Constitution
Graduate Business Association of the Goizueta Business School
at Emory University
Article I: Name, Purpose and Authority
Section 1: Name
The name of this organization is the “Graduate Business
Association of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University,”
and may be referred to as the “Graduate Business Association”
or the “GBA.”
Section 2: Purpose
The purpose of this organization is to:
• Enhance the prestige of the Goizueta Business School.
• Provide an atmosphere conducive to GBA fellowship and
promote interaction between members of the GBA, the academic community
and the professional community.
• Supplement, in a positive manner, the graduate student’s
educational experience.
Section 3: Authority
All powers and authority of this organization are derived from
its constituent members. The GBA has the authority to charter
and fund graduate student organizations within the Goizueta Business
School. The GBA shall be the sole recipient of SGA funding. In
turn, it is the responsibility of the GBA to dispense these funds
in a fair and reasonable manner.
Article II: Membership
Section 1: Eligibility
Upon matriculation, any graduate student enrolled in the Masters
of Business Administration (MBA) degree program at the Goizueta
Business School shall become a member of the Graduate Business
Association (GBA).
Section 2: Term of Membership
Membership begins upon matriculation and ends upon a student’s
departure from the MBA program.
Section 3: Rights of Membership
Any member of the GBA has the right to:
• Attend any GBA sponsored event.
• Vote in any GBA election or referendum, except for elections
of class representatives.
• Attend any GA meetings except for those meetings of the
Executive Council that have been declared closed.
• Initiate and/or participate in any discussion at GBA meetings.
Article III: Officers and
Elections
Section 1: Executive Council
The GBA Officers that constitute the Executive Council are:
• President
• Executive Vice President
• Chief Financial Officer
• Vice President of Communications
• Vice President of Student Activities
• Vice President of University Relations
• Vice President of Alumni Relations
Following elections, both newly elected Officers and outgoing
Officers shall constitute the Executive Council, until such a
time as the outgoing Officers’ terms expire. All members
of the Executive Council shall have one vote.
Section 2: Officers and Terms of Office
The Officers of the GBA are:
• President
• Executive Vice President
• Chief Financial Officer
• Vice President of Communications
• Vice President of Student Activities
• Vice President of University Relations
• Vice President of Alumni Relations
• Three Semester Representative(s) (2)
• First Year Section Representative(s) (3)
• Evening Representative(s) – First Year (2)
• Evening Representative(s) – Second Year (2)
• Evening Representative(s) – Third Year (2)
All GBA officers shall have one vote. All Officer’s terms
of office shall begin one week after the elections and end one
month after the election of the next year’s Officers, except
the MBA 1 Representatives whose terms end on the day of the election
of the new Executive Council. Officers of the outgoing Executive
Council lose voting rights one week after the elections. From
this period to the end of their terms they are referred to as
“Honorary Officers.”
Section 3: Elections
Elections for the Executive Council shall be held annually in
the last two weeks of February. Elections for Class Representatives
shall be held no earlier than three weeks and within five weeks
of the start of the first semester.
Elections of all Officers shall be by simple majority of the
ballots cast. In the event that no candidate receives a simple
majority, a run-off election between the top two candidates, shall
be held at a time scheduled by the Director of Elections, but
no later that two weeks after the initial election.
Nominations and self-nominations shall be submitted to the Director
of Elections. The GBA President and Director of Elections shall
set the dates for nominations, self-nominations, speeches and
elections. Any GBA membership who does not graduate before the
end of the academic year (at the time of the election) may run
for any office, except as specified in Article II, Section 3.
No incumbent member of the Executive Council may run for a GBA
office during the remainder of the individual’s academic
tenure in the MBA program at the Goizueta Business School.
The Director of Elections shall run elections for Student Action
Groups (SAG) on the same timeline as GBA elections. Each SAG shall
have two openings in the fall. These positions will be scheduled
to end the day of Spring Elections. Incumbents wishing to remain
in their current position must seek re-election in the spring.
