Bylaws
BYLAWS
OF THE FUSION STUDENT DELEGATION
Adopted: October 2023
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this Organization shall be the Fusion Student Delegation (hereafter: FuSD)
ARTICLE II: OBJECT
The object of FuSD shall be to give students the opportunity to engage with Congress, executive agencies, think tanks, and industry groups; to advocate for fusion energy-relevant policy; to analyze existing public policy and write original policy statements; to network with fusion industry leaders, scientific experts, and policymakers in Washington, DC; and to develop delegates’ science communication skills
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
Individuals shall be eligible for membership in FuSD if they meet the following requirement:
They will be enrolled in, or are no more than one year removed from having earned, an undergraduate or graduate degree during the week of the annual program
Should a member no longer meet the eligibility requirement, said member shall be removed from FuSD
Membership in FuSD is split into two classes: associate members and governance members
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Associate members constitute non-officer members participating in the annual program
Associate members are selected by the Executive Committee in accordance with Article VI, Section B, Subsection b
Upon completion of the annual program, associate members in good standing become governance members, succeeding the existing governance members
Upon completion of the annual program, associate members not in good standing are no longer members of FuSD
GOVERNANCE MEMBERS
Governance members constitute the previous year’s associate members in good standing who elect the following year’s officers, vote on amendments, and — when necessary — conduct oversight action
Upon the succession of the next cohort of governance members, the past governance members are no longer members of FuSD
Governance members in good standing may apply for the following year’s program and be selected as an associate member. Upon acceptance of their application, they become associate members
The President Emeritus is ex officio a governance member of the FuSD as the previous year’s President
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS
The officers of FuSD shall be a President Emeritus, a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary and a Treasurer
These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by FuSD in Article X
The Secretary shall in addition be responsible for recruitment and publicity
Officers shall hold office for a term of one year and until succeeded by their successor
Officers may be removed from office for cause by disciplinary proceedings as provided in the parliamentary authority adopted by FuSD in Article X
No member shall be eligible to serve three more than one consecutive term in the same office
No member shall hold more than one office at a time
The President Emeritus is succeeded by the President at the second regular meeting of the Governance Board in accordance with Article V, Section E
The President is succeeded by the President-Elect at the second regular meeting of the Governance Board in accordance with Article V, Section E
The President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by the Governance Board in accordance with Article VIII
Should the office of the President become vacant, the President-Elect shall complete the President’s term
The office of the President-Elect shall be filled by the Governance Board
Should the office of the President-Elect, Secretary or Treasurer become vacant, the President shall fill the vacancy, to be confirmed by the Governance Board by a majority vote
In the case of additional vacant offices, the Governance Board shall fill each additional vacant office with the exception of President Emeritus, which shall remain vacant
Article V: GOVERNANCE BOARD
The governance members shall constitute the Governance Board (hereafter: Board)
The purposes of the Board shall be
To elect officers in accordance with Article VIII
To consider amendments in accordance with Article XI
To enforce disciplinary action as designated by these bylaws, any special rules of order adopted or as provided in the parliamentary authority adopted by FuSD in Article X
The President Emeritus is the chair of the Board
Should the President Emeritus be absent, or should the office of the President Emeritus become vacant, the President shall chair the Board
Should the chair be vacated in accordance with Article V, Section F, Subsection c, the Board shall nominate and elect a chair
The first meeting of the Board after the completion of the annual program shall be known as the annual meeting, which shall meet no more than six weeks after the completion of the annual program,
To debrief the program
To provide information about how to stand for election and outline the election procedure in accordance with Article VIII
To provide information for how to propose constitutional amendments
To provide expectations and responsibilities of Board members
To conduct a Q&A section to clarify the processes and timeline
To attend to any other matters deemed necessary by the Board
The Board shall meet no more than one week after the end of the voting period,
To announce the result of the election
To install new officers
To distribute a contact list of email addresses of Board members to the Board
To attend to any other matters deemed necessary by the Board
Special meetings may be called by the President Emeritus or shall be called upon the written request of three Board members
The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call, which shall be sent to all members no later than one week after receiving the request
The meeting shall be held no later than four weeks after the call
A motion to vacate the chair shall be adopted with five votes from the Board
Unless held in executive session, meetings of the Board are open to all members of FuSD with only governance members in good standing eligible to vote
Two thirds of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum
ARTICLE VI: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer shall constitute the Executive Committee
The purposes of the Executive Committee shall be
To administer the application in accordance with Article IX, Section A
