 1 point
Volunteer projects with LPPA – 2 points/hr
Fundraising event with LPPA – 2 points/hr
Social event with LPPA – 1 point per event
Miscellaneous events – Determined by Secretary

Section 4: Any member may be removed from membership for violation of the purposes of the organization by a unanimous vote of the officers. Written charges by a member are to be presented at an officer meeting where an anonymous vote will take place. Both parties involved (accuser and defendant) must be notified immediately after the accusation and decision has taken place.

Section 5: It shall be stated as part of the policy of the organization that there shall be no form or type of discrimination in the organization, whether it be due to ones race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, veteran's status, or grades.

Section 6: Membership in LPPA shall come with full voting privileges in the annual election of officers.

Section 7: All members may reserve the right to withhold any personal information from the organization.

Article IV: Officers
Section 1: The Executive Committee shall consist of a: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian. These officers shall be responsible for all administrative duties of the club.

Section 2: (i)The president shall have the power to establish and maintain operation procedures of the club, call meetings, and answer for all actions of other officers. The president will have authorization to make withdraws and deposits at the University of Texas at Austin Organization Bank (SSB 4th floor), check out keys to the locker, the mailbox, and consoles for meetings. The president is one of owners of the list-serve.

(ii) Other duties of the President include attending and facilitating the general and officer meetings; attending all Health Profession Council meetings; attending all “Lunch with the Dean” meetings; and attend the majority of projects conducted by the organization.

(iii) The President is responsible for securing a room for the general meetings each semester, and to pay for the organization's website.

(iv) The President cannot override the decisions of the other officers regardless of any circumstances. All major decisions which include all basic planning and budgeting must be made by a vote amongst the officers.

Section 3: The vice-president shall help the president organize events, recruit new members, and assist with the semester reports and projects in the organization. If the president is found to be incompetent and unable to fulfill the duties required of the presidential position, the vice-president may assume the position of president. The vice-president must appoint the volunteer chair, and work with the volunteer chair and members of the committee to organize all projects. The vice-president has the power to obtain a locker key and must check the mail weekly. The vice-president is responsible for coordinating the University of Texas Pharmacy/Pre-Pharmacy Students Mentoring Program.

Section 4: The Treasurer is responsible for handling all records, receipts, and proof of all purchases. He/she is responsible for making deposits, writing checks for events, and reimbursements at the SOC Bank located on the SSB 4th floor. The Treasurer must keep the balance sheet accurately. He/she is responsible for appointing the Fundraising Chair, and must help the chair with delegating duties to the committee members and generating fundraising ideas. The Treasurer is responsible for ordering and paying for the food provided at the end of general meetings.

Section 5: (i)The Secretary is responsible for obtaining sign-in sheets from the officer running the event or meeting and allotting points according to the point system rules (Article III, Section 3) to members who have successfully completed the event. In the event that all officers are present, it is the duty of the secretary to create the sign in sheet and then record the points (sign in sheet found in Appendix A). The points should be organized by a program such as Microsoft Excel. Points will be delivered at a member's request via confidential email. Any discrepancies should be discussed with executive officers.

(ii)It is the responsibility of the Secretary to sign in members at general meetings. The Secretary can ask anyone to help him/her to assist in signing-in members.

(iii)The Secretary is responsible for organizing the agenda (minutes) for the general meetings. It is his/her responsibility to organize the meeting in a timely manner, and to send updated copies until it is approved by the Executive Committee. He/She will work closely with the Historian on the agenda so that the Historian can prepare a presentation for the general meeting in a timely manner.

(iv)The President and the Secretary have access to sending out e-mails on the list serve. The secretary can also add members to the list-serve if they request so. The secretary will send out minutes and other e-mails from officers or committee chairs. The list-serve is to be used for LPPA related activities only.

(v) The Secretary is responsible for electing a Publicity Chair and will work with the publicity committee to plan and make fliers, posters, and presentations to increase organization's attendance at meetings and events.

