Tau Beta Pi President's Book
Manual of Chapter Operations
Section C

(2005 Edition - last update 01/24/2005)

Section II - ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Officers should be elected as early in the calendar year as conditions allow. Use a nominating committee to ensure a capable slate is presented (Bylaw V, 5.01). Select people who have the ability, the will, and the time to do a good job. Choosing the chapter's outstandingly best person as president may not be good policy if he or she is also head of other campus organizations. This person may be so loaded with extra-curricular activities that his or her fine leadership ability is spread too thin. Perhaps someone else can do a better job for your chapter. The success or failure of the chapter depends primarily upon the officers. If they are effective, the chapter is; if they are ineffective, so is the chapter. Elect a president, not co-presidents, as the Bylaws require.

A few chapters elect new officers twice a year, in the spring and in mid-winter. The disadvantages of breaking the continuity of chapter leadership should be carefully weighed against the advantage of offering more members an opportunity for leadership experience. The national Headquarters strongly recommends that chapters have only one group of officers each year.

Document and mail the election results on-line to Headquarters immediately, using the Report of Election of Officers.

The old officers should remain in office until the new ones are familiar with their duties. Too often the old officers drop all responsibility with the election of their successors. Use the chapter officer installation procedure (C-10)! It is a part of your job to help your successor start well. When you transfer your records, you should have a long talk with your successor. Offer all the advice you can, identifying your mistakes and explaining how errors may be avoided. Please, prepare the new president carefully.

It is an advantage to have a member of the engineering faculty serve as treasurer, who should be duly elected by the chapter with the approval of the Advisory Board. Reasons to elect a faculty treasurer include:

•Because of experience and continuity, the faculty treasurer can more readily deal with the alumni who knew him or her as treasurer when they were in school; can prepare the budget more easily; can follow up with members whose accounts are not closed by their graduation securing payment from them, thus ending the "Due on Old Accounts" file, and can make suggestions to the chapter and Advisory Board based on experience.

•If the treasurer is a faculty member, he or she has an office where members may pay dues and where the chapter may keep its materials if there is no chapter room.

•Banking will be easier, and new signature cards will not be required every year.

Chapters with faculty treasurers have found it advantageous to have a student serve as assistant treasurer; the assistant handles routine operations, such as transactions of less than $25, leaving over-all supervision of financial matters to the faculty treasurer.