2.3.3 Research Faculty Senate

Powers
The President shall be the presiding officer of the Research Faculty Senate. All members of the Research Faculty Senate, except those expressly excluded, shall have the right to vote. The Research Faculty Senate may act for the Research Faculty in all matters except the appeal of a Presidential veto of an action of the Research Faculty in a meeting of that body.

Members

• Elected representatives, as defined in ’Distribution of Elected Representatives’, below.
• Ex officio members:
  • The President and the Executive Vice-President for Research (EVPR).
  • Without the right to vote: Other Executive Vice-Presidents, Vice-President for Research, and the Directors of the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Enterprise Innovation Institute.
• Two (2) nonvoting Student delegates.
• Elected members of the Faculty Executive Board.

 Distribution of Elected Representatives
There shall be one (1) elected representative for each twenty (20) members (rounded) of the Research Faculty for each School, the Colleges without Schools, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), and components of Services and Central Administration (which includes the Enterprise Innovation Institute, Libraries, and other components). Aggregates of units with fewer than ten (10) members of the Research Faculty shall be formed as required by the Faculty Executive Board.  Unit representation for terms beginning in the Fall semester shall be based on data compiled from the preceding Spring semester.

(See http://www.facultygovernance.gatech.edu/  for a list of the current representatives.)

Nomination and Election Procedures

Representatives of a School, a College, a Laboratory or other unit of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and sub-units of the Services and Central Administration of sufficient size as defined above shall be elected prior to the first meeting of the Research Faculty Senate or the full Faculty Senate in the fall semester by a process to be determined by the members of that unit, except that the nominations shall be open and a secret ballot used.  Nominations and elections for remaining representatives of the aggregate units in the Services and Central Administration shall be supervised by the Faculty Executive Board.

The election of representatives shall take place annually, with approximately one-third (1/3) of the representatives being replaced each year when their terms expire.

Eligibility of Voters and Candidates

All members of the Research Faculty shall be eligible to vote, but only in the election of representatives from their respective constituent unit.  All members of the Research Faculty shall be eligible to be candidates for election to the Research Faculty Senate except:

• Ex officio members of the Research Faculty Senate.
• Research Faculty members who are presently serving as members of the Research Faculty Senate.
• Research Faculty members who are presently serving as members of the Faculty Executive Board, including those who are finishing a term at the time of the election.

Terms of Office

A representative shall be elected for a three (3)-year term. Representatives may not serve consecutive terms.

Filling Vacancies

If a representative resigns, takes leave of absence, is elected to the Faculty Executive Board, or undergoes a change of assignment so that he/she no longer qualifies as a member of the unit which he/she was elected to represent, the Faculty Executive Board shall arrange for a replacement to serve the remainder of the term. Units that elect their own representatives will be asked to hold a special election.  Representatives from aggregate units will be replaced by designating the first runner-up from the most recent election to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If the first runner-up is unable or unwilling to serve, the position goes to the second runner-up, etc. If the entire slate of nominees for that position is unable or unwilling to serve, the Faculty Executive Board shall appoint an appropriate replacement to serve the remainder of the unexpired term upon recommendation of the Faculty Executive Board’s most recent Nominating Committee.

Meetings
The Research Faculty Senate shall hold at least one (1) meeting each during the Fall and Spring semesters, by itself or combined with the Academic Faculty Senate. A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum at a scheduled or properly called meeting.

Special meetings may be called on the President’s own volition or shall be called by the President on petition of one-third (1/3) of the members or upon the recommendation of the Faculty Executive Board. In such special meetings, the matters considered shall be restricted to those items listed in the call for the meeting.

In the President’s absence, the Executive Vice-President for Research (EVPR) shall preside.  In the absence of both the President and the EVPR, the Chair of the Faculty Executive Board shall preside.

The Research Faculty Senate shall establish its rules of procedure and determine all matters pertaining to its own meetings not otherwise specified herein or determined by the Research Faculty.

Minutes shall be kept by the Secretary of the Faculty and shall be posted online.

Presidential Veto
The President shall have the power of veto over any action of the Research Faculty Senate. The President shall notify the Secretary of the Faculty, in writing, of the veto and the reasons for it, within sixty (60) days from the date of the action of the Research Faculty Senate.  The Research Faculty Senate may appeal the veto to the Board of Regents by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present at a scheduled or properly called meeting. Any such appeal shall be sent via the President who shall forward it to the Board of Regents through the Chancellor.