{"395691":{"#nid":"395691","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Bohlander Ends Tenure as Faculty Secretary","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) Principal Research Scientist Ron Bohlander will retire from his role as Georgia Tech\u2019s secretary of the faculty in April. Principal Research Associate Jeanne Balsam has been selected by the Faculty Senate and Georgia Tech President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson as the new secretary.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003EThe secretary of the faculty is appointed by Georgia Tech\u2019s president, based upon the recommendation of the Faculty Senate body. The secretary\u2019s official duties involve keeping accurate minutes and records of the Faculty Senate meetings, posting the minutes of the Faculty Senate\u2019s various committees, accepting Nominating Committee reports from the Faculty Executive Board, and conducting elections to fill faculty governance positions addressed by the Nominating Committee. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cOne of the great things about Georgia Tech is the collegial atmosphere between the faculty and the administration,\u201d said Bohlander, relating that such an atmosphere is not always prevalent at other institutions. \u201cIt really has allowed us to get things done in a much easier fashion.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EBalsam, who served on the Statutes Committee for more than five years, said she is thankful to be chosen for the position. As the chair of the Statues Committee, she served on the Institute Policy Committee and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Compliance Committee.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cAs a steward of the current Faculty Handbook, I have worked with different individuals and taskforces to achieve recommended changes to the Faculty Handbook,\u201d Balsam said. \u201cI value collaborative contributions and effective communications in assessing and recommending modification requests to the faculty for consideration.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn the past, Balsam recalls, Bohlander\u2019s extensive institutional knowledge has served faculty governance well. Bohlander has served as secretary of the faculty since the fall of 2006.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cRon has a wealth of knowledge about the functioning and history of the Institute, and I certainly understand the value that Ron has brought to the secretary of the faculty position,\u201d Balsam said. \u201cI have seen firsthand the support, campus knowledge and history, and guidance that he has provided to the Statutes Committee and look forward to being a part of his legacy of success.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EBohlander has been at Georgia Tech for four presidents, starting with President Joseph M. Pettit, whom he credits with initiating the modern faculty governance for Georgia Tech in 1981 to help boost engagement among the faculty. By 1982, Bohlander was selected to join the Faculty Honors Committee.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cSince that point, I\u2019ve been on a slew of different committees and then served for five or six years as chair of the Statutes Committee,\u201d he said. \u201cThat led to the opportunity where I was invited to be secretary of the faculty, a position I\u2019ve held for a little more than nine years now.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EOne main accomplishment Bohlander recalls is his part in rewriting the Faculty Handbook. \u201cWe rewrote it twice, actually,\u201d he said. \u201cOne we finished in April 2013 and one in April 2014.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe first rewrite was to reduce 57 chapters to seven. The second rewrite had to do with the change in faculty governance bodies and the change in definitions of research and academic faculty. \u201cWe no longer have a General Faculty Assembly,\u201d he said. \u201cWe now have a Research Faculty Senate and an Academic Faculty Senate, and the combination of the two is called the Faculty Senate.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EAdditionally, Bohlander will retire with more than 36 years of experience with Georgia Tech\u2019s Engineering Experiment Station \u2014 as GTRI was known when he was hired \u2014 taking with him a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EBohlander\u2019s last meeting in his official capacity was at the Faculty Executive Council meeting on April 9. Georgia Tech Executive Vice President for Research and GTRI Director Stephen Cross saluted his service at the end of the meeting.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cYou began your service as secretary in 2006, and you were well-prepared for that, since you started on the Faculty Honors Committee back in 1982,\u201d Cross said to Bohlander. \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing length of service, and I\u2019m most appreciative of how you have conducted yourself as secretary of the faculty. You will be greatly missed, not only for your institutional memory, but because you\u2019re the conscience of the faculty.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ECross closed the meeting with a motion that the minutes reflect Bohlander\u2019s service as the secretary of the faculty.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s been a huge pleasure and a labor of love,\u201d Bohlander said. \u201cI\u2019m pleased that Jeanne is here to carry to the torch.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJeanne Balsam will replace Bohlander beginning this month.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jeanne Balsam will replace Bohlander beginning this month."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2015-04-13 12:01:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:58","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-04-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-04-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"395701":{"id":"395701","type":"image","title":"Ron Bohlander","body":null,"created":"1449246361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:26:01","changed":"1475895112","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:52","alt":"Ron Bohlander","file":{"fid":"75663","name":"bohlander.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bohlander.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bohlander.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":167618,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bohlander.jpg?itok=wj93joB5"}},"395721":{"id":"395721","type":"image","title":"Ron Bohlander and Jeanne Balsam","body":null,"created":"1449246361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:26:01","changed":"1475895112","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:52","alt":"Ron Bohlander and Jeanne Balsam","file":{"fid":"75665","name":"bohlander-balsam.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bohlander-balsam.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bohlander-balsam.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":813216,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bohlander-balsam.jpg?itok=QPKLf3-4"}},"395711":{"id":"395711","type":"image","title":"Jeanne Balsam","body":null,"created":"1449246361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:26:01","changed":"1475895112","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:52","alt":"Jeanne Balsam","file":{"fid":"75664","name":"balsam.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/balsam.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/balsam.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":274547,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/balsam.jpg?itok=DLq-mNgq"}}},"media_ids":["395701","395721","395711"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/facultygovernance.gatech.edu\/","title":"Faculty Governance"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1506","name":"faculty"},{"id":"12022","name":"faculty governance"},{"id":"123751","name":"faculty secretary"},{"id":"85391","name":"faculty senate"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:robert.nesmith@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ERobert Nesmith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}