Charter of The Retired Professor Association
of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

1. General
   1. Name
      The full English name of the Association shall be "The Retired Professor Association of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology", and abbreviated as RPA-UST. The name in Chinese shall be “香港科技大學退休教授協會”.
   2. Objectives
      The objectives of the Association shall be:
      1. To provide social contact and networking for retired professors (and former professors) of HKUST;
      2. To facilitate interaction between retired professors and the University;
      3. To help organize retired professors to become a pool of intellectual resource for the University;
      4. To assist, whenever possible, in furthering the interests of the University.
2. Membership
   1. The membership shall be composed of the following two categories:
      1. Basic membership: All retired professors of the University can be a Member automatically. The expression “retired professor” refers to any person who was employed by the University as a professor and had completed his/her employment contract until the age of retirement.
      2. Membership by invitation: Other former professors who have served the University for a significant length of time (5 years or more) can be invited to join the Association. It requires recommendation from two Members, and approval by the Executive Committee.
      3. Membership can be terminated by the Executive Committee only under well justified situation, such as indicted for undertaking illegal activities.
   2. Membership Fee
      The Association does not have a membership fee. Retired professors can join and/or maintain their membership free of charge.
3. General Meetings
   1. General

      The General Meeting shall be regarded as the highest authority in all matters affecting the Association. General Meetings include the Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meetings. (The Meeting can be conducted in the conventional face-to-face mode, in the on-line mode, or in a mixed mode.)

   2. Quorum

      Ten percent or 10 of the Members, whichever is the less, shall form a quorum for the General Meeting.

   3. Annual General Meeting
      The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:
      1. Receive and adopt the minutes of the previous General Meetings;
      2. Elect the Executive Committee of the next session; and
      3. Discuss any motion(s) stated in the agenda in the Annual General Meeting.
   4. Extraordinary General Meeting
      1. The Executive Committee shall have the right to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting for any purpose whenever necessary.
      2. If there is a requisition signed by 15% or 15 of the Members, whichever is the less, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened by the President of the Executive Committee within two weeks after the requisition.
   5. Voting
      1. Whenever any Member requests and with the support of not less than 15% of the Members, or whenever the President so determines, an item shall be put before the Members’ meeting for voting, which shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the Members present and vote.
4. Executive Committee
   1. Authorities. The Executive Committee shall have the power to:
      1. Represent the Association in all matters;
      2. Organize functions to achieve the objectives of the Association;
      3. Handle the daily affairs of the Association;
      4. Implement the resolutions of the General Meetings;
      5. Take appropriate actions in response to cases of emergency.
   2. Composition. The Executive Committee shall be elected by Members in a Members’ meeting by voting, which shall composed of the following Members:
      1. President;
      2. Vice President (who will automatically be the President in the next immediate term);
      3. Honorary Secretary;
      4. Treasurer; and
      5. Past President (when available).
   3. Responsibilities of Individual Members
      1. The President, being the Chief of the Executive Committee, shall:
         1. Lead the Association in all affairs;
         2. Preside over all meetings;
         3. Coordinate the work of the Executive Committee of the Association; and
         4. Act as a Past President in the immediately succeeding Executive Committee of the Association after expiration of his/her term of office.
      2. The Vice President shall:
         1. Assist the President in all matters;
         2. Act as the Acting President in the absence of the President;
         3. Become the next President of the Association in the following term.
      3. The Honorary Secretary shall be responsible:
         1. For preparing and keeping agenda and minutes of all meetings of the Association; keeping records of all activities of the Association; presenting Annual Report at the Annual General Meeting; and preparing and keeping all general correspondences and documents of the Association.
         2. All membership related matters, such as handling new applications, and maintaining and updating Members Information File. The Honorary Secretary shall also be responsible for the distribution of Newsletters and other correspondences to Members as provided by the Executive Committee.
      4. The Treasurer shall:
         1. Prepare the Annual Budget and Annual Financial Report and present them in the next Annual General Meeting;
         2. Keep in the Association’s Accounts book an updated record of all financial transactions and produce official receipts for all payments; and
         3. Provide relevant information to facilitate auditing of the Accounts.
      5. The Past President shall participate in the work of the Executive Committee; and provide advice to the Association as needed.
   4. Dismissal of Executive Committee Members
      1. At the request of no less than 15% or 15 of the Members, whichever is greater, an Extraordinary General Meeting can be called for the purpose of dismissing the Executive Committee Member(s).
      2. The responsibilities and authorities of the Executive Committee Member(s) will be suspended by the time his dismissal is proposed.
      3. Two-third majority votes are required for approving the motion of dismissal.
   5. Resignation of Executive Committee Member
      Any Executive Committee Member wishing to resign shall give written notice to the Executive Committee in no less than 30 days before his/her resignation.
   6. Advisors
      The former and present Presidents of the University will be invited to become Advisors of the Association. The Executive Committee can invite additional Advisor(s) as it sees fit.
5. Election
   1. General

      The tenure for the elected Executive Committee shall be 2 years.

   2. Eligibility of Candidates

      All nominated candidates must be Members of the Association.

   3. Nomination

      Nomination of candidates shall be submitted to all Members for voting before a specified date determined by the Executive Committee.

   4. Voting

      All Members shall have the right to vote. Each Member shall have one vote for each post.

6. Finance
   1. Financial Year

      The Financial period of the Association shall coincide with the Association session.

   2. Executive Fund
      1. Membership fee (if any), donation and proceeds of the last financial period shall be transferred to the Executive Fund.
      2. All Executive Fund shall be used only for activities of the Association and other purposes that comply with the Association's objectives.
   3. Annual Financial Report

      At the end of each session, the Treasurer shall prepare an Annual Financial Report which shall be presented at the General Meeting.

   4. Auditing

      The Annual Financial Report, which shall be presented at the General Meeting, will be audited by a Member of the Association. This auditor should not carry any post in the Executive Committee. The term of service of the appointed auditor is one year and appointment is made by the Executive Committee.

   5. Expenditure

      Any expenditure of the Association shall be authorized by the Executive Committee.

   6. Bank Account

      The Association may open a current and/or savings account(s) in a Government approved financial institutions under the name of the Association. Funds can be withdrawn with two signatures from the three authorized persons, including the President, the Treasurer and one appointed Executive Committee Member.

7. Amendment to the Charter
   • Any proposal to amend the Charter must be sent to all Members to be voted on, and its approval requires a 2/3 majority of all votes returned within 2 weeks.
8. Dissolution
   • Proposal to dissolve the Association must be sent to all Members to be voted on, and its approval requires a 2/3 majority of votes returned within 2 weeks.

May 24, 2024

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