Constitution and Bylaws
| CCNY PRSSA Constitution and Bylaws Spring 2019.pdf |
PDF version above. Last updated Spring 2019.
Article I: Name
Section 1. The official name of this organization (this “Chapter”) shall be The City College of New York Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. This Chapter shall also be known by its initials “CCNY PRSSA”.
Article II: Purpose, Power and Scope
Section 1. The objectives of this Chapter, and thus the purpose of this Chapter, shall be:
Section 2. This organization is a Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. This Chapter is sponsored by the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (“PRSA-NY”).
Section 3. This Chapter accepts and understands that under the authority granted by the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (the “Board of Trustees”), as specified in Article 15.2 of the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, the legislative decisions of the City College of New York Undergraduate Student Government (the “CCNY USG”) shall take precedence over those of this and any other student club or organization.
Section 4. All activities of this Chapter are both legal and non-profit in nature.
Article III: Membership
Section 1. Membership shall comprise of undergraduate students attending CCNY who are either:
Section 2. Membership will not be based on or refused to anyone for reasons of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or age.
Section 3. Only those students enrolled in CCNY shall be eligible for membership.
Section 4. To become a member, a person must adhere to the Chapter’s objectives as per Article II, Section 1 of this Constitution and pay the required dues as per Article VIII of this Constitution. The number of persons who may be members shall not be limited.
Section 5. Membership dues shall be the national dues as referenced in Article I, Section 2(a) of PRSSA Bylaws.
Section 6. All expulsions may be appealed by the expelled member to CCNY USG, but until the appeal is decided, the member shall not enjoy neither the rights nor privileges of membership.
Article IV: Meetings and Quorum
Section 1. This Chapter shall meet at least once every month that school is in session at a designated location within the campus community.
Section 2. A quorum consisting of two Chapter officers plus one-third of members in good standing is necessary for the transaction of any business.
Section 3. All parliamentary questions not determined by this Constitution, PRSSA Bylaws or PRSA Bylaws shall be decided according to Robert’s Rules of Order Revised.
Article V: Officers
Section 1. The officers of this Chapter shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Director, Historian, National Assembly Delegate and National Assembly Alternate Delegate.
Section 2. The duties of these officers shall include but will not be limited to those listed in this section, and such as usually pertain to the offices they hold as described in Article XII, Section 6(b) of PRSSA Bylaws.
Section 3. Other Chapter officers may be elected as necessary to handle local needs. Additionally, standing committees may be elected or appointed as necessary to handle the needs of the Chapter.
Article VI: Advisers
Section 1. This Chapter shall elect or ratify annually, alongside the election of Chapter officers and for a one-year renewable period, the Faculty Adviser who is either a Member or an Associate Member of PRSA. The Faculty Adviser shall assume office alongside the concurrently elected officers.
Section 2. This Chapter shall elect or ratify annually, alongside the election of Chapter officers and for a one-year renewable period, one or two Professional Advisers who are Members of PRSA, at least one of whom must be a Member who has at least five (5) years of professional public relations experience or is Accredited, who shall represent the practice rather than the academic. The elected Professional Adviser(s) shall assume office alongside the concurrently elected officers.
Article VII: Elections and Tenure
Section 1. Election of Chapter officers and advisers shall be held before April 15 each year.
Section 2. The tenure for Chapter officers shall be one year.
Section 3. Any Chapter officer may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the entire Chapter membership during a special meeting held for this purpose.
Article VIII: National and Chapter Dues
Section 1. National dues shall be collected from each member by the Treasurer at the outset of each academic semester and sent to PRSSA Headquarters not later than November 1 for the fall semester and March 1 for the spring semester.
Section 2. There shall be no prorating of dues during either one-year period.
Section 3. This Chapter may establish its own initiation fee and dues structure in addition to National dues as may be necessary to carry local expenses. Any initiation fee or local dues shall be collected by the Treasurer at a time to be established by Chapter officers.
Article IX: Chapter Activities
Section 1. All activities of this Chapter must be taken in the name of the Chapter.
Section 2. This Chapter may not merge with other organizations.
Section 3. No Chapter activity shall impose any liability or obligation upon PRSA.
Article X: Amendments
Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a three-quarters favorable vote of the membership of this Chapter, provided that the amendment shall have been proposed at least one meeting previous to the time of voting. Amendments to this Constitution, however, shall become effective only upon its approval by both CCNY USG and the PRSSA National Committee. Such amendments shall conform to the PRSA Bylaws.
