Ruby Eye Award of Theta Chi of Penn State, Inc.
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Preface
In the belief that there exists the necessity for a special award in the fraternity, the Board of Directors of Theta Chi of Penn State have this 7th day of April, 1934 created and established such an award and herewith set down the details, rules and regulations concerning this award and covering its presentation.
1. The Purpose
There have been in the past and will continue to be in the future individuals worthy of the highest honor that Theta Chi of Penn State can bestow and in order that such individuals in the Fraternity may receive due recognition for the services that they have rendered to Omega Chapter and to Theta Chi Fraternity this award has been created and established.
2. The Name
This Award shall be known as “The Ruby Eye Award”, the name being taken from the ruby eye of the snake in the badge of Theta Chi.
3. The Award
The award shall consist of the gold finger ring (in recent years the Alumni Key), set with a large oval ruby on which is mounted a gold crest of Theta Chi Fraternity. On the left side of the mounting the word “Omega” shall be deeply engraved and on the right side of the mounting the year of the award shall be deeply engraved. The inside of the ring shall have engraved the name of the recipient, the words “Ruby Eye Award#,” and the date of the presentation. The ring shall be as made by L. G. Balfour Co., Attleboro, Mass.
4. The Diploma
A Diploma, testifying to the conferring of the Award and citing the reasons for the presenting the Award shall be prepared, read at the time of presentation and presented with each Award. This diploma shall be hand lettered on parchment of appropriate size and shall bear the seal of Theta Chi of Penn State and the signature of the President and the Secretary of Theta Chi of Penn State.
5. Eligibility for the Award
Any active or alumni member of Omega Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity may be eligible for the award. In addition any active or alumni member of any other chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity may be eligible for the award.
6. Manner of Selecting the Recipient of the Award
The selection of the Recipient of the Award shall be made by the Board of Directors of Theta Chi of Penn State meeting in secret session. This meeting shall be held at the time of the Fall Alumni meeting and the result of the meeting shall not be announced until the presentation is made. It shall require a unanimous vote of the directors present for a choice. The presiding officer of the Board of Directors shall have the power of deciding if there are sufficient Directors present to make the award and in no case can an award be made with less than three Alumni members present. Recommendations for the award may be made at any time in writing by any member of the chapter, active or alumni. Such recommendations should be sent to the Secretary of Theta Chi of Penn State and should definitely state the reason for the recommendation. All such recommendations will be treated confidentially by the Board of Directors.
Only members of Omega Chapter, active or alumni, who have done something in the way of outstanding service for the Chapter or the Fraternity or those who through their efforts may have brought special honor to the Chapter or fraternity will be considered in making this award.
Only members of Theta Chi , or of Omega Chapter who have done something worthy of special note either for Omega Chapter of for Theta Chi will be considered in making this award. The award made to non Omega men carries with it Honorary membership in Omega Chapter.
7. Frequency of the Award
A maximum of one award may be made a year to Omega men. A maximum of one award every three years may be made to non-Omega men. It shall be by no means imperative that an award is made every year. If the Board of Directors can find no one who in their estimation is worthy of the award or if they can arrive at no unanimous decision there shall be no award made. An award to an Omega man and to a non-Omega man can be made at the same time, but awards shall be in no case accumulative, that is, if no award is made in any year to an Omega man, there shall not be two awards made the following year to Omega men, and if there is no non-Omega award made in any three year period there shall not be two non-Omega awards made in the next three year period. It shall not necessary for three full years to elapse between each non-Omega award, as for instance one award could be made in the last year of the of the first three year and a second award in the first year of the second three year period. So that there may be no future confusion regarding this three year period it shall be considered as starting January 1, 1934.
8. Presentation
The presentation of the Award and Diploma shall be made at the Omega Chapter Celebration of Theta Chi Founder’s Day in April of each year and the award then made shall be for the previous calendar year. The award shall be presented by the President of Theta Chi of Penn State or in his absence by the presiding officer. In the event that the recipient of the award is not present, the Diploma shall be read and the presentation deferred until either the following Alumni Day or Founder’s Day when the recipient may be present. Only is case of serious sickness or inability of the recipient to be present because of unreasonable distance will the Award be made at any other place than at State College, Pennsylvania.
9. Expenses
The Treasurer of Theta Chi of Penn State shall include in his yearly budget an amount not to exceed thirty dollars yearly to cover the cost of the Award and the Diploma and shall honor all bills presented in conjunction with this award not exceeding the specified amount.
10. Record of the Award
The Secretary of Theta Chi of Penn State shall incorporate the foregoing information in a suitable book and shall keep a record showing the Awards by years. He shall also keep in this book a Photostat (Xerox) copy of the Diploma presented with each award.
The foregoing details, rules and regulations concerning “The Ruby Eye Award” of Theta Chi of Penn State have been proposed and approved by the members of the Board of Directors whose signatures appear below on this 7th day of April.