University of Maryland

Entomology Student Organization

Bylaws

Last updated: May 2022

PREAMBLE

1. These Bylaws serve as a governing document of the Entomology Student Organization

(ESO) and are in addition to the existing Constitution.
2. Bylaws are a set of governing rules and regulations, which exist to provide structure and
guidelines for the organization.

ARTICLE 1

1. Duties and responsibilities of ESO officers

a. Duties and Responsibilities of the President/Faculty Representative
The President/Faculty Representative shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the
ESO. It shall be the duties and responsibilities of the President to:

▪ Represent graduate students at faculty meetings each month and duly

report to the graduate student body the topics that were discussed, and any
issues that may require graduate student input. The President is guaranteed
a full vote on all departmental issues not related to appointment,
promotion, and tenure (see Department of Entomology Faculty Plan of
Governance). The President shall vote yea, nay, or officially abstain on all
issues for which he/she may participate.
▪ Organize and oversee the elections of members of the Executive
Committee and any representative to the Assembly.
▪ Nominate and, with the advice and consent of the Assembly, appoint all
non-elected Executive officials and committee chairs.
▪ Appoint and remove, with the advice and consent of the Assembly, all
program heads.
▪ Recommend graduate students for appointments to, or removals from,
department-wide councils, committees, and boards.
▪ Sign or veto, within ten (10) university working days, all bills, resolution,
Constitutional amendments, bylaws, and budgetary allocations passed by
the Assembly. The President’s failure to act during this specified time shall
be deemed approval of such legislation. The Assembly may override any
presidential veto by two-thirds (66%) vote of its total present and voting
membership.
▪ Preside over the Assembly.
▪ Facilitate Nominations and selection of the ESO Invited Colloquium
Speaker

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 ● Call for Nominations, take it to Vote, Announce Speaker, arrange
invitation of the Speaker by the help of the person suggested it
▪ Host weekly Discussion group after Colloquium
▪ Oversee ESO activities by organizing weekly or biweekly meetings of the
Officers
▪ Prepare changes to bylaw if/when needed
▪ Facilitate transition of office by organizing files of relevant material for
transfer to the President-elect at the conclusion of his/her term.
▪ The president has access to the bank/financial account
▪ The President may create and chair the “Get Bugged” Raupp Extension
Award (REA) Selection Committee (EASC) when they deems necessary.
The President will not be a voting member of the EASC.
▪ Transferring all banking to the President-elect, including banking access,
debit cards and paypal accounts.
▪ Other duties and responsibilities may be provided by the bylaws (see
Article 7).
o 2022/2023 president: Tais Ribiero
o 2023/2024 president: Eric Hartel, voted in on May 1, 2023

b. Duties and Responsibilities of the Vice President

It shall be the duties and responsibilities of the Vice President to:
▪ Serve as President pro term if, for any reason, the office becomes vacant,
or when requested by the Executive Committee to serve in the President’s
absence.
▪ Edit and keep the Entomology Student Handbook up to date
▪ Administer the annual graduate mentorship program
▪ Perform such duties as the President may assign them in the
administration of the Executive.
▪ Assist with responsibilities associated with the Undergraduate
Representative including updating the ELMS page and advertising the
Minor and Honors Program.
▪ Maintain the ESO calendar
▪ Facilitate transition of office by organizing files of relevant material for
transfer to the Vice President-elect at the conclusion of his/her term.
▪ Other duties and responsibilities may be provided by the bylaws (see
Article 7).

o 2022/2023 Vice President: Kathleen Evans

o 2023/2024 President: , voted in on May 1, 2023

c. Duties and Responsibilities of the Treasurer

It shall be the duties and responsibilities of the Treasurer to:
▪ Be solely responsible for maintaining account funds and records of the
ESO.

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 ▪ Prepare budgets for programs and events, as well as for proposed
programs that may be considered by the Assembly.
▪ Order the disbursement of ESO funds as directed by the Assembly.
▪ Manage the IRS and tax paperwork
▪ Solicit applications for ESO award programs.
▪ Perform such duties as the President may assign them in the
administration of the Executive.
▪ Facilitate transition of office by organizing files of relevant material for
transfer to the Treasurer-elect at the conclusion of their term. This will
specifically include: (1) an executive summary of deposits and
withdrawals from any accounts and (2) all sequentially ordered bank
statements issued during his/her term.
▪ The treasurer has access to the bank/financial account
▪ Transferring all banking to the Treasurer-elect, including banking access,
debit cards and paypal accounts.
▪ Other duties and responsibilities may be provided by the bylaws (see
Article 7).