Article XI: Dissolution of the Chapter
Section 1. In the event of dissolution of this Chapter, all accrued funds and assets generated from student activity fees shall be returned to CCNY USG. All funds and assets not generated from student activity fees shall be donated to the Department of Media and Communication Arts at CCNY.
Article I: Name
Section 1. The official name of this organization (this “Chapter”) shall be The City College of New York Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. This Chapter shall also be known by its initials “CCNY PRSSA”.
Article II: Purpose, Power and Scope
Section 1. The objectives of this Chapter, and thus the purpose of this Chapter, shall be:
- to encourage the understanding of current theories and procedures in the practice of public relations,
- to provide and promote a better understanding of the functions of public relations and its values,
- to stimulate and encourage public relations professionalism through public relations education,
- to apply the skills, creativity and energy of public relations to help solve social problems,
- to develop the individual abilities of its members,
- to provide students of public relations with the opportunity to become acquainted not only with their peers but with professional practitioners as well, and
- to encourage students to adhere to the highest ideals and principles of the practice of public relations and to instill in them a professional attitude.
Section 2. This organization is a Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. This Chapter is sponsored by the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (“PRSA-NY”).
Section 3. This Chapter accepts and understands that under the authority granted by the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (the “Board of Trustees”), as specified in Article 15.2 of the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, the legislative decisions of the City College of New York Undergraduate Student Government (the “CCNY USG”) shall take precedence over those of this and any other student club or organization.
Section 4. All activities of this Chapter are both legal and non-profit in nature.
Article III: Membership
Section 1. Membership shall comprise of undergraduate students attending CCNY who are either:
- majoring in advertising and public relations,
- planning on applying for the advertising and public relations program, or
- demonstrating an interest in public relations or communications.
Section 2. Membership will not be based on or refused to anyone for reasons of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or age.
Section 3. Only those students enrolled in CCNY shall be eligible for membership.
Section 4. To become a member, a person must adhere to the Chapter’s objectives as per Article II, Section 1 of this Constitution and pay the required dues as per Article VIII of this Constitution. The number of persons who may be members shall not be limited.
Section 5. Membership dues shall be the national dues as referenced in Article I, Section 2(a) of PRSSA Bylaws.
- The process for the collection of dues shall be that as described in Article IX of this Constitution.
Section 6. All expulsions may be appealed by the expelled member to CCNY USG, but until the appeal is decided, the member shall not enjoy neither the rights nor privileges of membership.
Article IV: Meetings and Quorum
Section 1. This Chapter shall meet at least once every month that school is in session at a designated location within the campus community.
Section 2. A quorum consisting of two Chapter officers plus one-third of members in good standing is necessary for the transaction of any business.
Section 3. All parliamentary questions not determined by this Constitution, PRSSA Bylaws or PRSA Bylaws shall be decided according to Robert’s Rules of Order Revised.
Article V: Officers
Section 1. The officers of this Chapter shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Director, Historian, National Assembly Delegate and National Assembly Alternate Delegate.
Section 2. The duties of these officers shall include but will not be limited to those listed in this section, and such as usually pertain to the offices they hold as described in Article XII, Section 6(b) of PRSSA Bylaws.
- The president shall serve as the Chair of general body and executive board meetings of the Chapter. The president shall serve as the primary liaison to both the PRSSA National Committee and PRSA-NY. The president shall also serve as a member of the CCNY council of the student clubs and organizations. A designee of the president can be selected; declaration of such shall be submitted in writing to CCNY USG.
- The vice president shall assume the duties of the president in the absence of the president. The vice president shall also assist with the execution of Chapter events and holding both members and officers accountable. The vice president shall also assist with planning the general body and executive board meetings.
- The secretary shall take minutes and handle all correspondence with the Chapter. The secretary shall keep record of Chapter operations, including but not limited to meetings, events and membership. The secretary shall also forward a copy of all approved minutes to CCNY USG.
- The treasurer shall collect all dues, maintain whatever account may exist in the CCNY Student Services Corporation Business Office, and shall be responsible for filing the budget requests with CCNY USG. The treasurer shall periodically give an account of the organization’s finances to the membership, and the Finance Committee of CCNY USG upon notice of request.
- The National Assembly delegate and an alternate shall additionally be elected to represent this Chapter at the PRSSA National Assembly. These delegates may simultaneously hold another office within the Chapter.