(vi)The Secretary has the responsibility to update the organization's website. See Appendix XIII.

Section 6: (i)The Historian will elect the Social Chair and work with the social committee to plan events in order to promote relationships between the members. The Historian is not required to conduct a certain amount of socials/events per semester; however it is highly encouraged that the Historian takes it upon him/herself to conduct as many as reasonably possible.

(iii)The Historian must make sure events are documented through some type of media whether it is film or photography. A yearbook must be produced by the historian and the yearbook committee.

(iv)The Historian will be in charge of making sure that LPPA's assigned bulletin board is kept up to date and informative.

Section 7: The elected officers shall form the Executive Committee. As such, they are to serve the members of this organization to the best of their ability, and to work together on all projects and tasks. It is required that members of the Executive Committee be involved in organization events as must as possible without harm to other obligations and academics.

Article V: Committee Chairs
Section 1: The committee chairs are not considered officers and do not serve on the Executive Committee. They are appointed by the officers and elected through an application/interview process. The committee chair positions include Volunteer Chair, Social Chair, Fundraising Chair, Publicity Chair, and two Intramural Coordinators (one male, one female).

Section 2: The Volunteer Chair must work directly with the vice-president in organizing all of the volunteer projects for the members for a two semester term. He/she must call and preside over all volunteer committee meetings, and is expected to attend the majority of volunteer events, and all general and officer meetings. The volunteer chair will also act as an assistant to any of the vice president's needs pertaining to LPPA business.

Section 3: The Social Chair must work directly with the Historian in organizing all of the social events for the members and preside over the yearbook committee for a two semester term. He/she must call and preside over all social committee meetings, and is expected to attend the majority of social events, and all general and officer meetings. The Social Chair will also act as an assistant to any of the historian's needs pertaining to LPPA business.

Section 4: The Fundraising Chair must work directly with the Treasurer in organizing all of the fundraising events for the members for a two semester term. He/she must call and preside over all fundraising committee meetings, and is expected to attend the majority of fundraising events, and all general and officer meetings. The Fundraising Chair will also act as an assistant to any of the treasurer's needs pertaining to LPPA business.

Section 5: The Publicity Chair must work directly with the Secretary in creating advertisements for the club's meetings, and all service projects, socials, or any other LPPA sponsored event to increase member participation. He/she is responsible for calling all publicity committee meetings, and attending all general and officer meetings. The Publicity Chair will also act as an assistant to any of the Secretary's needs pertaining to LPPA business.

Section 6: The Intramural Coordinators will be responsible for organizing all intramural sports that LPPA chooses to participate in. They must organize and facilitate practices for every sport, and determine the lineups for every game. They are expected to attend the majority of intramural events, and all general and officer meetings.

Article VI: Elections
Section 1: The President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian shall be elected by the members of the organization to serve a term of one year. Elections shall be held at the second to last general meeting of the spring semester, and the incoming officers will facilitate the last general meeting under the supervision of the outgoing officers. The officers shall be elected by means of a secret ballot by the vote of all members of LPPA who wish to vote. The officers will collect the ballot, and the count will be done only by the President.

Section 2: In order to run for any position, all candidates must have the designated minimum of points to date, and must prepare a short speech describing why they deserve their respective position. Officers of the past are ineligible to run for a second term.

Section 3: A candidate may run for more than one position, but their votes will be split. In other words, on one ballot they cannot receive a vote for more than one position they are running for, but the voter must choose which position the candidate is best suited for.

Article VII: Sponsor
Section 1: The sponsor of LPPA is currently Arlyn Kloesel. The contact information for Arlyn is shown below:

Title: Sr Lecturer, BSPHR
College/University: College of Pharmacy @ University of Texas at Austin
Email: akloesel@mail.utexas.edu
Office phone: 512-232-2627
Office loc. PHR 5.110C
Office address: The University of Texas at Austin
Phar-Clin Pharm-Austin
1 University Station Stop A1910
Austin, TX 78712
Office fax: 512-471-3756

Section 2: Sponsor is purely an advisor and the decision making is in the hands of the officers, however, it is strongly urged that the officers consult his advice before making any major decisions.

