Call for Nominations: RSV Council Election 2020-21

Nominations are hereby called for the election of the following positions for the 2020-21 Council:

Five Ordinary Councillors

Up to five Ordinary Members of Council for 2020 and 2021 will be elected by postal ballot closing at 3.30pm on 2nd March 2020.  The elected Councillors will take up office from the Annual General Meeting to be held 14th May, 2020.  All current 2018-19 Councillors will continue until that date.

Note: the following Ordinary Councillors are required to re-nominate to continue on Council: Dr Gavin Smith, Dr Kevin Orrman-Rossiter, Dr Sophia Frentz, Dr Julie Boyce, Dr Catherine de Burgh-Day.

Note: Rule 22 (3) Council shall consist of no more than ten ordinary members of Council, five of whom shall be elected to take office in odd-numbered and five in even-numbered years, from whose number Council shall appoint persons to such Special Positions as shall be determined by Council from time to time to be necessary for the proper conduct of the Society’s business. 

Note: In 2020-21 the Special Positions will be the Chairs of the following Council Committees: Membership & Mentoring; Publications, Collections & Records; Science Program; Science Outreach & Partnerships; Science Policy & Advocacy.

Note: The Returning Officer for the 2020-21 RSV Council Election will be Emeritus Professor James Warren (Deputy: Dr Douglas McCann),

The Nomination Form is provided with this Notice at https://rsv.org.au/rsv-council-nomination-form-2020-21/.  It must be completed and returned, attention to the Returning Officer, along with the nominee’s 200 word statement by 3.30 pm, Monday, 16th December 2019.

Nomination criteria & guidelines:

    1. Nominees for Officer or Councillor Positions must be Financial Members of the Royal Society of Victoria at the closing date of nominations and, in accepting nomination, undertake to maintain their RSV membership status throughout the election process and any subsequent tenure on the RSV Council.
    2. Nominations may only be made and seconded by Members of the Society who are financial at the closing date of nominations.
    3. A member may be nominated for only one Officer or Councillor position.
    4. The nomination, including the consent of the candidate, must be accompanied by a statement of not more than 200 words in length prepared by the candidate or the nominator. Any statement exceeding 200 words will render the nomination invalid.
    5. Each statement must be submitted on plain paper; company or business letterhead will not be accepted. An electronic copy as a Word document must also be lodged with the Returning Officer via: [email protected]
    6. All nomination forms and statements must reach the Returning Officer, c/o The Royal Society of Victoria, 8 La Trobe Street, Melbourne 3000 by 3.30 pm on 16th December 2019, this being the closing time and date for nominations.
    7. A candidate may withdraw from the election for any of the positions for which he or she has been nominated.
    8. In the event of uncontested positions, the Returning Officer will declare the results for those positions immediately; and state that an election for these positions is not required. Results will be published on the Society website and in the Newsletter distributed at the end of January 2020.
    9. If more than one nomination is received for any Officer, the Returning Officer must conduct an election for that position.
    10. If there are more nominations than the number of vacant Ordinary positions of Council, the Returning Officer must conduct an election for all of the vacant positions.
    11. A notice of the calling of an election and ballot papers will be circulated to financial members with the Newsletter in late January 2020. The Notice will be placed on the Society’s website and on the notice board in the Society’s premises displaying the nomination forms.
    12. The notice of the election and Ballot Paper sent to members will be accompanied by the nominee’s 200 word statement. These will be the only election materials authorised by the Society.