o 2022/2023 Treasurer: Brendan Randall

o 2023/2024 Treasurer: Benjamin Gregory , voted in on May 1, 2023

d. Duties and Responsibilities of the Social Chair

It shall be the duties and responsibilities of the Social Chair to:
▪ Coordinate and facilitate opportunities for graduate students to formally
and informally interact outside of classroom and laboratory
environments; specifically, to organize and oversee the two (2) main
annual social events of the Department (Oktoberfest and Spring Fling).
▪ Performs such duties as the President may assign them in the
administration of the Executive.
▪ Facilitate transition of office by organizing files of relevant material for
transfer to the Social Chair-elect at the conclusion of his/her term.
▪ Other duties and responsibilities may be provided by the bylaw (see
Articles 5 and 7).

o 2022/2023 Treasurer: Angela Saenz

o 2023/2024 Treasurer: Amanda Brucchieri, voted in on May 1, 2023

e. Duties and Responsibilities of the Communications Officer

It shall be the duties and responsibilities of the Communications Officer to:
▪ Serve as Webmaster and update the ESO website with new graduate
student information, graduate student awards and achievements, and an
updated calendar of ESO events, as well as maintain an up-to-date contact
list on the ESO email account.
▪ Organize and maintain the ESO Gmail Email (esoumd@gmail.com) and
Google drive

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 ▪ Serve as the Note taker, keep record of the ESO meetings, prepare meeting
notes
▪ Post on a weekly schedule to all social media platforms: Instagram and
Facebook.
▪ Performs such duties as the President may assign them in the
administration of the Executive.
▪ Facilitate transition of office by organizing files of relevant material for
transfer to the Communications Chair-elect at the conclusion of his/her
term.
▪ Other duties and responsibilities may be provided by the bylaw (see
Articles 5 and 7).

o 2022/2023 Treasurer: Eric Hartel

o 2023/2024 Treasurer: Robert Salerno, voted in on May 1, 2023

f. Duties and Responsibilities of the Undergraduate Representative

It shall be the duties and responsibilities of the Undergraduate representative to:
▪ Attend biweekly ESO meetings
▪ Organize and disperse an annual survey to gain feedback from the
undergraduate community in our department
▪ Attend UMD school fairs to advertise the Entomology Minor and Honors
Program
▪ Organize booths at the First Look Fair, Second Look fair, and
Undergraduate Research Day
▪ Maintain the Undergraduate Community (UG) ELMS page:
a. Add new job opportunities and removing older ones
b. Post weekly seminars
c. post social events
▪ Coordinate and facilitate opportunities for undergraduate students
minoring and honoring in Entomology to formally and informally interact
outside of classroom and laboratory environments.
▪ Enhance the undergraduate presence and activity in the department
▪ Advertise the Cory Scholarship
▪ Facilitate transition of office by organizing files of relevant material for
transfer to the Undergraduate Representative-elect at the conclusion of
his/her term.
2022/2023 Undergraduate Representative: Sankara Ganesh
2023/2024 Undergraduate Representative: Sophia Athanas, voted in on May 1, 2023

2. Additional ESO Positions

a. Graduate Student Government Representative
i. Definition of position. In accordance with the university’s Graduate
Student Government (GSG) constitution, each departmental program is
allowed one (1) representative for every one hundred (100) graduate

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 students or portion thereof. Departmental representatives are ensured
voting rights in general GSG assembly meetings. The GSG
representative(s) may serve unlimited consecutive terms. Current members
of other Executive Committee positions may fill the GSG representative(s)
office(s).
ii. Duties and Responsibilities. It shall be the duties and responsibilities of
the GSG Representative(s) to:
1. Serve as the representative(s) for the Department at GSG assembly
meeting each month and duly report to the graduate student body
any issues that may require graduate student notification or input.
2. Serve each on at least one GSG committee during their term as
defined by the GSG.
3. Serve each a term of one (1) year on the GSG assembly calendar.
4. Vote yea, yea, or officially abstain on all issues for which he/she
may participate.
5. Facilitate transition of office by organizing files of relevant
material for transfer to the GSG representative(s)-elect at the
conclusion of his/her/their term(s).
6. Other duties and responsibilities may be provided by the bylaws
(see Article 7).

ARTICLE 2

1. Ad Hoc Committees
a. Social Affairs Committees
i. The Social Affairs Committee may accept volunteers or duly request aid
in completing tasks for ESO sponsored events. The Social Chair shall
create and chair the Social Affairs Committee when he/she deems
necessary.
b. “Get Bugged” Raupp Extension Award (REA) Award Selection Committee
i. The President may create and chair the Extension Award Selection
Committee (EASC) when he/she deems necessary. The President will not
be a voting member of the EASC.
c. Charlie Mitter Travel Award Selection Committee
i. The Treasurer may create and chair the Charlie Mitter Travel Award
Committee (TAC) when he/she deems necessary. The Treasurer will not
be a voting member of the TAC.

