§ 116-7. General provisions concerning members of the Board of Governors.
§ 116‑7. Generalprovisions concerning members of the Board of Governors.
(a) All members of theBoard of Governors shall be selected for their interest in, and their abilityto contribute to the fulfillment of, the purposes of the Board of Governors,and all members shall be deemed members‑at‑large, charged with theresponsibility of serving the best interests of the whole State. In electingmembers, the objective shall be to obtain the services of the citizens of theState who are qualified by training and experience to administer the affairs ofThe University of North Carolina. Members shall be selected based upon theirability to further the educational mission of The University through theirknowledge and understanding of the educational needs and desires of all theState's citizens, and their economic, geographic, political, racial, gender,and ethnic diversity.
(b) No member of theGeneral Assembly or officer or employee of the State, The University of NorthCarolina, or any constituent institution may be a member of the Board ofGovernors. No spouse of a member of the General Assembly, or of an officer oremployee of The University of North Carolina, or of any constituent institutionmay be a member of the Board of Governors. Any member of the Board of Governorswho is elected or appointed to the General Assembly or who becomes an officeror employee of the State or of any constituent institution or whose spouse iselected or appointed to the General Assembly or becomes an officer or employeeof The University of North Carolina or of any constituent institution shall bedeemed thereupon to resign from his membership on the Board of Governors.
(b1) Upon receipt of areferral from the State Ethics Commission in accordance with G.S. 138A‑12(k)concerning a member of the Board of Governors, the principal clerk of the houseof the General Assembly receiving the referral shall immediately refer thematter to the appropriate education committee of that house. That committee mayrecommend to that house a resolution providing for the removal of the Boardmember. If the committee's proposed resolution is adopted by a majority of themembers present and voting of that house, the public servant shall be removedand the seat previously held by that Board member becomes vacant.
(c) Whenever anyvacancy shall occur in the elected membership of the Board of Governors, itshall be the duty of the Board to inform the Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives and the President of the Senate of the vacancy. The chamberthat originally elected the vacating member shall elect a person to fill thevacancy. The vacancy shall remain unfilled until the appropriate chamber of theGeneral Assembly elects a person to fill the vacancy.
The vacancy shall be fillednot later than the adjournment sine die of the next regular session of theGeneral Assembly. The election shall be for the remainder of the unexpiredterm. Whenever a member shall fail, for any reason other than ill health orservice in the interest of the State or nation, to be present for foursuccessive regular meetings of the Board, his place as a member shall be deemedvacant. (1971,c. 1244, s. 1; 1977, c. 875; 1982, Ex. Sess., c. 1, s. 1; 1991, c. 436, s. 2;2001‑503, s. 2; 2006‑201, s. 2(b); 2007‑278, s. 1.)