THE CONSTITUTION OF THE Professional Fraternity Council
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THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
(Established Winter 2010)
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be The University of Michigan Professional Fraternity
Council, referred to from here on out as the PFC.
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
The object of this PFC shall be to develop and maintain professional fraternity life and
interchapter relations through collaboration, shared events, and professional development. It will
also function to consider the goals and ideals of member groups as applicable to the individual
organization and benefit of the entire group.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
A. Every initiated chapter member in good standing of a “Professional Fraternity” recognized by
the University of Michigan as a registered club shall be eligible to be a member of the PFC.
B. The founding fraternities of the PFC are as follows: Alpha Chi Sigma, Alpha Epsilon Delta,
Alpha Kappa Psi, Alpha Phi Omega, Delta Sigma Pi, Kappa Alpha Pi, Phi Chi Theta, and Phi
Sigma Pi. The founding fraternities are considered Professional Fraternities and are recognized
by the PFC at its inception.
C. What ultimately defines Professional Fraternity for admission purposes to the PFC shall be at
the discretion of the current presiding officers and representatives at the time of the request for
admission. Generally, a Professional Fraternity must embody the ideas outlined in Article II of
this Constitution in their mission statement or purpose statement. A “Professional Fraternity”
must also have a specific field of interest.
D. A Professional Fraternity must be co-educational and must show evidence of a somewhat
reasonable balance between male and female members.
E. Recognition as a “Professional Fraternity” requires a ¾ agreeance by the entire council.
F. If an organization is denied recognition and thus admission, they must wait a period of one
calendar year before reapplying for admission into the PFC.
F. Individual Professional Fraternities recognized by the PFC shall have the authority to appoint
exactly three (3) representatives to serve on the PFC.
G. Representatives will hold their position for one semester (Fall or Winter semester). Individual
Professional Fraternities reserve the right to reappoint representatives to serve successive terms.
Representatives that serve during the “foundational stage” of the PFC (as defined in Article IV,
Section D) are only entitled to serve on the PFC for that period. They must be reappointed by
their respective fraternities in Fall 2010 to serve on PFC for the Fall 2010-Winter 2011 academic
year.
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS
A. The officers shall be President, VP-Recruitment, VP-Operations, VP-Finance, VP-
Programming, and VP-Public Relations.
B. The officers shall be initiated members in good standing from a qualified Professional
Fraternity holding full membership as a representative in the PFC.
C. If a representative is elected to serve as an officer, the fraternity that representative is from
will be required to appoint an additional representative to replace the one elected into office.
D. During the “foundational stage” of the PFC, as defined by the time from its inception through
the end of the Winter 2010 semester, the PFC shall be led by “foundational officers.” During this
phase, the VP-Recruitment will not be a recognized position.
E. During the “inaugural stage” of the PFC, as defined by the Fall 2010 semester, the PFC will
be led by a new set of “inaugural officers” to be voted on in April 2010. During this phase, all
officer positions outlined in Section “A” of this article will be recognized.
F. Starting in January of 2011, PFC officers shall serve a term of one calendar year beginning at
the first PFC meeting in January. The time between elections and this meeting will be a
transition period where new officers work closely with present officers and attend the Executive
Board’s meetings.
ARTICLE V: THE PROFESSIONAL FRATERNITY COUNCIL
The governing body of the University of Michigan PFC shall have the duty to conduct all
business related to the overall welfare of the University of Michigan’s members in the various
chapters of Professional Fraternities. This will include recruiting, new member education,
interchapter collaboration, and all other functions which do not violate the sovereignty, rights,
and privileges of member fraternities.
A. The PFC shall be composed of three representatives from each PFC member Professional
Fraternity.
B. Representatives to the PFC shall be selected by their respective fraternity chapters to serve for
a term of one academic year.
C. If a representative relinquishes or is removed from his/her position, it shall be the
responsibility of the respective fraternity to select a replacement within one week of the vacancy.
It is the responsibility of the fraternity to inform the PFC Vice President-Operations of the new
replacement.
D. If a representative cannot attend a meeting of the PFC, an alternate delegate should be present
from the respective fraternity.
E. The officers of The University of Michigan’s PFC shall serve separate from the
representatives in that if one representative is elected as an officer, that representative must be
replaced by an initiated member in good standing from the respective fraternity.
F. Meetings
1. The Executive Board shall meet weekly prior to meetings of the PFC at a time agreed upon by
all Executive Board members at the beginning of each semester, as needed.
2. Regular meetings of the PFC shall be held bi-weekly at a time and place established at the
beginning of each college semester in the Fall and Winter. These meetings shall be open or
closed as determined by the PFC and shall be led by the PFC President. Attendees at closed
meetings will be determined by the PFC.
3. If the President is absent, unable to serve, or being considered for removal of office, the Vice
President-Operations will preside.
4. A quorum of two-thirds of the member fraternities must be present at a PFC meeting before
any business may be transacted.
5. Special meetings of the PFC may be called by the President. She/he must provide any member
representative or Executive Board officer with three days notice. The special meeting may be
closed at the discretion of the presiding officer. The Executive Board reserves the right to decide
attendance for closed special meetings.
G. Voting
1. The voting body of the University of Michigan’s PFC shall be its member representatives and
Executive Board.
2. One vote shall be granted to each PFC voting member.
3. A majority vote shall be required to carry all questions.
4. In the case of a tie, the President shall have the deciding vote.
H. Voice
1. All fraternity members, including the Executive Board and the Advisor to the PFC have a
voice at PFC meetings.
2. In the case of special meetings, the Executive Board shall decide who will have a voice.
I. Program Funding
1. Costs will be distributed over the participating Fraternity for each event. In the event of a
program that involves a per participant cost, this will be paid by the individual fraternity
member, not by the member fraternity as a whole.
J. Program Participation: In the event that a member organization does not want to participate in
a PFC sponsored event, then they have the ability to opt out of participating in said event.
1. In order to withdraw from a PFC sponsored event, an organization must notify the VP-
Operations using a designated waiver form.
2. Notification must occur within 48 hours of the PFC sponsored event. If that does not
occur, then the member organization can be held accountable for participating in the PFC
sponsored event.
ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES
Certain committees and special officers may be necessary to carry out the work of the PFC.
These shall be formed and confirmed with a 2/3 agreeance by the entire council.
ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS
This constitution may be amended by a three-fourths majority vote of the voting members of
PFC provided that notice of the proposed amendment has been given in writing at the preceding
regular meeting. Upon passage, a constitutional amendment will be effective immediately.