ARTICLE 3

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1. Additional Duties and Procedures of the Assembly
a. The Assembly, by a majority vote of its total and present voting membership, may
bring impeachment proceedings before the Assembly for any just cause, including
but not limited to neglect, unsatisfactory performance, or misrepresentation of
duty against appointed or elected officers of any class or branch of the ESO.
i. Upon the approval of impeachment proceedings, an ad hoc committee
dedicated for the sole purpose of administering said impeachment
proceedings shall be convened. The committee shall be known at the
Impeachment Committee (IC).
ii. The Chair of the IC shall be elected by a majority vote of the total present
and voting membership of the Assembly. This position shall be non-voting
in all impeachment proceedings.
iii. The Chair of the IC shall randomly select three (3) voting members of the
Assembly to serve on the IC, all of whose terms shall be commensurate
with the duration of the impeachment proceedings.
iv. The IC shall be charged with the unbiased investigation of all matters
related to the impeachment charges.
v. The investigation shall consist of no less than an interview with the
impeached party, an interview with the impeaching party, and the
gathering of supporting documentation and other such evidence to be
presented to the Assembly. If any of the above mentioned parties are
unavailable for interview, that information can be taken into account and
should be presented to the Assembly.
vi. All proceedings of the IC shall not be open to the public and shall remain
confidential.
vii. Impeachment proceedings shall commence no more than one (1) month
from the time that the IC is formed, unless the Assembly votes in favor of
an extension.
viii. At said meeting of the Assembly, the IC shall present the findings of its
investigation, the impeached party shall present its defense, and the
Assembly shall engage in debate.
ix. The Assembly, by a two-thirds (66%) vote of its total present and voting
membership, shall remove the impeached party from his/her position(s). If
a party is impeached, he/she shall be barred from ESO officer positions
and attending Assembly meetings for one (1) year. However, impeached
parties may attend Assembly meetings if invited by the Assembly.
x. If, through the course of investigation, the IC finds that the impeachment
proceedings are dependent on pending legal matters, the situation shall be
reported to the Assembly. The Assembly, by a majority vote of its total

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 present and voting membership, shall then decide whether to continue the
impeach proceedings.

ARTICLE 4

1. General Procedure for Distribution of Funds

a. The following is a general procedure for the distribution of ESO funds.
i. Benefitting parties should submit a letter of application describing
involvement in the given activity that generated or requires the
reimbursement of the funds to be distributed.
ii. Benefitting parties should submit a budget of line item expenses along
with receipts if reimbursement is being sought.
iii. Upon approval by the ESO Treasurer, the benefiting party(ies) will receive
an award letter and instructions for award or reimbursement.
iv. These instructions shall apply only to award or reimbursements other than
those received through the Extension Award and the Charlie Mitter Travel
Award (see Article 5).

ARTICLE 5

1. Funds Distribution for ESO Awards

a. Types of Awards
i. “Get Bugged” Raupp Extension Award (REA)
1. The purpose of the Raupp Award is to promote and recognize
significant contributions in Extension and Outreach service by
graduate students at the Department of Entomology. The award is
up to $1000 and may be divided between applicants. Applications
will be due August 15th of each year and will follow the
application and selection criteria outlined below. The winner(s)
will be presented at the first departmental colloquium of the Fall
semester.
ii. Charlie Mitter Travel Award
1. The purpose of the Charlie Mitter Travel Award (CMTA) is to
support graduate students presenting their own research findings at
local, national, or international scientific/societal meetings. The
CMTA will be available to graduate students via the application
and selection processes outlined below. There is no limit to the
number of applicants, but each applicant may submit only one
application per award period. The CMTA will be awarded as the
total remaining cost of the applicant’s travel up to a maximum of

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 two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00) per applicant. A maximum
of five hundred dollars ($500.00) per award period will be used to
fund the CMTA. Two (2) opportunities per calendar year for grant
application will be allotted with one submission deadline in the
winter/spring and one in the summer, with two (2) grants awarded
at each time. Travel must occur in the six months after the award is
received
2. Eligibility for Awards
a. Any individual who is currently a qualifying member of the ESO (as per the ESO
Constitution) is eligible for the REA and CMTA.
3. Distribution Procedures for Awards
a. REA
i. Submission. Complete application packets must contain the following:
ii. Curriculum vitae. Attach your most recent CV
iii. Cover letter. Why do you deserve this award? What was the significance
of your extension? Limit descriptions of activities to those performed
during time at the university as a member of ESO.
iv. Letter of Support: Attach a letter of support from group(s) that benefitted
of your work
v. Award Administration
1. For each round of REA consideration, the President will chair an
ad hoc Extension Award Selection Committee (EASC) and will not
be a voting member. The voting members of the EASC should be
comprised of no fewer than two (2) ESO members and one (1)
departmental extension faculty member. The EASC will judge all
application packets and will make a decision regarding the
selection of the award recipient. All deliberations and decision of
the EASC will be confidential and not eligible for review. See
application form REA for application and evaluation information.
vi. REA Ranking Rules
1. Quality of CV/Contribution of activities to CV. (Rank 1-4, 4
highest). Relative to other CVs, has this applicant regularly
contributed in the area of extension and outreach during their time
as a member of ESO at the university?
2. Quality of cover letter. (Rank 1-4, 4 highest). Does this cover
letter clearly explain the significance of the extension and
outreach?
vii. ESO will write a personal cheque for the winner(s).
b. CMTA
i. Submission. Complete application packets must contain the following:
1. Application form CMTA-1. (4 copies)