Each SAG shall have two openings in the spring. These positions
will be thirteen months term, scheduled to end one month after
the following year’s Spring Elections. Each SAG shall have
one opening in the summer for the incoming One-Year class. These
positions will end one month after the following year’s
Spring Elections. Elections of all SAG members shall be the two
leading vote getters of ballots cast. Reference SAG bylaw for
further details.
If no nominations for a particular position are accepted during
the original nomination period, nominations for any vacant position
will be re-opened for three school days. IF no nominations are
accepted by the end of the second nomination period, then the
incoming Executive Council will open nominations and hold an election
within two weeks of their election. If the position is still unfilled
after this process, the new Executive Council will fill the positions,
as they deem appropriate.
Section 4: Supervision of Elections
The Executive VP will serve as Director of Elections and shall
supervise elections. The Honor Council will act as the Elections
Committee and shall resolve any disputes regarding elections.
The Committee’s decision shall be final.
Section 5: Power and Responsibility of the President
The President shall chair all meetings of the Executive Council
and GBA. He or she shall be the official representative and spokesperson
of the GBA. The President shall call all meetings of the Executive
Council and shall nominate all committee members subject to approval
of the Executive Council. The President will also call for and
preside over all meetings of the Council of MBA Leaders, the body
consisting of the Presidents of all recognized professional clubs
Section 6: Power of Responsibility of the Executive
Vice President
The Executive Vice President shall assume the office of the President
if the President becomes unable to serve because of absence or
illness. The Executive Vice President shall be in charge of managing
the GBA relationship with the Career Management Center. The Executive
Vice President leads designated special projects initiated by
the Executive Council. The Executive Vice President serves as
the liaison between any standing committess and the Executive
Council.
Section 7: Power and Responsibility of the Chief Financial
Officer
The Chief Financial Officer has the sole power to accept and disperse
funds, as directed by the Executive Council. The Chief Financial
Officer is also responsible for maintaining accurate financial
records, processing expenses in a timely manner and reporting
the financial status of the GBA at all GBA meetings.
Section 8: Power and Responsibility of the Vice President
of Communications
The Vice President of Communications is responsible for coordinating
matters related to communications. This responsibility may include
any of the following as needed: keeping minutes of GBA meetings;
coordinating calendar and room requests; attending meetings of
the Plan/Ops committee; speaking at or creating documents for
school events; coordinating club conferences and providing related
training; working on issues related to student use of FirstClass;
maintaining a current MBA leadership list; and providing any additional
correspondence or assistance needed by the Executive Council.
Sections 9: Power and Responsibility of the Vice President
of Student Activities
The Vice President of Student Activities is responsible for overseeing
the social activities for the graduate business students. Social
activities include, but are not limited to, seasonal functions,
faculty student mixers, cultural events, intramural sports. The
Vice President of Student Activities may appoint another person
or committee to organize any particular event or activity. However,
the Vice President of Student Activities is still responsible
for the outcome of such events or activities.
Section 10: Power and Responsibility of the Vice President
of University and Community Relations
The Vice President of University and Community Relations shall
represent all interests of the GBA to the SGA and shall report
all pertinent SGA activity to the Executive Council. This Officer
also will act as a liaison to the BBAs enrolled at the Goizueta
Business School. The Vice President of University and Community
Relations will officially be responsible for coordinating with
the representatives of the other graduate divisions to organize
social events to promote interaction between the graduate divisions
of Emory University as deemed appropriate by the Executive Council.
The Vice President of University and Community Relations will
also act as a facilitator to promote the awareness and the coordination
of community service activities.
