MEF Bylaws

Enacted March 20th, 1996

1. Definition of Terms

1.1 Moneys raised through donations to the Endowment Fund are held in a separate account by the University and are referred to as the 'Funds', while those moneys generated through the investment of the Funds are referred to as 'Income'. 'Income' is the money used to allocate 'Funding Grants' and 'Administrative Expenditures'.

1.2 'Funding Grants' are moneys donated, or to be donated to the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Mathematics (student, staff and faculty) for specific purposes proposed by the Funding Council and approved by the Board of Directors.

1.3 A simple majority is greater than 50 percent.

1.4 'on stream Director' refers to the Endowment Fund Director for the corresponding term.

1.5 Membership of the Endowment Fund will be limited to undergraduate Math Faculty students who have been registered in one of the current or previous two terms.

2. Elections

2.1 Members of the Endowment Fund currently in a school term are the only eligible voters in elections for elected positions of the Endowment Fund.

2.2 A simple majority of the vote is required to elect any elected position of the Endowment Fund.

2.3 Subject to 2.1 and 2.2, all elections shall be held in accordance with the Mathematics Society's election policy.

3. Board of Directors

3.1 Powers and Duties

3.1.1 The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the following, subject to all Constitutional provisions:

1. administering the affairs of the Endowment Fund;
2. enacting resolutions concerning Funding Grants recommended to it by the Funding Council;
3. appointing agents and engaging employees as it shall deem necessary; such persons shall have authority and shall perform duties as prescribed by the Board of Directors at the time of their appointment.

3.2 The Endowment Director(s)

3.2.1 Unless indicated otherwise by a resolution of the Board of Directors the election shall be held during the Winter term for the Fall Directorship, and during the Fall term for the Spring Directorship. The position of Winter Directorship shall be open for nominations in the Spring Term. Further, there shall be an advanced poll in the Spring term followed by the election during the Fall term. The results of the spring poll and the fall poll shall determine the Winter Directorship.

3.2.2 Only undergraduate mathematics students at the University of Waterloo are eligible for the position of Endowment Director.

3.2.3 Further, the on stream Director cannot hold any executive position with the Math Society at the University of Waterloo during his or her term of office.

3.3 Term of Office

3.3.1 The term of office of any undergraduate student Director shall end immediately upon that student ceasing to be an undergraduate mathematics student at the University of Waterloo and a new student Director, if desired, may be appointed at the following Board of Directors meeting.

3.4 Meetings of the Board of Directors

3.4.1 Meetings of the Board of Directors shall operate under the following provisions:

3.4.1.1 the on stream Director shall be the chairperson;
3.4.1.2 if the on stream Director is absent, either the Endowment Director for the next or previous term shall be the chair person as decided by the on stream Director;
3.4.1.3 if none of these Directors are present, the meeting can not be held;
3.4.1.4 there shall be at least one (1) meeting of the Board of Directors per term;
3.4.1.5 meetings may be called by any Director, to be held at any time and place to be determined by the on stream Director, provided that seven (7) days notice of such a meeting be received by each Director. No error in giving notice of any meeting of the Board of Directors shall invalidate such a meeting, or make void any proceedings taken thereat. Any Director may at any time, waive notice of any such meeting;
3.4.1.6 the presence of a simple majority of the voting members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum;
3.4.1.7 all resolutions, unless otherwise specified in these bylaws, shall be ratified by a simple majority vote of the Board of directors;
3.4.1.8 any resolution in writing, signed by all members of the Board of Directors entitled to vote on that resolution at a Board of Directors meeting, is as valid as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Board of Directors;
3.4.1.9 Board of Director meetings are open to the members of the Endowment Fund and shall be advertised to the satisfaction of the Board of Directors seven (7) days in advance.
3.4.1.10 each director entitled to vote at a meeting of the Board of Directors may by means of a proxy appoint a proxy holder as his or her nominee to attend and act at the meeting in manner, to the extent and with the authority conferred by the proxy. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be executed by the director in writing and shall be deposited with the Secretary of the Board of Directors before any vote is cast under scrutiny;

4. Funding Council

4.1 Chairperson

4.1.1 In the event that the on stream Director is absent from a Funding Council meeting, either Endowment Director of the next or previous term shall be chairperson as decided by the on stream Director;

4.1.2 In the event that all three Endowment Directors are absent from a Funding Council meeting, the meeting cannot be held;

4.2 Quorum

4.2.1 The Funding Council quorum for approval of bylaws is the presence of at least two thirds (2/3) of the voting members of the Funding Council;

4.2.2 The Funding Council quorum for approval of Funding Grants and other non-bylaw issues is the presence of at least one-half (1/2) of the voting members of the Funding Council;

4.3 Voting

4.3.1 All resolutions shall be ratified by a simple majority vote of the Funding Council;

4.4 Meetings

4.4.1 Meetings may be called by the on stream Director, to be held at any time and place to be determined by the on stream Director, provided that at least seven (7) days notice of such a meeting be received by each Funding Council member. No error in giving notice of any meeting of the Funding Council shall invalidate such a meeting, or make void any proceedings taken thereat. Any Funding Council member may at any time, waive notice of any such meeting;

4.4.2 There shall be at least one (1) meeting of the Funding Council per term and meetings shall be open to the members of the Endowment Fund and shall be advertised to the satisfaction of the Board of Directors seven (7) days in advance.

