Delta Omega Society Bylaws

The name of this organization shall be the Delta Omega Society, Alpha Chapter of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, hereafter referred to as Delta Omega.

The objective of Delta Omega shall be: to encourage scholarship and research among persons undertaking graduate study in the science and practice of public health and to recognize attainment in the field of public health; to encourage multidisciplinary and multidepartmental activities in scientific and social meetings; to strengthen the contacts between the School and its alumni.

Board of Directors, Officers and Executive Committee: Board of Directors, hereafter referred to as the Board, its Officers and Executive Committee

Section 1. Titles

• The Board of Directors shall consist of all Board Members.
• The Officers shall consist of the President, President-Elect, and the Secretary- Treasurer.
• The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers, the Chairpersons of the Standing Committees, and the Immediate Past-President.

Section 2. Duties

A. The Committees and Boards:

• The Board of Directors oversees the business of Delta Omega.
• The Executive Committee performs duties as requested by the President in administrating the activities of Delta Omega, and is delegated full power and responsibility for the oversight of Delta Omega between meetings.

B. The President shall:

• Administer and be responsible for the general activities and preside at all business sessions of Delta Omega.
• Appoint all committee chairs in consultation with the Board.
• Serve as an ex officio on all Standing Committees.
• Serve as delegate or designate an alternate to represent the Alpha Chapter at the National Delta Omega meeting.

C. The President-Elect shall:

• Succeed to the office of President.
• Assume the duties of the President in his or her absence.
• Serve as an ex officio member of an all Standing Committees.

D. The Secretary-Treasurer shall:

• Take minutes of meetings, send minutes to Executive Committee members for review and corrections, subsequently send minutes to the Board for review and approval.
• Provide guidance and oversight for archiving minutes and official Delta Omega records with the External Affairs Office of the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
• Support activities for maintaining up-to-date financial records with the External Affairs Office.
• Work in consultation with External Affairs Office to prepare annual budget.
• Prepare annual financial written report for the Board.

Section 3. Meetings and Quorum

• Meetings of the Board shall be called by the President or by a simple majority of its membership.
• A simple majority of members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
• Each member of the Board shall have one vote.
• No Board member may vote by proxy.

Section 4. Vacancies

The President-Elect shall succeed to the office of President should the President become incapacitated or otherwise unable to serve before expiration of his/her term. Further, if the President-Elect is unable to serve and succeed to the Presidency, the Board of Directors shall select from its body a person to serve as Interim President for the unexpired portion of the term. Vacancies in the office of Secretary-Treasurer shall be filled by appointment of the Board of Directors for the unexpired portion of the term.

Section 5. Resignation and Removal of Board Members

• A member of the Board or officer may elect to resign at any time during a term of office.
• Absence without good cause from three meetings in a year may constitute resignation and the vacancy shall be filled as provided for in these By-laws.
• A member of the Board or an officer may be removed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present at any scheduled meeting, provided the intent to consider removal was submitted in writing to all Board members at least three weeks prior to the date of such scheduled meeting.

Section 6. Elections and Terms

• Members of the Board shall serve a three-year term with the option of consecutive terms.
• Officers shall be elected by members of the Board at the annual meeting. The term of each shall be two consecutive years, with the option of a second term if agreed to by the Board. The term of office for officers is 1 July through 30 June.
• New members of the board shall be proposed during the course of the year and confirmed at the annual meeting.

Section 1: Nominating Committee for Officers

The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three to five members of the Board, which shall submit single slate nominations for officers to be approved by vote of the Board of Directors at the annual meeting.

Section 2: Nominating Committee for New Board Members

The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three to five members of the Board to identify potential new members who can be proposed and voted upon at the annual meeting.

Section 3: Faculty and Alumni Nomination Committee

• The Chair of the Faculty and Alumni Nomination Committee shall be a member of the Board and appointed by the President.
• The Chair, in consultation with the President, shall appoint members to serve on the Committee
• The Committee shall present to the Board a list of eligible nominees at the annual meeting for review and approval as new members of Delta Omega.

Section 4: Student Nomination Committee

• The Chair of the Student Nomination Committee shall be a member of the Board and appointed by the President.
• The Chair, in consultation with the President, shall appointment members to serve on the Committee.
• The Committee shall present a list of eligible candidates to the Board before the annual meeting for review and approval as new members of Delta Omega who have high scholastic credentials and faculty endorsements.