Section 11: Power and Responsibility of the Vice President
of Alumni Relations
The Vice President of Alumni Relations represents the interests
of current students who will be future alumni from the Goizueta
Business School. This position works with the Office of Alumni
Relations and the Development Office to create programs which
bring together current MBA students with alumni for networking
and social events. The Vice President of Alumni Relations holds
a seat on the Goizueta Alumni Association Board and attends quarterly
meetings to provide updates from the student body and receive
feedback from the alumni. The Officer also supports special projects
of the GBA Executive Council such as the graduating Class Gift
and Reunion activities.
Section 12: Power and Responsibility of the Three Semester
Representative(s)
The other three semester students elect the, Three Semester Representative(s)
during the first weeks of the Summer Session. The Three Semester
Representative is responsible for representing the unique concerns
and perspectives of the three semester students. The Three Semester
Representative shall work with the Executive Vice President on
special projects, as deemed appropriate by the Executive Council.
Section 13: Power and Responsibility of the Evening
Class Representative(s)
Two Evening Class Representatives will be elected by their classmates
during the first two weeks of the program's first Summer Session.
The Representatives' tenure will last for one and one-half years,
with a second election of representatives taking place at the
end of the second Fall term of the program. If a representative
should become unable or unwilling to serve at any time during
the tenure, the representative's class would elect a replacement
representative within one month of the representative's departure.
The Evening Class Representative(s) is responsible for representing
the unique concerns and perspectives of the evening students.
The Evening Class Representative(s) shall work with the Executive
Vice President on special projects, as deemed appropriate by the
Executive Council.
Section 14: Power and Responsibility of the First Year
Section Representative(s)
In the fall, each first year section will elect one representative
to serve on the GBA Council. The first year section representatives
shall represent the views and concerns of the first year, full-time
graduate students in the GBA meetings and in interactions with
the faculty and administration. They shall also work closely with
the GBA Council to establish close interclass ties and a unified
student body. Following the elections one individual will be chosen
to assist the VP of Student Activities in coordinating and organizing
student events. The remaining representatives will work with the
GBA Council on special projects pertaining to the overall MBA
program as well as the first year class exclusively.
Section 15: Recall of Officers
Upon presentation of a petition signed by three-quarters of the
members of the GBA to the Honor Council of the Goizueta Business
School, the Honor Council will conduct a recall election of the
identified Officer(s) within three weeks of the presentation of
the petition. To achieve a recall of an Officer, there must also
be a two-thirds majority vote for recall.
Section 16: Vacancies of Officers
In the event of a vacancy of an office, the Executive Council
shall appoint, by majority vote, an interim Officer. If such a
vacancy occurs prior to or during summer vacation, a class election
will be held within the first four weeks of the fall semester.
If such a vacancy occurs at any other time, a class election will
take place within four weeks of the vacancy.
Article IV: Meetings
Section 1: Bylaws
The GBA Officers may adopt bylaws to this Constitution by a simple
majority vote, after publication of the proposed bylaws in the
GBA minutes from the previous meeting.
Section 2: Amendments
Amendments to this Constitution can be proposed by the GBA Officers,
or by presenting a petition signed by at least one-third of all
GBA members to the GBA Officers. Presentation to the GBA Officers
shall constitute proposal. Within three weeks of the proposal
for an amendment, the Executive Council will hold a referendum
on the amendment. Once an amendment is ratified by at least two-thirds
of all GBA members, it shall be incorporated into this Constitution.
Section 3: Ratification
This Constitution shall be adopted only upon three-quarters affirmative
vote to ratify. All GBA members at the time pf the vote are eligible
top vote. Upon ratification, this Constitution shall become effective
immediately.
Section 4: Enactment
Any clause(s) in this Constitution that are inconsistent within
the first year of operation can be waived by a simple majority
vote of the GBA Officers. This section becomes null and void one
year after the date of ratification.
Bylaws:
Section 1: Student Action Groups
This bylaw recognizes the creation of the Student Action Groups
(SAG) referenced in Article III, Section 3 of the GBA Constitution.
The description, roles and structure of the SAGs are defined in
the SAG Charter.