4.4.3 The procedure for meetings is as follows:

4.4.3.1 The chairperson shall address the state of the Endowment Fund;

4.4.3.2 The appointment of Funding Council members to the Board of Directors shall follow this; Followed by these items in any order:

4.4.3.3 Any matter concerning policies or bylaws shall be considered;

4.4.3.4 Presentations on funding proposals by a representative of the groups submitting the proposals. In the event that a representative is not present, the funding proposal shall not be considered at that meeting. The representatives will be asked to leave the room and discussion on the proposed projects shall take place. Following this a vote on each eligible proposal shall occur and the status of each project shall be determined;

4.4.3.5 Any other matter not included in the above shall be considered;

Following all matters considered above the meeting shall be adjourned;

5. Endowment Fund Officers

5.1 Appointment

5.1.1 The Officers of the Endowment Fund shall be the student elected Endowment Directors, Secretary, and Treasurer, the latter two of which are appointed by resolution of the Board of Directors. Any number of positions may be held by the same person and the appointed Officers need not be Directors, nor Endowment Fund members.

5.1.2 The Officers of the Endowment Fund shall hold office for twelve (12) months from date of appointment or election or until their successors are elected or appointed in their stead. Appointed Officers shall be subject to removal by resolution of the Board of Directors at any time.

5.2 Duties of Officers

5.2.1 The on stream Director shall preside at all meetings of the Endowment Fund and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the Board of Directors are carried into effect.

5.2.2 Contracts, documents, or any instruments in writing approved by the Board of Directors, requiring the signature of the Endowment Fund, shall be signed by the on stream Director and one (1) other Director and shall be binding upon the Endowment Fund without any further authorization or formality. This is subject to section 3(d) of the Endowment Fund constitution.

5.2.3 In the absence or disability of the on stream Director he/she may designate an assistant from the existing Board of Directors to perform the duties and exercise the powers of that position. Otherwise, the next term director shall assume control, failing this the previous term director shall assume control. In the event that all three (3) directors are absent or disabled the control of the Endowment Fund shall fall to the Dean of Mathematics.

5.2.4 The Secretary shall give or cause to be given all notices required to be given by the Endowment Fund, shall be custodian of the Endowment Fund logo and all minutes of the meetings of the Endowment Fund and shall have such other powers and duties as may from time to time be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors.

5.2.5 The Treasurer shall keep full and accurate accounts of all assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements of the Endowment Fund. The disbursements of the Funds, as directed by the Board of Directors, shall be monitored by the Treasurer and he or she shall render to the Directors, at the regular meeting of the Board of Directors, or whenever they may require it, an accounting of all the transactions and a statement of the financial position of the Endowment Fund.

6. Funding Sources

6.1 Voluntary Student Contribution (VSC)

6.1.1 Initially, the VSC was a student donation to the Endowment Fund of $31.42 (10 pi) and is included on the undergraduate mathematics fee statement.

6.1.2 The student donation may be indexed up to the Government of Canada's rate of inflation every four (4) years, subject to the Board of Directors approval.

6.1.3 Any change in the level of the VSC, apart from those listed above, requires a seperate simple majority vote in favour by each of the Board of Directors, the Funding Council, and the Membership of the Endowment Fund.

6.1.4 The collection of the VSC is subject to the following conditions:

1. the VSC is fully refundable according to the University of Waterloo's policies on incidental fees;
2. all proceeds generated by the VSC become part of the 'Fund';

7. Refund Policy

7.1 Refund Period

7.1.1 The refund period will be the second (2nd) and third (3rd) week of classes in each term and shall last for no less than ten (10) working days. Further, the MEF office shall be open for no less then two (2) hours on each of these days.

7.2 Refund Procedure

7.2.1 To obtain refunds students must present their fee statement receipt or a valid copy thereof to the MEF office. Upon presentation of this, the receipt will be initialed and the VSC contribution item shall be crossed off. Following this the student shall fill out the appropriate form for the purpose of VSC reimbursement. After the closing of the refund period the forms containing the names of students applying for refunds shall be initialed by the on-stream Director and delivered to the Financial Services Office (FSO) for processing. Subsequently, the FSO shall mail out refunds.

8. Expenditures

8.1 Handling of Income

8.1.1 Income generated to be used as Funding Grants, will normally be spent in the term in which it was generated. If income remains unspent, it will be treated as Income for the subsequent term.

8.1.2 Income may not be converted into Funds until it has been available for three (3) terms.

8.1.3 A resolution of the Board of Directorsis required to convert Income to Funds, subject to 8.1.2.

8.2 Administrative

8.2.1 The Endowment Fund may put aside up to five percent (5%) of the total income generated for administrative expenditures.

8.2.2 A 'Major Administrative Expenditure' refers to an administrative expenditure which exceeds or equals $500. Major Administrative Expenditures must be approved by the Board of Directors and two (2)different Directors must sign for Major Administrative Expenditures of which at least one signature must be that of the on stream Director.

8.2.3 A 'Minor Administrative Expenditure' refers to an administrative expenditure which is under $500. Minor Administrative Expenditures must be signed by the on stream Director and do not require Board of Directors approval.