The second Induction Ceremony of our chapter was on April 29, 2012, conducted by
President Colin Guider, Vice-President Janine Belsky, Secretary/Treasurer Hannah Weeks,
Faculty Advisor Prof. Dmytro Savchuk, and Permanent Faculty Correspondent Prof. Alex Feingold.
Their picture, and a group picture of the students who were present at the induction, are
shown below.
A pdf file containing the 2012 Induction Program, including the names
of all inducted members, can be downloaded from
the following link:
Pi Mu Epsilon Induction Program 2012.
Another pdf file containing the text of the 2012 Initiation Ceremony, including the history
and purposes of Pi Mu Epsilon, the meaning of the symbols on the crest and banner, the activities
of the national organization and of our local chapter, can be downloaded from the following link:
Pi Mu Epsilon Induction Ceremony Text 2012.
Initiates who were unable to attend the Induction Ceremony should read that document and come
to see Prof. Feingold to get your membership certificate, sign in the chapter roll book, give the
pledge, and pick up any special items ordered. All T-shirts and Keypins ordered have arrived and
are ready for distribution, but the Honor Cords have not yet arrived in the mail. They are expected
by May 4 or May 7.
Qualifications for Membership
The following is taken from the
Constitution of Pi Mu Epsilon, Inc.
Membership in the Society shall be honorary and shall be conferred as a
reward for scholarly achievement in mathematics. All Members of the
Society shall consider themselves pledged to use their influence to see
that the standards of the Society are maintained.
Chapters may elect to Membership only individuals who are full time
faculty or students attending their institution unless an exception is
explicitly granted by the President of the Society. Members are elected
impartially and solely on the basis of merit.
To be elected as a Member to any Chapter of the Society, a person
must satisfy at least one of the following qualifications. These are
minimal qualifications; individual Chapters may set more rigorous
qualifications. Specifically, Chapters may only elect as Members:
- Students who are candidates for undergraduate degrees at the
institution and who have met all of the following requirements:
- Completed at least the equivalent of two semesters of calculus
and two additional courses in mathematics, at or above the calculus
level, all of which lead to the fulfillment of the requirements for a
major in the mathematical sciences.
- Have maintained the equivalent of a grade point average of at
least 3.0 on a 4 point scale in all mathematics courses that lead to
the fulfillment of the requirements for a major in the mathematical
sciences.
- Have maintained the equivalent of a grade point average of at
least 3.0 on a 4 point scale in all courses that lead to the
fulfillment of the requirements for an undergraduate degree.
- Students who are candidates for graduate degrees at the
institution whose mathematical work is at least equivalent to that
required of qualified undergraduates, and who have maintained the
equivalent of a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4 point scale
in mathematics courses during their last school year prior to their
election.
- Members of the faculty at the institution in mathematics or
related subjects.
- A person who has achieved distinction in a mathematical science,
provided that the Chapter obtains the explicit approval of the
President of the Society.
No person may be elected to Membership by a Chapter until the
Scholarship Committee of that Chapter has thoroughly investigated the
candidate's qualifications and deemed them to be satisfactory. Those
eligible persons who are elected to Membership by a Chapter shall
become Members when they have paid the initiation fee, taken the
Pledge, signed the official Chapter roll, satisfied any other
requirements for initiation decided upon by the Chapter, and had their
names and contact information registered with the Secretary-Treasurer
of the Society.
There shall be two categories of Membership in the Society:
- Charter Members: Those persons elected to Membership whose names
appear on the Charter of a Chapter.
- Members: Those persons elected to Membership whose names do not
appear on the Charter of a Chapter.
Procedure for Qualification
Mathematics majors and other students who have taken enough courses and
met the minimum GPA requirements above, may submit their transcript
(DARS report) to Prof. Feingold for consideration by the Scholarship
Committee of the Chapter. Each student should mark on the DARS report
those math courses which meet the requirements, and verify that the GPA
of math courses is at least 3.00, and that the overall course GPA is
also at least 3.00.
We have been able to develop a program which uses the registrar's database
of student transcripts to find the undergraduate students who meet the
requirements for membership. Those who qualified as of February 2011 have
been invited to join by an email notice.
If you qualify, you will be notified by email or phone, and invited to
the initiation ceremony. If you decide to join, you should send the
appropriate fee ($25 for students, $30 for faculty) to Prof. Feingold.
A check made out to ``Pi Mu Epsilon, NY Alpha Omicron Chapter" is
the prefered method of payment.
Chapter Organization
Section 1. Constitution.
Every Chapter shall have one and only
one Constitution viz., the Constitution of Pi Mu Epsilon, Inc. Each
Chapter may make such Bylaws for itself as it deems suitable, provided
such Bylaws are not in conflict with any of the provisions of the
Constitution or National Bylaws.
Section 2. Chapter Officers.
Officers of the Chapter shall be a
President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, a Chapter Advisor, and
a Permanent Faculty Correspondent. Two or more of these offices may be
combined, or the Chapter Bylaws may provide for additional officers
who, with those listed above, shall constitute the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Duties of Chapter Officers.
The duties of these officers shall be
the usual ones pertaining to the various offices with specific duties
as follows:
- The Secretary shall keep account of all meetings and transactions
of the Chapter.
