General Process for Addition of New Members to the GBCESU

1. Prospective members seeking admission to the GBCESU must submit a letter of interest to the host institution for membership consideration.
    
2. The letter of interest should contain the following information:
   1. Legal name of the organization seeking membership and when applicable, the name of appropriate unit(s) within the organization that will be working with the CESU.
   2. Full contact information of individual(s) responsible during the application process.
   3. Brief statement of why the organization is interested in joining the GBCESU and what contributions it can make to the CESU.
   4. If there are sponsors who are currently GBCESU members, attach letter(s) of sponsorship supporting the application (optional).
   5. Prospective federal agency members should
      1. indicate if the agency is a current member of the CESU Council,
      2. indicate that it has reviewed the GBCESU Agreement and is willing to fulfill its responsibilities if admitted and
      3. indicate that it will pay the one-time assessment of $10,000 to the host institution.
   6. The letter can be sent by email and must be addressed to Dr. David Thawley (thawley@cabnr.unr.edu) with a copy to Dr. Rang Narayanan (rang@cabnr.unr.edu) or by ground mail:
       
      Dr. David Thawley/Dr. Rangesan Narayanan
      College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources
      Mail Stop 222
      University of Nevada, Reno
      Reno, NV 89557
       
3. After consultation with other CESU members, the host institution will let the potential member know of the decision whether or not to extend an invitation to submit an application.
    
4. If approved to submit an application, the host institution will provide the necessary application materials and guidelines and work with the applicant to complete the application.
    
5. Completed application will be distributed to the GBCESU partners for a vote. The application must be approved by all partners. The GBCESU may require an interview and a presentation at one of the executive committee meetings by a prospective member before a final vote. This pre-approval process could take up to 6 months and will need to allow time for a regularly scheduled meeting of the executive committee.
    
6. Host institution will notify the prospective member of the outcome of the application and if approved by the CESU, the CESU National Coordinator will be notified and an amendment to the agreement to add the new partner will be requested.
    
7. New partner(s) will be added through an amendment to the existing agreement. And “amendments shall be in writing, signed and agreed to by all signatories to this agreement, except in cases described in Article III.C.”
    
8. The national CESU coordinator will request that the host university secure signatures from the non-federal partners and the national CESU office requests signatures from the Federal partners.
    
9. The Federal and non-federal partners are given 45 days to sign the amendment. If an organization does not sign and/or return the necessary amendment in that time period, the amendment to the agreement is deemed to have been approved at the end of the 45 days time period.
    
10. The amendment is signed by the national CESU office and copies are sent to all GBCESU partners by the national CESU office. The final approval may take up to 1 year depending on the scheduled timing of the executive committee meetings.

If you have any questions, please call Dr. Rang Narayanan at (775) 784-6649.