 BYLAWS OF Research Association of the University of Luxembourg (RAUL)
ARTICLE 1 Name and Purpose Section 1 Name. The name of this entity is the Research Association of the University of Luxembourg (UL). RAUL was established by UL faculty members holding an Attract, PEARL, or ERC grant, or those individuals having other work that represents a high scientific impact. Section 2 Purpose. The purpose of RAUL is to 1) support and promote scholarly research in Luxembourg; 2) work to make UL an academic institution of international standing; 3) make recommendations to the
rectorate, FNR, or ministry; 4) promote collegial, interdisciplinary exchanges; 5) promote visibility of research in Luxembourg. Members of RAUL shall include individuals that have a continuing commitment to progress in these fields. Section 3 Representation. RAUL
exclusively represents its members, and not the positions of any other entity
or individuals. ARTICLE 2 Members Section 1 Number of Members. There shall be no less than 10 Members.
Section 2 Membership. 1) Members must have a solid track record in research; 2) Selection will be based on the nominees record of a) scholarly work, including but not limited to the number of publications in reputable venues; b) record of acquiring competitive funding; c) and the potential member’s agreement with RAUL’s stated objectives.
Section 3 Becoming a Member. 1) Existing members may nominate new members. The nominations should include a brief justification and any other important information. 2) A second member of RAUL must second the nomination. 3) Other members have one week to express objections using detailed arguments. 4) If there are no objections, the nominee is accepted as a member. 4) If there are objections, a majority vote of the members is held. 5) The nominee is elected if he or she gets a majority of votes. 6) The nominee is admitted and added to the RAUL mailing list if she agrees to become a member after approving the association’s objectives, activities, and rules of membership.
Section 4 Membership Duties. New members are requested to create a Google Scholar account, with proper affiliation and classification labels. All false positive publications should be removed. Section 5: Cancelling Membership A member may cancel his/her membership in RAUL at any time by emailing their request to the President.
ARTICLE 3 Voting
of Members, Confidentiality, and Approval of Statements
Section 1 Quorum. At each meeting or email vote of Members, a majority of the Members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If a quorum is not present at any meeting of the Members, a majority of the Members present may adjourn such meeting. Section 2 Manner of Acting. The act of two-thirds of the Members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Members. The meaning of the Section above is that if a vote is taken with a majority of the members voting and it passes or fails with 2/3rds of that majority, then the vote by the members voting represents the entire membership
Section 3 Action by Written Consent of Members.
Any action that may be taken at a meeting of Members may be taken without a
meeting if Members entitled to vote thereon unanimously agree and consent to
such action in email.
Section 4 Action by email. All voting will be carried out electronically. Ballots shall set forth each proposed action and provide an opportunity to vote for, against, or abstain on each proposed action. Approval by an electronic ballot shall be valid when the number of votes cast exceeds half the total membership. Solicitations for votes by email shall (a) indicate the number of responses needed to meet the quorum requirements, (b) state the percentage of approvals necessary to approve each matter other than election of directors, (c) specify the time by which a ballot must be received by the RAUL in order to be counted; and (d) be accompanied by information sufficient to permit each Member casting a ballot to reach an informed decision on the matter. An electronic ballot may not be revoked once submitted to the RAUL. Any action taken under this Section has the same effect as action taken at a meeting of Members and may be described as such in any document.
Section 5 Members List. The most up-to-date list of membership
will be defined by the RAUL GoogleGroup. The Members page of this web site will be kept up-to-date.
Section 6 Confidentiality. All information exchanged through the RAUL mailing list and during RAUL meetings should not be communicated outside of the association, unless a decision is made to render it public, e.g., through an official RAUL statement. Confidentiality is meant to foster open discussions within the association. If there is tangible evidence that a member of the association breaches this confidentiality requirement, other RAUL members will vote on his/her possible exclusion.
Section 7 Public Statements. One of the primary objectives of the association is to communicate its positions through public statements, communicated to the UL Rectorate, the ministries, the FNR, or the general public. Drafts of RAUL statements are made either during physical meetings or prepared in advance and communicated by email. Statements shall be written down and sent to all RAUL members before they can be voted on. It shall be possible to put competing statements up for a vote. To avoid duplication of statements, a statement shall have the support of at least 5 members prior to being discussed in a RAUL meeting and eventually being put up for a vote. The voting procedure is described in Section 8. The association needs to distinguish public statements from statements concerning the internal affairs of the association. Voting at meetings may be counted with a show of hands unless any member requests that the voting be secret, in which case, voting will take place with ballot privacy. Distance voting will be electronic using a system that guarantees ballot privacy.
ARTICLE 4 Board of RAUL
Section 1 General Powers. The business and affairs of RAUL shall be managed by its Board, composed of a president and vice-presidents. Their tasks include: ensuring that meetings happen on a regular basis, ensuring that minutes are taken during meetings, setting up voting, and communicating with the media, rectorate, FNR, or the wider public
Section 2 Number. There shall be one president and two vice-presidents. Board members are elected by RAUL members. Section 4 Observers. Each of the major sponsors of the Entity’s activities, e.g., FNR, Luxembourgish Ministry representative, University of Luxembourg representative, and any institution may be invited at the discretion of the Board to appoint an observer to attend meetings. Such observers shall be non-voting participants whose presence shall not be required for a quorum or any other purpose. |