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 2. Documentation of matching/non-matching. (via advisor(s)
letter) (1 copy)
3. Documentation of Jacob Goldhaber Travel Award.
(acceptance/rejection letters, if applicable) (1 copy)
4. Curriculum vitae. Two (2) pages maximum, recent contributions
only (4 copies)
5. Abstract of paper/presentation. Must include conference
attended and results/conclusion, limited to three hundred (300)
words (4 copies)
6. Budget. Show expenses of travel, lodging, other expenses, other
travel awards received for the travel for which you are applying,
and the remaining unpaid cost (4 copies)
ii. Award Administration
1. For each round of CMTA submission, the Treasurer will rank
application packets according to priority. The Treasurer will chair
an ad hoc Charlie Mitter Travel Award Committee (TAC) and will
not be a voting member. The voting members of the TAC will be
comprised of no fewer than three (3) ESO members and may
include at least one (1) ESO officer. Each voting member will rank
packets they receive in order of highest to lower quality based on
the criteria below.
2. The Treasurer will randomly select ESO members from a member
pool for nomination to the TAC. The member pool may be
comprised of members who may or may not be currently applying
for travel awards, although a first order pool will be established
that contains all members not currently applying for awards.
Nominated candidates accepting bids will be appointed by the
Treasurer to evaluate all priority submissions.
3. In an evaluation phase, voting TAC members will receive packets
of similar priority rank for consideration. Ranking will be
considered by each voting member in the final judging of packets
for award.
iii. CMTA Ranking Rules
1. Priority will be defined by the following criteria:
a. Not received CMTA before? = +1
b. Presented a poster at conferences? = +1
c. Presented a talk at conference? = +2
Note: If the applicant presented both a poster and a talk,
only +2 points will be given.

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iv. Award Evaluation
1. Voting members of the TAC shall evaluate all packets or a subset
of packets. The Treasurer may appoint additional evaluators if
necessary to lessen the burden of evaluation. Upon completion of
evaluation, voting members must assign a total sum of points to
each packet. In the case where multiple packets receive equally
high marks, the voting member must re-evaluate those packets and
identify a single packet to receive the highest mark. Each packet
will be evaluated by at least two (2) voting members in order to
establish a mean score to be used in final selection by the
Treasurer.
2. For each packet voting members shall award points for each
category of assessment and will sum all points earned in each
category.
3. Categories for Assessment. Voting members shall use integers
only for scoring
a. Quality of CV. (Rank 1-4, 4 highest). Relative to other
CVs in each consideration group, has this applicant
regularly contributed (considering time at UM and at other
programs)?
b. Contribution of presentation to applicant’s CV. (Rank
1-4, 4 highest). Relative to other packets, how much does
this presentation enhance the present CV?
c. Quality of presentation abstract. (Rank 1-4, 4 highest).
Does this abstract include clear elements of good research
(informative and accurate, proofread, results and
conclusions)?
d. Priority rank. Value previously obtained from priority
ranking.
v. Final Selection
1. The Treasurer will average the final scores of each packet obtained
from each packet evaluator. The Treasurer will issue final award
letters to CMTA recipients. The following procedures will apply to
select the recipient of final awards.
2. Scenarios:
a. Number of selected applicants does not exceed
maximum award amount of $500.00. All applicants will
be awarded an amount up to but not exceeded the total
remaining cost of their travel.

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 b. Number of selected applicants exceeds maximum award
amount of $500.00. Averaged final ranking scores for each
packet will be used to fund award applications starting at
the highest-ranking packet and continuing through packets
with decreasing scores until the maximum award amount of
$500.00 is spent.
vi. CMTA Acceptance
1. If the recipient’s or recipients’ advisor(s) or any other faculty
member will match funds from an FRS account, then all expenses
must be paid directly from the faculty member’s departmental
account, after which CMTA funds will be reimbursed to the faculty
members FRS account. Be sure to complete the out-of-state travel
form prior to travel, if applicable.
2. If you will receive no departmental matching funds (no FRS
source), then you will be able to submit your travel receipts to the
business department and will be reimbursed directly. Be sure to
complete the out-of-state travel form prior to travel, if applicable.

[END BYLAWS]

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