AWM Student Chapter Guidelines

The management of the AWM Student Chapters shall be handled primarily by the AWM Committee on Student Chapters (CSC), described below.

To form an AWM Student Chapter, a group of interested students and a faculty sponsor must submit a petition and proposed chapter bylaws to the CSC. The chapter officers and faculty sponsor are required to be members of AWM. Once the petition and bylaws are approved, the chapter is established.

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Petition to Create an AWM Student Chapter

Instructions: Fill out each section of the following form and send it to the address listed below.

School Information:

Officer and Sponsor Information:

President -

Vice President -

Secretary -

	Name:  ___________________________________________________
	E-mail:  ___________________________________________________
	By signing below, I affirm that I am a member of AWM. Signature:  ___________________________________________________

Treasurer (optional) -

Chapter Advisor:

Mail completed Petition Form and Bylaws to:

AWM Committee on Student Chapters
11240 Waples Mill Road
Suite 200
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
 

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Only items in brackets (< >) may be modified, except for changes required to adhere to the local requirements of the school.

Bylaws of the   <your school name>   Student Chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics

1. This organization shall be called the   <your school name>   Student Chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics. In these Bylaws it is referred to as the Chapter; the Association for Women in Mathematics is referred to as the AWM.
    

1. The Chapter is organized and will be operated for educational and scientific purposes to promote the following:
    
   1. an increased knowledge of and greater interest in the mathematical sciences, including pure and applied mathematics, statistics, and their applications;
       
   2. a greater understanding of the contributions of women in the mathematical sciences; and
       
   3. mentoring and encouraging women and girls as they prepare for careers in the mathematical sciences.
       

1. Membership in the Chapter shall be open to any student at   <your school name>,   regardless of gender, race, color, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability.
    

1. The Executive Council shall consist of the Officers (see Article VI), the Sponsor (see Article V), and Chairs of the Standing Committees (see Article VIII).
    

1. Each Chapter shall have a Sponsor. The Sponsor shall be a faculty member of   <your school name>   and a member of AWM.
    
2. The Sponsor shall be generally responsible for the activities of the Chapter. Specifically, the Sponsor:
    
   1. helps provide continuity from year to year as student leadership and personnel change; and
       
   2. helps maintain university standards in all activities of the Chapter.
       

1. The Officers of this Chapter shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Treasurer position may be combined with either the Vice President or Secretary position.
    
2. Each of the Officers of the Chapter must be a member of AWM.
    
3. The Officers shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by the Chapter members in an Annual Election. The Officers shall take office on and serve for one year.
    
4. No person may serve in the office of President or Vice President for more than two consecutive years.
    
5. If a vacancy should arise between elections, the Executive Council shall appoint a new Officer to fill the vacated post until the next election.
    

1. The President is the principal Officer and is responsible for leading the Chapter and managing its activities in accordance with the policies and procedures of the AWM and these chapter bylaws. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and of its Executive Council.
    
2. The Vice President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President, assist the President in the management of the Chapter, and perform other duties that may be assigned by the President.
    
3. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all Chapter and Executive Council meetings. Other duties of the Secretary include:
    
   1. Maintaining the records of the Chapter;
       
   2. Annual submission of the Officer and Sponsor contact information to the AWM Headquarters;
       
   3. Submission of any proposed amendment to these bylaws to the AWM Committee on Student Chapters (proposed amendments must be approved by AWM before they can be submitted to the Chapter's membership for a vote);
       
   4. Tallying and reporting votes from the Annual Election; and
       
   5. Handling other correspondence pertaining to chapter business.
       
4. The Treasurer shall collect dues, pay all bills, and maintain the Chapter's financial records. Duties of the Treasurer also shall include:
    
1. Preparation of the Chapter's Annual Financial Report for annual presentation to the Chapter.
    

1. The following standing committees are recommended: Program and Publicity.
    
   1. The Program Committee shall plan and make arrangements for Chapter meetings.
       
   2. The Publicity Committee shall maintain a mailing list for and publish and distribute all notices and publicity to the members of the Chapter.
       
2. Additional committees may include, but are not limited to, the following: Membership, Community Outreach, Seminar Series, Site Visits, and Collaborative Events.
    
3. The Chair of each Standing Committee shall serve on the Executive Council.
    

1. The President may appoint temporary committees as appropriate.
    

1. Meetings shall be held only in places that are open and accessible to all members of the Association.
    
2. All meetings of the Chapter shall be publically adverstised via written (e.g., flyers) or electronic (e.g., web page) means.
    

1. Any publications or communications (written, oral, or electronic), other than those of a purely factual and non-controversial nature, from the Chapter or any persons acting on behalf of the Chapter, shall include the following disclaimer: "The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Association for Women in Mathematics."
    