Section 5: Program Committee

• The Chair of the Program Committee shall be a member of the Board and appointed by the President.
• The Chair, in consultation with the President, shall appoint members to serve on the Committee.
• The Committee, in consultation with the Office of External Affairs, shall develop the annual Delta Omega lecture program (annual meeting) and select the speaker(s).

Section 6: Poster Committee

• The Chair of the Poster Committee shall be a member of the Board and appointed by the President.
• The Chair, in consultation with the President, shall appoint members to serve on the Committee.
• The Committee shall organize with the annual Student Research Day/Scientific Poster Competition and shall select winning submissions.

Section 7: Scholarship Committee

• The Chair of the Scholarship Committee shall be a member of the Board and appointed by the President.
• The Chair, in consultation with the President, shall appoint members to serve on the Committee.
• The Committee shall select annual scholarship winners.

Section 8: Web and Communications Committee

• The Chair of the Web and Communications Committee shall be a member of the Board and appointed by the President.
• The Chair, in consultation with the President, shall appoint members to serve on the Committee.
• The Committee shall be responsible for maintaining and keeping current the Delta Omega Alpha Chapter website.

Section 9: Special Committees

• In consultation with the Board, the President may appoint special committees and define their duties. Special committees shall be dissolved at the end of office of the appointing President unless their mission is completed at an earlier date, or the committee is continued by the new President.

There shall be five categories of membership in Delta Omega.

A. Student Membership
Student membership shall be selected by the Student Membership Committee. Members elected from the student body shall be approved at the annual meeting. They shall be chosen with due regard to their scholarly attainments and honorary character of Delta Omega. In order to be eligible for membership in Delta Omega in this category, the student shall:

• Possess a bachelor's degree or a degree equivalent to or higher than the bachelor's degree, and
• Have completed a full year of academic courses or be in the last rating period leading to an advanced degree in public health, and
• Intend, so far as can be ascertained, to follow a career in public health.

A maximum of ten percent (10%) of graduating students shall be elected to membership in any one year. Those elected shall be from the upper twenty-five percent (25%) in class standing and have demonstrated real or potential qualities of leadership in public health. The total student group to be considered for membership shall only include persons who are candidates or who have received an advanced degree in public health during that current academic year. Nomination of student candidates shall be made only by faculty of the School.

The term "advanced degree in public health" as used in these By-laws, refers to the following degrees or their equivalents: Master of Public Health, Doctor of Public Health, Master of Science, Master of Health Science, Doctor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy.

B. Faculty Membership
Faculty membership shall be selected by the Faculty and Alumni Membership Committee. The selection committee will give particular attention to outstanding public health performance in scholarship, teaching, research and the quality of publications. The total number of faculty members elected in any one year may be up to three percent (3%) of the full-time faculty.

C. Alumni Membership
Alumni membership shall be selected by the Faculty and Alumni Membership Committee. Delta Omega may elect a maximum of ten graduates from the School whose work in the practice of public health would serve as a model for future graduates of the School for membership each year. The term alumni is as defined by the School’s Alumni Affairs Office.

D. Emeriti Membership
Faculty or Alumni members shall receive emeriti status after 40 years of membership. Emeriti members shall have no obligation to pay annual membership dues. Although emeriti members are not voting members, they shall continue to receive chapter mailings and shall be encouraged to partake in Alpha Chapter events, especially the annual meeting.

There shall be an annual meeting of Delta Omega, at which time officers shall be elected by the Board of Directors and membership shall be conferred for students, faculty and alumni.

• Initiation Dues
  The initiation dues for newly-elected students will be paid by the students. The initiation dues for faculty and alumni members shall be determined annually by the Board.
• Annual Dues
  Annual dues for active members shall be determined by the Executive Committee and confirmed by a vote of all members at the annual meeting.
• Other
  The Cost of the key or pin shall be borne by the members.

These By-laws may be amended in whole or in part by a simple majority vote of the Alpha Chapter members present at the annual meeting. Copies of the By-laws will be available at the annual meeting.

Amended January 1st, 2013