Orange County Branch Newsletter

April 2006

Secretary's Column

How to Become a Good Fellow


Kenneth H. Rosenfield, P.E.
Members of ASCE have several membership levels to consider during their career. Student Membership is free and initiates the new civil engineering student to the benefits of joining a peer and professional organization.  It begins a life long process of improving one’s professionalism and provides many networking opportunities for the benefit of all members.  Upon completion of college, a student member transitions to an Associate Member and pays an escalating membership fee until the full Associate Member fees are reached. At that time, the Associate Member can take advantage of the full opportunities offered through the national organization. An Associate Member can advance to a full Member by having graduated from an ABET accredited college and achieving licensure or by documenting more than five years of responsible charge of engineering experience, providing a resume and by providing three references to the national Membership Application Review Committee.  A member then has an opportunity to rise through the ranks of membership by seeking the grade of Fellow.  Ultimately, becoming a Life Member is recognition of one’s ascension to the highest member grade in ASCE signifying your combination of professional years of experience and age has been recognized.
 
Many Orange County Branch members are eligible for the grade of Fellow and should consider joining this elite group of membership.  To advance to the grade of Fellow, the following are required: 1. Must advance from grade of Member. 2. Must be a licensed Professional Engineer or Professional Land Surveyor in the United States or in the country in which the Member resides (if such licensure is available). 3. Must provide three (3) references from Society members (at least two (2) references must be from Society Fellows; the third reference may be from a Society Member or Fellow). 4. Must be nominated by an Organizational Entity of the Society (this includes Section or Branch Presidents, Board of Direction members, Institute Board of Governors members, and Chairs of Standing Board Committees). 5. Must have had responsible charge for not less than ten years, in the grade of Member, of important work in engineering or surveying and be qualified to direct, conceive, plan, or design engineering works or have had responsible charge for not less than ten years, in the grade of Member, of important industrial, business, construction, educational, editorial, research, or engineering society activity, requiring the knowledge and background gained from engineering training and experience. Applications for the grade of Fellow can be accesses through [url=http://www.asce.org. ]http://www.asce.org. [/url]; There are currently 108 members with the grade of Fellow in the Orange County Branch out of 6,309 Fellows within ASCE.
 
Becoming a Fellow is a symbol of your status within the profession and recognizes you for your continuing efforts in participating in your professional society. This membership status is also recognized by your peers as a milestone and may improve your standing with your employer. By reaching this member grade, ASCE recognizes you with an acknowledgment in the ASCE News, provides you a distinguished wall plaque, provides enhanced amenities for you at the National Conventions and plans to include a dedicated section on the ASCE web site for Fellows information. The greatest achievement in reaching the grade of Fellow, however, is personal satisfaction.
Because one of the key requirements to reach the member grade of Fellow is to solicit two recommendations from existing members with the grade of Fellow, this Newsletter contains the complete list of the 108 Fellows in your Branch.  Congratulations to our members that have reached the grade of Fellow! Now, go forth and become a Good Fellow and I will join you in the process!
 
While you’re at it, show your pride in your chosen profession and consider joining the Order of the Engineer and participating in the induction ceremony at the May 2006 Branch professional practice lunch meeting. The application form for this ceremony is included in this Newsletter.  For more information on the history and significance of the Order of the Engineer, please go to [url=http://www.order-of-the-engineer.org/history.htm. ]http://www.order-of-the-engineer.org/history.htm. [/url];

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