Contents
* Election of Chancellor
* Nominations
* Membership of Convocation
* Voting Arrangements
* Enquiries
* The Chancellorship: statutory provision
* Statement by Council on the characteristics of a Chancellor
University Agenda CONVOCATION 14 and 15 March
Election of Chancellor
A CONVOCATION will be held on Friday, 14 March, and Saturday, 15 March 2003, for the purpose of electing a Chancellor of the University. The election will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Council Regulations 8 of 2002 (Supplement (2) to Gazette No. 4628, 26 June 2002, p. 1385; these regulations are available on the University Web site at http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/councilsec/newregs.shtml).
Nominations
(a) Each candidate for the office of Chancellor must be nominated on an official form. Copies of this form may be printed from the Web site http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/councilsec/convoc.shtml or obtained on request from the Head Clerk at the University Offices (telephone: 01865 (2)70191 or (2)80179.
(b) Completed nomination forms must be sent to the Registrar at the University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JD, so as to reach him by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 25 February 2003. Faxed nomination forms will not be accepted.
(c) For a nomination to be valid, the person nominated must send to the Registrar, by the above date and time, a signed statement that he or she is willing to be nominated and to serve as Chancellor if elected. This statement must be an original and not a fax.
(d) Each candidate must be nominated by at least fifty members of Convocation.
(e) All nominators must give on the nomination form their name (including any former names by which they may be known to the University), college (or department), and year of matriculation (where relevant), as well as signing the form. If such information is lacking, the person in question may not be counted as a valid nominator.
Membership of Convocation
Under a change introduced as part of the reforms of the governance of the University in 2000, Convocation now consists of (a) all the former student members of the University who have been admitted to a degree (other than an honorary degree) of the University and (b) any other persons who are members of Congregation. It is therefore no longer necessary to have an MA or a higher degree to be a member of Convocation, but membership for graduates of the University requires (1) that the person concerned should have been matriculated (i.e. the holders of degrees validated by the University who have not been matriculated are ineligible for membership), and (2) that the person concerned should have actually been admitted to a degree, whether in person or in absence, at a degree ceremony (i.e. to be qualified for admission, by satisfying the examiners, is not in itself enough). Subject to the approval by Congregation on 11 February of the necessary formal change in regulations, a special ceremony for the conferment in absence of degrees on members of the University wishing to be qualified to vote in the election will be held on 11 March 2003. Entries for that ceremony should be made through the college of the member concerned. They should reach that college not later than 3 March 2003 and sooner if possible.
Voting Arrangements
In the event of a contested election voting will take place on Friday, 14 March, and Saturday, 15 March 2003. Voting will be in person only and will take place in Convocation House between 9.15 a.m. and 5 p.m. on both days.
The Vice-Chancellor has ruled that gowns need not be worn by members of Convocation when voting. Those voting must be prepared to show evidence of identity, preferably photographic, if asked to do so.
The voting system to be used is the single transferable vote.
Enquiries
Any enquiries about the election should be addressed to the Head Clerk, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JD (telephone 01865 (2)70191 or (2)80179; e-mail: head.clerk@admin.ox.ac.uk).
The Chancellorship Statutory provision, Statute IX, sections 2-5, provides as follows.
2. The Chancellor shall be elected by Convocation and shall hold office during his or her life or until his or her resignation. 3. There shall be a Chancellor's Court of Benefactors to membership of which the Chancellor may from time to time admit major benefactors of the University. 4. The Chancellor shall have such other functions and powers as are assigned to him or her by the statutes and regulations or by the law of the land. 5. In the event of the incapacity or absence abroad of the Chancellor, or during a vacancy in the Chancellorship, or on delegation from the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor may exercise any of the functions and powers of the Chancellor, except where the statutes provide otherwise.'
Statement by Council on the characteristics of a Chancellor
For the guidance of candidates and electors, Council has agreed to publish the following statement about the Chancellorship.
The Chancellorship is not an executive office and the formal duties are relatively few. Chief amongst these are presiding at ceremonies such as Encaenia and at the Chancellor's Court of Benefactors and also, if the Chancellor wishes, chairing the Committee for the Nomination of the Vice-Chancellor. The office is, however, much more than symbolic (important though its symbolic role is).
The Chancellor must be visibly committed to the independence of universities and to the values for which they stand. He or she must have the stature, both intellectually and in all other respects, appropriate to Oxford's position as a leading international university and, through his or her own qualities, must be able to enhance the University's reputation both within the UK and abroad. He or she must have the confidence and ability to preside convincingly at occasions such as Encaenia and to take the leading role as far as possible at the many other official events which the Chancellor is likely to be called on to attend in the University and its colleges, and from time to time as the University's representative at major occasions outside Oxford. The Chancellor is ex officio Visitor of five colleges and the person appointed must also be appropriate for this role.
The Chancellor must have wide experience which can be drawn on when required to support and further the purposes of the University. He or she must be a person of integrity and have tact, discretion and sound judgement, being able to give advice and guidance when called on, particularly by the Vice- Chancellor. He or she must be sensitive to the University's aspirations and to the concerns of current students and staff, and an authoritative figure capable of presenting the University's interests to a wide variety of constituencies, such as major world figures, benefactors or potential benefactors, and alumni. For the proper fulfilment of the office, the Chancellor must be readily accessible and available throughout the year to exercise his or her duties, both formal and informal.
Although by tradition the Chancellor has been an eminent figure from politics, law or the church, these are not necessarily the only backgrounds from which a Chancellor might come. The characteristics of those who have achieved distinction in such fields are, however, typical of the characteristics required in a Chancellor and described above.
Gazette No. 4646 (23 January 2003)
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