Article VIII: General and Executive Meetings
Section 1: General meetings should be held only during the fall and spring semesters. The organization will meet once every two weeks for one hour or more if necessary. The President will decide what day, time, and location the meetings will be held. The President must fill out a room application and turn it in at SSB 4th floor in order to secure a room.

Section 2: Executive Committee meetings shall be held throughout the entire year for planning and budgeting. The Executive Committee will meet at the same time of the general meetings but on the weeks alternate to that of the general meetings.

Article IX: Funding
Section 1: Funding lies under the responsibility of the Treasurer and Fundraising Chair. LPPA will receive money through dues, and fundraising projects that are designated by the chair. The number of fundraising projects will be directly correlated to the amount of money the organization needs to carry out all of their projects, socials, awards, and donations.

Article X: Scholarships
Section 1: At the end of every year (end of spring term) a number of scholarships are given out to those members who exhibited the most dedication, spirit, along with other factors. Members must apply for the scholarship through an application/interview process where the executive committee will choose the award recipients. The actual number of scholarship awards and the actual dollar amount is to be determined by the Executive Committee depending on their current monetary balance.

Section 2: Criteria for selection for the LPPA scholarship will include:
Dedication (point total)
Personal statement
Spirit
Impact on organization
Interview
Overall attitude

Section 3: Members on the Executive Committee are not eligible to apply for the LPPA scholarship.

Article XI: Ousting Members of Executive Committee
Section 1: Any member of the Executive Committee can be thrown out of office at any time throughout his/her term.

Section 2: Criteria for ousting include:
Failure to attend meetings regularly without notice
Failure to carry out position duties
Failure to cooperate with other officers on a regular basis
Causing disruption at projects and meetings
Other criteria may be possible depending on a case by case basis

Section 3: The process of impeachment shall be presented at the Executive Committee meeting only. The committee will then decide whether grounds for termination are applicable. An anonymous voting system will be incurred and a unanimous decision must be made in order to take the process to the next level. If a unanimous vote has been made, the case is sent to the sponsor for final review. If the case is approved by the sponsor, the officer in question will be released of all ranks and responsibilities effective immediately, and the remaining officers shall appoint a member who they feel is able.

Article XII: Listserve
Section 1: The owners of the listserve shall be the Presidents and the Secretary.

Section 2: All e-mails that are sent to the LPPA listserve must concern LPPA business only, and shall not function towards an owner's social agenda or anything of that matter.

Section 3: All members or officers that wish to send emails out to the listserve must send the message to one of the three owners of the listserve, where they will approve its content, and send it out to the organization.

Article XIII: Website
Section 1: (i)The website is under the control of the Secretary. Any update or request to better organization's website must be sent to the Secretary. Payment of the website is part of the President's duties.

(ii) The purpose of the website is to inform members of upcoming events, archive the minutes of the general meetings for a year, provide a picture gallery, hold the contact information of the Executive Committee and Committee Chairs, and house this Constitution to be available to the public eye.

Article XIV: Amendments
Section 1: This constitution shall have the right to be amended at any time by the unanimous vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 2: Any member of LPPA has the power to approach the Executive Committee to reject any section or article they desire. This proposal shall be discussed by the executive committee to reach a final decision.

Article XV: Jurisdiction
Section 1: The power of the officers and sponsor may not translate to any other organization, group, or society outside of LPPA at the University of Texas at Austin.

Article XVI: Ratification
Section 1: This constitution shall be presented to all the officers of this organization including the sponsor, and shall be ratified by a unanimous vote thereof. Upon ratification, it will serve as the official Constitution of the Longhorn Pre-Pharmacy Association.