| | Pi Kappa Delta's Mission, Vision and Values:
Our Mission: Pi Kappa Delta is an honorary consisting of educators, students and alumni that cultivates articulate citizenship through the promotion of ethical, humane and inclusive communication and educational practices; supports comprehensive approaches to forensics pedagogy and practice; encourages the creation of professional development opportunities for forensic educators; and seeks to expand access to intercollegiate speech and debate activities. Pi Kappa Delta supports a broad diversity of speech and debate events, forms and formats, and works to nurture the institutional and financial capacity of the entire forensic community.
Our Vision: When Pi Kappa Delta’s mission has been fully realized, organized intercollegiate forensic programs will exist on nearly every college campus; students will have access to participation in a wide variety of speech and debate events and formats; speech and debate programs will be well-staffed and amply funded; teachers and scholars will have access to the resources necessary to maintain and advance forensics education; and scholarship and grant opportunities will be available to support individuals and programs in need. Those who have participated in programming sponsored by Pi Kappa Delta will value “the Art of Persuasion, Beautiful and Just,” and will be well-prepared to lead just lives of leadership and service in a global community.
Our Values: Pi Kappa Delta is committed to assuring equal opportunity to all persons, regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical ability status, age, economic status, gender, sex or sexual orientation. Pi Kappa Delta is opposed to all forms of discrimination and seeks to encourage an atmosphere in which every individual is accorded respect. Mindful of the importance of First Amendment freedoms, Pi Kappa Delta reminds its members of their ethical obligations to audience members and encourages members to refrain from disrespectful or derogatory speech. As an organization dedicated to fostering the development of functional leadership skills, Pi Kappa Delta encourages the participation of individuals from traditionally under-represented groups. Pi Kappa Delta is an equal opportunity employer.
Pi Kappa Delta's Operational and Organizational Structure:
Pi Kappa Delta is composed of three divisions: the Local Chapter, the Province Organization, and the National Organization.
The Local Chapter:
Local Chapters are composed of five or more members and may be of two kinds: Undergraduate and Alumni. A Local Undergraduate Chapter may be established in any recognized and regionally accredited college or university. (On campuses with fewer than five members, PKD members are inducted into the National General Chapter).
An Alumni Chapter may be established outside of educational institutions, and shall not be allowed to induct members who have not previously been members of good standing in Undergraduate Chapters.
Upon request by the Chapter Sponsor, a charter bearing the seal of the honorary and signed by the National President and National Secretary-Treasurer shall be granted to each Local Chapter of this honorary. The charters shall be duplicates of the standard form filed with the National Secretary-Treasurer. New Local Chapters are to be installed only when the dues of members and charter fees are in the hands of the National Secretary. New charters shall be presented in formal ceremony at the National Convention; however, charters may be presented at Province Conventions provided that the National Council has approved such action. A member of the National Council, if in that Province, shall make the presentation. If no National Council member is available, it shall be the obligation of the Province Governor. The Local Chapter shall have full charge of all its activities within the limits of this constitution and the rules and regulations of the National Organization.
The Province Organization:
The National Council assigns a name and number to each Chapter and assigns the Chapter to a Province. Any Local Chapter may petition the National Council for transfer to an adjoining Province, but no such transfer shall be without approval of the Governors of both Provinces affected. Each Province shall have a constitution whose provisions shall be consistent with the National Constitution. The Province shall elect a Governor. The Province is encouraged to elect whichever additional officers it chooses, such as a Lieutenant Governor, a Student Lieutenant Governor, a Secretary-Treasurer and a Historian. If necessary, the National President shall fill by appointment any vacant Province Governor position with the appointee to serve until the Province meeting or until a poll of the Chapters has been conducted by the National Secretary-Treasurer. The Province Governor shall be a faculty or staff member or an Active Alumni.
Undergraduate students who are Province officers may serve either one or two-year terms as provided for in Province constitutions. Province Governors and other Province officers shall be regularly elected by the Chapters of the Province for a two-year term. Vacancies in Province offices other than the governor shall be filled by appointment by the Province Governor.
The Province Governor shall have general jurisdiction over the affairs of the Province, and shall be responsible to the National Council for the progress and welfare of the Province and of the Undergraduate Chapters composing it. The Province Governor shall become, automatically, a member of the Charter and Standards Committee for the consideration of any petition coming from the Province.
The Province Secretary-Treasurer or the Governor shall perform the ordinary duties of the office, and shall also prepare not later than June 30th of each year, a statement of revenues and expenditures of the Province, and submit such statement to the National Secretary-Treasurer. Each Province shall hold a regular convention each second year, the Province Convention year being that in which no National Convention is held.
Funds may be secured by assessments and the Province Governor shall have power to levy an annual assessment on each Undergraduate Chapter in the Province. Assessments shall be made with a three-fourths affirmative vote of the Undergraduate Chapters constituting the Province. Annual assessments shall be collected by the National Secretary-Treasurer along with annual assessments for the National Organization. Province dues will be rebated to the Province Secretary-Treasurer or the Governor if the Province does not elect a Province Secretary-Treasurer. The National Organization:
The National Organization shall be a federation of the Local Chapters of Pi Kappa Delta. It shall hold supreme executive, legislative, and judicial power, and shall be the source of all authority in this forensic honorary, except as otherwise specifically provided in this constitution. It shall not be a secret organization. The National Organization shall be composed of the National Convention, the National Council, the National Student Caucus, the National Alumni Caucus, the Standing Committees, and the National General Chapter.