- The Treasurer shall collect all dues and fees levied by the
national office of the Society and forward same to the
Secretary-Treasurer, or shall make the same payments out of the Chapter
treasury, as the Chapter may decide.
- The Chapter Advisor shall be a Member of Pi Mu Epsilon and of the
mathematics department faculty with the rank of Instructor or higher at
the institution where the Chapter is located. The Chapter Advisor shall
provide encouragement and guidance to the Members of the Chapter in
general and to the Chapter Executive Committee in particular.
- The Permanent Faculty Correspondent shall be a Member of Pi Mu
Epsilon and of the mathematics department faculty with the rank of
Instructor or higher at the institution where the Chapter is located.
The Correspondent shall receive communications from the national office
of the Society, shall present these to the proper persons, and shall
inform the Society's national office of the actions of the Chapter. The
Correspondent shall be responsible for submitting the annual report of
the Chapter, which should include a review of Chapter activities,
awards, reports of meetings, and results of elections, to the national
office of the Society. It is understood that any Member of the Society
may communicate with the Officers of the Society about any matter.
However, final authority for voting on matters submitted by Council to
the Chapter, and for submitting Questions from the Chapter to Council,
shall reside with the Permanent Faculty Correspondent.
Section 4. Scholarship Committee.
In addition to the officers, there shall
be a Scholarship Committee, chosen as the Chapter may designate, for
their high scholarly standing and ability to judge scholarship in
others. The duty of this committee is to present to the Chapter a list
of candidates qualified for membership. This will be accomplished by
examining the official scholastic records of the applicants to
determine their eligibility as provided in Article IV, Section 2.
Forms and Ceremonies
The following are the official Motto, Insignia, and Pledge of Pi Mu
Epsilon, together with the Pi Mu Epsilon procedures for installing
Chapters and initiating Members.
Section 1. Motto.
The Pi Mu Epsilon Motto is:
"To Promote Scholarship and Mathematics"
Section 2. Insignia.
The Insignia of the Society are:
Colors: Violet, gold, and lavender.
Seal: Round, design of the pin in center, and the
words, "Pi Mu Epsilon, Incorporated" around the edge.
Flower: Violet.
Shield: Divided into four
parts. In the upper right hand corner, the design of a conventionalized
violet; in the lower right, a summation sign; in the upper left, an
integral sign; and in the lower left, three stars representing
friendship, morality, and scholarship. Just above the shield proper the
pin is represented, and below, on a streamer, is the Motto in Greek.
Pin: The Pi Mu Epsilon Key-Pin is a triangular rim
upon which is a raised rectangle. Raised still higher are the Greek
letters Pi Mu Epsilon.
Section 3. Pledge.
The Pledge of the Society is:
"I solemnly promise that I will exert my best efforts to promote
true scholarship, particularly in mathematics, and that I will support
the objectives of Pi Mu Epsilon."
Section 4. Procedure of Chapter Installation.
The President, or some other member of
the Society that the President designates as the Installing Officer,
shall, in concert with the institution, select a date for the
Installation. At the Installation ceremony, the Installing Officer
shall give a brief account of the history of the Society and of its
ideals and symbols; shall, in accordance with Section 5, initiate those
Charter Members who are present and who are not already Members of the
Society; and shall present the Charter and an official copy of the
Constitution to the Chapter. Additional Members may also be initiated
at the ceremony. Charter Members who are unable to attend the ceremony
may be initiated at a later date by the Chapter and sign the permanent
Chapter roll at their initiation. No more than one-third (1/3) of the
Charter Members shall be members of the faculty at the institution.
Section 5. Form of Initiation.
The ceremony of initiation into Pi Mu
Epsilon shall include the following items:
- A statement of the purpose, nature, organization, and history of
the Society and of the local Chapter;
- Taking of the Pledge by the candidates;
- Signing of the permanent Chapter roll by each candidate;
- Presentation of certificates;
- Explanation of insignia, etc; and
- Exhortation and address of welcome to the Society.
The Chapter Bylaws
- The National Initiation Fee for new Members shall be twenty
dollars ($20 US). Additional local chapter dues shall be $5 for new
student members and $10 for new faculty members. (Note that the $20 per
person national initiation fee includes lifetime membership in Pi Mu
Epsilon and a one-year subscription to the Pi Mu Epsilon Journal.)
- The Charter Fee shall be determined by Council and may be changed
if approved by at least two-thirds of all Council members. This fee may
be changed at most once in any three-year period.
- Pi Mu Epsilon shall publish The Pi Mu Epsilon Journal at
least twice each year. The Journal shall especially encourage
student-written papers.
- Expenditures for clerical help shall be provided for Officers of
the Society, subject to the approval of Council.
- The design of the Charter and the Membership Certificate may be
changed at the discretion of Council.
- When a new Chapter is installed, the Chapter shall be responsible
for the expense of transportation, meals, and lodging of the Installing
Officer.
- Student Delegates participating at a National Meeting may be
fully or partially reimbursed for transportation expenses at the
discretion of Council.
- The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules
of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Society in all cases to
which they are applicable and are not inconsistent with these Bylaws
and any special rules of order the Society may adopt.