To evaluate and select the associate members in accordance with Article IX, Section B and Article IX, Section C
To assist the Treasurer in securing funding for associate members
To organize the annual program
The Executive Committee shall meet as necessary to fulfill their responsibilities in accordance with Article VI, Section B
ARTICLE VII: PROGRAM COMMITTEE
The President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and associate members shall constitute the Program Committee
The purposes of the Program Committee shall be
To prepare for the annual program
To participate in the annual program
To craft a policy statement
The Program Committee shall meet no later than three weeks after the selection of the associate members
To welcome associate members to FuSD
To go over expectations of the associate members
To establish meeting dates of the program committee
The President shall appoint members to special committees as deemed necessary
The President shall be ex officio a member of all special committees
Members of the Program Committee shall attend all meetings of the Program Committee and all meetings of any and all special committees on which they reside
Absences may be excused by the President or the Chair of the special committee at whose meeting the member was absent
After three unexcused absences, the member shall no longer be in good standing
This can be appealed to the Governance Board with good standing being restored by a majority vote
ARTICLE VIII: OFFICER ELECTIONS
The President Emeritus shall serve as the Election Coordinator
Should the office of the President Emeritus become vacant, the President shall serve as the Election Coordinator
The election procedure shall be as follows
Nominations
A call for nominations will be distributed to all members of the Governance Board no later than 48 hours after the end of the annual meeting
The deadline to submit nominations shall be one week after the call
Any member of the Governance Board may nominate any member of the Governance Board, so long as the nominated member is eligible for the nominated office
To be eligible for President-Elect, the member must be eligible for not only the next year, but the next two years
Candidate discussion
Candidates may submit a written statement, no longer than 750 words, to the Election Coordinator
The deadline to submit a statement shall be one week after nominations close, at which point the statements shall be distributed to all members of the Governance Board
Voting Procedure
The voting period shall open with the distribution of written statements
The voting period shall last two weeks
Every member of the Governance Board in good standing is eligible to vote
Newly elected officers shall be installed during the second regular meeting of the Governance Board in accordance with Article V, Section E
ARTICLE IX: APPLICATION AND SELECTION OF ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
The application shall consist of two consecutive stages
A written application
The written application must be distributed at least five months before the start of the annual program
The written application must remain open for at least one month
The criteria for evaluating candidates for advancing to the next round are:
Demonstrating an understanding and interest in FuSD’s mission
Clearly explaining how participating would benefit the applicant in their current activities and/or future career goals
Demonstrating a commitment to acting in an inclusive manner and treating other members of FuSD with respect regardless of identity
Writing a persuasive explanation of why the fusion energy program should be funded, directed to a non-expert audience
An interview
Applicants must be invited for interviews or notified of rejection no later than one month of the written application closing
Interviews must be held no later than one month after invitations are sent out except for situations deemed exceptional by the officers
The interview must be held with a minimum of two officers present
Officers may not be from the same school as the applicant
Officers should not have a close personal relationship with the applicant
The criteria for evaluating candidates for acceptance are:
Effective verbal communication skills in discussing the following topics but not limited to
The role of fusion energy in decarbonizing the global energy system
The role of fusion energy in enabling energy independence
Their own research, work, and/or studies (if applicable)
How the US government funds fusion energy research and education
Professional presentation and communication skills directed to non-technical audiences
Interest in legislative policy related to fusion energy
Understanding of the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion within FuSD and the broader fusion community
Preference should be given to candidates that have not participated in FuSD
The method of selection is as follows
Officers shall hold a meeting to evaluate evaluate each applicant’s candidacy based on the criteria above
An applicant’s candidacy is pre-approved if at least two thirds of the officers are in favor of approval
Officers will reach out to the pre-approved candidate’s university department to request funding or explore funding opportunities
Upon securing funding, the pre-approved candidate is selected to become an Associate Member
If funding for a pre-approved candidate cannot be secured, the candidate will no longer be considered for selection
No more than two people shall be selected per university per year
Efforts should be made to ensure that Minority Serving schools are represented in FuSD
ARTICLE X: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the FuSD in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the FuSD may adopt
ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
These bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Governance Board by a two-thirds vote of the Governance Board, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing and read at the previous meeting of the Governance Board
Provisos Relating to Adoption
The inaugural members shall constitute the Governance Board
An election coordinator, who is not running for office, shall be selected by the Governance Board. The elections shall otherwise be held in accordance with Article VIII (with the adoption of the bylaws constituting the annual meeting)