Board of Directors

The Board of Directors (BoD) is responsible for oversight of all decisions made within the Science Society. The Board adopts "Robert's Rules of Order Revised" rules of procedure and elects their own Speaker who presides over the Board. We are currently opening up applications for an acting-speaker for the Fall 2019 term. Membership is comprised of the Science Society executives, departmental club representatives, WUSA Science Councilors (restricted voting rights), and Science senator (restricted voting rights). The board also has several permanent non-voting members including Aviation Society, Science Mentorship Team (SMT), and Women in Science (WiS).

At least twice per term, BoD meetings are open for general membership attendance as a public forum. However, general members need to be recognized by the Speaker of the Board in order to speak.

To make a proposal to the BoD, please contact the Science Society. For financial assistance or external funding please CC the Vice President of Finance & Administration, Vanessa Tang.

Permanent Voting Members

Permanent Members are directors on the Board entitled to vote on all matters. This group is composed of the seven Departmental and Faculty Level Clubs, which are operated under SciSoc. Each Departmental Club represents one of the Science Departments, and several represent Faculty Level programs or initiatives (eg. Science and Business, Biochemistry, and MNS). There are currently seven departmental clubs which are funded voting members of the Science Society Board of Directors:

Ex Officio Members

Ex Officio members are directors on the Board who are entitled to their seats by virtue of their position elsewhere in the organization or Faculty of Science student governance. Most ex officio members have restricted voting rights on the Board.

  • Speaker of the Board — the select member and highest ranking officer of the Board, and serves at their pleasure; prepares agendas, runs meetings, enforces Robert's Rules of Order, acts as the sole judicial review of the SciSoc Constitution, represents the Board and their decisions on all matters publicly; acts as the Board's principal oversight of the Executive, ensuring the Board's decisions and policies & procedures are enacted or enforced by the Executive. Restricted to vote only in ties. May appoint a Deputy Speaker.
  • Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) Science Councillors — representing the Society and Science Students at the WUSA Students' Council. WUSA Councillors are entitled to vote on all matters pertaining to Society-WUSA and Society-University relations.
  • Waterloo Science Senators — representing the Society and Science Students at the Waterloo Senate for school governance and policy creation. Science Senators are entitled to vote on all matters pertaining to Society-WUSA and Society-University relations.
  • SciSoc President — votes on behalf of the executive for all administrative, constitutional, and procedural matters.
  • SciSoc Vice President, Finance & Administration — votes on behalf of the executive for all matters pertaining to finances, fiscal transparency, and the Coffee and Donut Shop.
  • SciSoc Vice President, Internal — nonvoting except when the President or VP Finance & Administration are unable or unwilling to vote.
  • SciSoc Vice President, Academic — nonvoting except when VP Internal is unable or unwilling to vote.

Nonvoting Members

There are two classes of nonvoting members, those which are select members and those which serve at the pleasure of the Speaker or Executive (* as indicated).

  • Aviation Society - an invited nonvoting observer. 
  • Honours Science Representative — a permanent restricted voting member of the Board, representing the interests of Honours Science students who do not identify with any of the listed Departmental or Faculty Level clubs.
  • Science Mentorship Team (SMT) - an invited nonvoting observer.
  • Administrative Coordinator* — serves at the pleasure of the Speaker and VP Internal; takes minutes and prepares Board action items, agendas, and acts as a liaison between the Speaker and the Executive.
  • Financial Associate* — serves at the pleasure of the VP Finance & Administration.