Article I. Name

The name of the body hereby constituted is the University System of Georgia Faculty Council (USGFC).

Article II. Mission

The purpose of the University System of Georgia Faculty Council is to promote and foster the welfare of system faculty, in non-collective bargaining issues, through the combined creativity and expertise of faculty representatives from system institutions.

Article III. Responsibilities and Functions

The USGFC will participate in the process of University System of Georgia governance by advising, recommending, and consulting with the Chancellor or the Chancellor’s designee(s) concerning the establishment of rules and regulations deemed necessary or appropriate for the promotion of the general welfare of the University System of Georgia.

The USGFC will formulate and recommend to the Chancellor or the Chancellor’s designee(s) University System of Georgia policies and procedures related to but not exclusive to system faculty.

The USGFC will develop and maintain a system-wide communications network to provide for efficient transmission of relevant information to faculty.

Article IV. Voting

1. Each institution within the USG shall have one vote on any matter brought before the USGFC and that vote shall be cast by the voting representative or designee.

2. A voting member may designate an alternate to a meeting that the member cannot attend.

3. Any decisions or recommendations by the USGFC must receive majority approval from each of the three institutional tiers (research, four-year, and two-year school) groupings.

4. Voting normally takes place during a meeting of the USGFC. However, voting may also take place by electronic communication or other means as determined by the officers in consultation with the membership of the USGFC.

Article V. Membership

Membership of the USGFC will be comprised of one voting representative from each participating system institution. The representative for a participating institution must be a member of that institution’s faculty body and selected by a process determined by the faculty unit of that institution. In addition to attending USGFC meetings in person, the council also permits participation via video or phone conferencing methods.

Article VI. Officers and Duties

Section 1. Officers. The officers of the USGFC shall be a Chair and a Chair-Elect, who shall become Chair the following year. The officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the USGFC.

Section 2. Eligibility. Only voting members of the USGFC are eligible to serve as officers.

Section 3. Nomination and Election. At any meeting the USGFC will nominate at least one candidate for any vacant office. The officers shall be elected as described above in Article IV.

Section 4. Terms of Service. The term of service of an officer of the USGFC shall begin at the conclusion of the meeting at which (s)he is elected and end when his/her successor is named, and shall typically be one academic year.

Section 5. Duties. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the USGFC. The Chair-Elect shall prepare minutes of each meeting. The primary duty of the officers shall be to communicate recommendations and decisions to the USG Chancellor or Chancellor’s designee. The chair and chair-elect shall prepare the agenda in consultation with the USGFC members.

Article VII. Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the USGFC in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the USGFC may adopt.

Article VIII. Amendments

Any proposal to amend or repeal these Bylaws shall be submitted to the officers in writing at least 30 days prior to the meeting of the USGFC at which they will be discussed. The voting shall be conducted in compliance with Article IV.

Drafted by Juone Brown-Johnson (Fort Valley State University), Rose Metts (Savannah State University), Russell Porter (Clayton State University), Paul Alberto (Georgia State University), Thomas Hancock (Georgia Gwinnett College), Kerri Johnson (Darton College), Robert Lightfoot (Waycross College), John Settimi (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College), Margaret Smith (Bainbridge College), Craig Turner (Georgia College & State University), William Vencill (University of Georgia), and Leanne West (The Georgia Institute of Technology), Elizabeth Combier (North Georgia College and State University).