1. Disbursements from the Treasury for Chapter expenditures shall be made by the Treasurer with authorization of the Executive Council and shall be included in the minutes of its meetings.
    
2. Dues, if any, shall be fixed annually by the Executive Council.
    

1. All proposed changes to these Chapter Bylaws shall be approved by the AWM Committee on Student Chapters before being presented to the Chapter membership for a vote.
    
2. No official business of the Chapter shall be conducted unless a quorum is involved. A quorum of the Chapter shall be defined as <10%> percent of the voting membership of the Chapter or at least <3> members, whichever is greater.
    
3. A simple majority of the voting members involved shall be required to carry a motion.
    
4. Officers will be elected by a plurality of votes cast.
    

Article XIV: Dissolution of the Chapter

1. Failure to adhere to these Bylaws may result in the suspension of the Chapter, as determined by the AWM Committee on Student Chapters.
    

The chapter is encouraged to arrange for recognition as a campus organization through an appropriate channel at its institution.

The institution is is very strongly encouraged, but not required, to become an Academic Institutional member of the AWM. By so doing, the institution can better support the Chapter through free student memberships. Information and the institutional membership form is available on the AWM web page at www.awm-math.org.

Clarifications on the Bylaws:

III(1). We emphasize that the chapter is open to men as well as women. The chapter is also open to graduate students as well as undergraduates.

VIII(2). The number and functions of committees is determined by your Chapter activities and goals. Think about what you want to do this year and in the foreseeable future and establish standing committees that correspond to those activities and the corresponding assignment of duties. Then define the general duties of the committees.

XI(1). Examples of public announcements include posters distributed on campus, notes in the campus newspaper, notices distributed by e-mail, web pages, and flyers.

Student Chapters of the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM) serve as a mechanism for all students, regardless of major or gender, to be exposed to the world of professional mathematics, to obtain information about the varied career options in mathematics, to network with professional mathematicians, and to develop leadership skills.

The activities as suggested herein can be broken down into 7 main areas: Meetings, Seminar Lecture Series, Site Visits, Mentoring, Special programs, Community Outreach, and Collaborative Events.

• General meetings of the whole membership should be held frequently and consistently to keep all members informed and involved with the activities of the chapter.
• We recommend that general meetings be held at least 3 times per semester. For example, meetings could be held on the first Monday of each month.
   
• At these meetings, committee reports should be given and voting should be held for proposed activities.
   
• We recommend that meetings include time for discussions of topics of interest to the members.
   
• The last meeting could be a social gathering such as a banquet or picnic.
   
• The Seminar Lecture Series is the venue for presentations on research or careers in an area or application of mathematical science.
  • Professional mathematicians from industry, government or academia could be invited to give a lecture on their respective careers and the path that was taken, in terms of education, to arrive at that career.
     
  • Lectures could also be given by students or by faculty members on their research.
     
  • Lectures by professional women mathematicians may be followed by informal discussions with the lecturer (perhaps over tea or a meal) concerning her experiences as a woman in mathematics.
     
• Site visits refer to field trips to and tours of various mathematical-related firms and companies.
  • Proposed sites are governmental facilities or labs such as NSA, NIST, NIH, FDA, or engineering firms.
     
  • It is also suggested that the chapter attend or participate in professional meetings, whenever possible.
     
• Community Outreach involves hosting seminars for the respective college communities on mathematical-related topics as well as tutoring, mentoring, or providing enrichment for young students at community K-12 schools.
  • Outreach at the college level could include the organizing of group tutorial sessions or the development of a chapter web page that would provide information about internships and fellowships in an area of mathematical science.
     
  • Outreach for local elementary and high schools could include tutoring, mentoring or organizing on-campus math/science demonstrations/exhibits or career days. The chapter may also participate in or organize ongoing mathematical enrichment programs for local students either on campus or at the local schools.
     
• Mentoring and encouraging students in their mathematical development. Examples of mentoring programs include:
  • Matching more senior students with junior students to discuss their experiences and any difficulties they may be facing. Possible matches include graduate students with undergraduates, seniors with sophomores or juniors, math majors with first-year students considering mathematics as a major, etc. The chapter may want to organize events such as luncheons in which all the mentoring pairs get together.
     
  • Members of the chapter may also want to mentor children in the local community.
     
• Special programs. For example, the chapter may invite a panel of faculty members to discuss how to choose graduate schools or to discuss opportunities for students in the mathematical sciences such as REU programs or research programs on campus.
   
• Collaborative Events are those that are jointly planned and organized by the student chapter and either other AWM student chapters in the area, or other organizational student chapters such as MAA. Examples include hosting of the following activities:
  • Team Competitions
  • Regional Conferences
  • Panel Discussions
  • Career Days

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