Section 3. Other Chapter officers may be elected as necessary to handle local needs. Additionally, standing committees may be elected or appointed as necessary to handle the needs of the Chapter.
Article VI: Advisers
Section 1. This Chapter shall elect or ratify annually, alongside the election of Chapter officers and for a one-year renewable period, the Faculty Adviser who is either a Member or an Associate Member of PRSA. The Faculty Adviser shall assume office alongside the concurrently elected officers.
- The Faculty Adviser shall teach at least one of the public relations courses as required for the establishment of a PRSSA Chapter, as described in Article IX, Section 1(a) of PRSSA Bylaws.
- The Faculty Adviser shall be recognized as the official faculty representative in and to this Chapter, and shall act as the official link between the Chapter and PRSA.
Section 2. This Chapter shall elect or ratify annually, alongside the election of Chapter officers and for a one-year renewable period, one or two Professional Advisers who are Members of PRSA, at least one of whom must be a Member who has at least five (5) years of professional public relations experience or is Accredited, who shall represent the practice rather than the academic. The elected Professional Adviser(s) shall assume office alongside the concurrently elected officers.
- Professional Advisers must be members in good standing with PRSA and may not be associate members.
- To facilitate the students’ election of Professional Advisers, the officers of PRSA-NY may nominate eligible members of their Chapter annually as possible Professional Advisers and submit the names to this PRSSA Chapter for ratification. While this PRSSA Chapter is not obliged to choose the submitted nominees, any Professional Advisers elected annually must be a Member of PRSA and must agree to volunteer his or her time for the betterment of the students and this PRSSA Chapter.
Article VII: Elections and Tenure
Section 1. Election of Chapter officers and advisers shall be held before April 15 each year.
- A quorum as defined in Article IV, Section 2 of this Constitution is required to hold elections. A simple majority vote of the quorum present is required for election to office.
Section 2. The tenure for Chapter officers shall be one year.
- Officers shall take office at the conclusion of a meeting to be held on a weekday no later than the last full week before the final examination period of the spring semester.
Section 3. Any Chapter officer may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the entire Chapter membership during a special meeting held for this purpose.
- Petition for removal must be submitted to all parties concerned at least three weeks in advance of a special convocation of the Chapter and all parties concerned shall have the opportunity to present their cases. Grounds for removal shall be intentional misconduct so as to bring discredit to PRSSA or PRSA, dereliction of assigned duties, intentional violation of PRSSA Bylaws or this Constitution, and/or failure to maintain acceptable academic standards.
- Proceedings in such cases shall be confidential.
- A removed officer shall be replaced by one elected by a plurality vote of the Chapter membership.
Article VIII: National and Chapter Dues
Section 1. National dues shall be collected from each member by the Treasurer at the outset of each academic semester and sent to PRSSA Headquarters not later than November 1 for the fall semester and March 1 for the spring semester.
- National dues for students joining this Chapter on November 1 shall be forwarded by the Treasurer, together with the official forms provided by PRSSA, to PRSSA Headquarters in the fall. On payment of said dues, a student is entitled to one full year's membership, extending from November 1 to October 31 of the following year.
- National dues for students joining this Chapter on March 1 shall be forwarded by the Treasurer, together with the official forms provided by PRSSA, to PRSSA Headquarters in the spring. On payment of said dues, a student is entitled to one full year's membership, extending from March 1 to the last day of February of the following year.
Section 2. There shall be no prorating of dues during either one-year period.
Section 3. This Chapter may establish its own initiation fee and dues structure in addition to National dues as may be necessary to carry local expenses. Any initiation fee or local dues shall be collected by the Treasurer at a time to be established by Chapter officers.
Article IX: Chapter Activities
Section 1. All activities of this Chapter must be taken in the name of the Chapter.
Section 2. This Chapter may not merge with other organizations.
Section 3. No Chapter activity shall impose any liability or obligation upon PRSA.
Article X: Amendments
Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a three-quarters favorable vote of the membership of this Chapter, provided that the amendment shall have been proposed at least one meeting previous to the time of voting. Amendments to this Constitution, however, shall become effective only upon its approval by both CCNY USG and the PRSSA National Committee. Such amendments shall conform to the PRSA Bylaws.
Article XI: Dissolution of the Chapter
Section 1. In the event of dissolution of this Chapter, all accrued funds and assets generated from student activity fees shall be returned to CCNY USG. All funds and assets not generated from student activity fees shall be donated to the Department of Media and Communication Arts at CCNY.