Each Undergraduate Chapter and each Alumni Chapter shall be entitled to one voting representative in the National Convention. The National General Chapter when its membership comprises ten or more, shall be entitled to one voting delegate to the National Convention. Members of the National Council shall each be entitled to a vote in the National Convention. A quorum of the National Convention shall consist of delegates, either undergraduate or alumni, from at least twenty percent of the Local Chapters.
The National Convention shall assemble at the call of the National President at a time and place chosen by the National Council, the Council being guided in its choice by vote of the preceding National Convention and after consideration of any site-specific diversity-related concerns. In the National Convention shall be vested the supreme powers given to the National Organization. The actions, rules and regulations of the National Convention shall be binding upon the National Council, all Local Chapters, Province Organizations, or other subordinate organizations within Pi Kappa Delta. It shall elect the National Officers and may delegate to them such of its powers as it shall deem necessary or expedient. It shall have power to lay assessments upon the Undergraduate Chapters apportioned equally upon individuals or Chapter members of the organization. It shall have power to expel any individual member upon just cause, or upon flagrant violation of the provision of this constitution or of the obligation given at the time of admission into Pi Kappa Delta. It shall have the power of chartering Local Chapters upon petition. It shall have the power to vote expenditures from the national treasury.
The elective officers of the National Organization of Pi Kappa Delta shall be a President-Elect and five National Council members. Of the five National Council members, two shall be student representatives. The Student Representatives shall hold office only while members in good standing of an undergraduate Chapter of Pi Kappa Delta. The remaining three National council members shall be of the Orders of Instruction or Active Alumni
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| | | National Standing Committees:
The Chairperson of the following standing committees shall be appointed by the National President and approved by majority vote of the National Council if the appointee is not a member of the Council: Charter and Standards Committee, Committee on Public Relations, Committee on Convention Arrangements and Program, Committee on Convention Tournament, Constitution Revision Committee, Alumni Relations, Professional Development and Support, Institutional Research, and Endowment Committees. Charter and Standards Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to investigate local organizations petitioning Pi Kappa Delta for a charter and to pass upon the petitions and make recommendation concerning them to the National Council or National Convention. In years when the National Convention is not held, a charter may be granted by the National Council upon favorable recommendations of the Charter and Standards Committee and a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Local Chapters in the Province in which the petitioners’ Chapter would be located. It shall also be the function of this committee to devise standards for evaluating the activities of the individual Chapters and to make recommendations to the National Council or National Convention for strengthening weak Chapters. On non-national Convention years a Chapter may be placed on inactive status through recommendation of the Charter and Standards Committee and two-thirds affirmative vote of the National Council. On National Convention years, such action shall be subject to approval by the National Convention. Public Relations Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to advance the interests of Pi Kappa Delta by furnishing information about the honorary and it’s goals and purposes to newspapers, education groups, and the general public; to encourage and evaluate projects of benefit to the honorary, subject to the approval of the National Council. Convention Arrangements and Program Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to make all local arrangements for the National Convention. The chairperson and the convention officers appointed by the National President under the provision of paragraph 364.4 and one other person designated by the National President shall constitute this committee. Committee on Convention Tournaments: It shall be the function of this committee to have complete charge, subject to the supervision of the National Council, of all matters pertaining to forensic events offered at tournaments sponsored by the National Organization. The chairperson, with the approval of the National President, shall appoint such additional members of the committee as are necessary to manage the tournaments sponsored by the National Organization. Constitution Revision Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to study the National Constitution and make such recommendations to the National Council and the National Convention as will keep the provisions of the National Constitution abreast of developments in the forensic activity and the functions of Pi Kappa Delta. It shall receive, consider and report on allsuggestions and proposed amendments received from the membership of the organization. Alumni Relations Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to promote involvement of alumni at all levels of the organization. The Committee Chair shall appoint such additional members of the committee as are necessary to handle the promotion of alumni involvement and organizational history. The committee chair will be advised by the immediate Past President. Professional Development and Support Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to promote the professional development of forensics educators by providing support such as, but not limited to: continuing education, financial grants, research support grants, mentoring support; summer research and teaching seminars; and workshops. Institutional Research Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to solicit, collect, review,
coordinate and disseminate appropriate member demographic information and program assessment data. The committee shall also have the responsibility of approving all research activities that are undertaken in conjunction with officially sponsored Pi Kappa Delta activities, and will formulate and periodically disseminate approved criteria concerning the ethical use of human subjects in Pi Kappa Delta research. The committee shall also be responsible for conducting regular outcome assessment activities. Endowment Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to enhance the financial endowment of the honorary through appropriate fundraising activities. The Committee, with the consent of the National Council, may employ a professional fundraiser for accomplishing this task. Practices and Procedures Committee: It shall be the function of this committee to uphold Pi Kappa Delta's Statement on Discrimination. The Compliance Officer appointed by the President of Pi Kappa Delta and approved by the National Council will chair this committee. This committee will be responsible for investigating charges of discrimination and recommending appropriate action, if necessary, to the National Council. This committee must maintain the confidentiality of all involved to the maximum extent possible in order to conduct a fair and thorough investigation. This committee should routinely evaluate the Statement on Discrimination and the procedures in order to make recommendations of change if the the committee deems them necessary. The National President shall appoint the chairperson, committee members and other officers and positions called for in subsequent subparagraphs, and all such appointments shall be made as soon as practical, with confirmation by appointee within one month of that appointment. The National President shall have power to fill any vacancies caused by death or resignation. The President shall also have authority to make replacements at any time because of the failure of the appointee to fulfill their duties. Further, nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the National President from appointing special committees, and consultants to aid in promoting the good of the honorary. | | | | | |
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