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The Balliol Society

The Balliol Society Constitution

1. The Society shall be composed of past and present members of Balliol College, and shall be called 'THE BALLIOL SOCIETY'.

2. The objects of the Society shall be to promote the educational purposes of the College and any other charitable purposes connected with the College.

In furtherance of these objects the Society shall:

  • Encourage and foster links between old Balliol members and keep them in touch with the College.
  • Publish and circulate news of interest about present and past members of the College.
  • Forward the interests of the College and its institutions.

3. All Old Members of the College and all members of the Senior Common Room are eligible for membership of the Society. All undergraduates of the College shall be eligible for membership upon payment of the currently agreed entrance fee by them or on their behalf. They shall receive notice of meetings from the year following their taking their names off the College books as being in statu pupillari, or from the ninth term after matriculation in the case of students who have left before completing their course.

Visiting students shall be eligible for membership and shall receive notice of meetings from the year following their period of residence at Balliol. Associate and honorary members may be admitted to the Society subject to the approval of the Committee.

4. The officers of the Society shall consist of a President (if any), a Chairman, an Honorary Secretary or Secretaries, and an Honorary Treasurer. The Society may at an Annual General Meeting elect a President for life or for such shorter period as it may determine.

The Chairman shall be the Visitor.

The Honorary Secretaries and the Honorary Treasurer shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting, and shall be eligible for re-election. The College Endowment Fund Trustees shall be the Trustees of the Society.

5. The management of the Society and the election of honorary members shall be in the hands of a Committee. The Committee shall consist of the Chairman, the Master of Balliol (or his representative), the Honorary Secretary or Secretaries, the Honorary Treasurer and eight elected members, who shall be divided into four classes. Class I shall be elected from members who came up not more than 20 years before the date of the Annual General Meeting; Class II from those who came up not less than 20 and not more than 30 years before that date; Class II from those who came up not less than 30 and not more than 40 years before that date; Class IV from those who came up more than 40 years before that date. They shall be elected for four years and two shall retire annually and not be immediately re-eligible for election. These retirements should normally be one in each of Classes I and II in even-numbered years and one in each of Classes III and IV in odd-numbered years.

The Committee shall have power to co-opt not more than four members, and shall have the right to terminate the membership of any member of the Society.

6. The Annual General Meeting shall be held not earlier than 1 March. In the event of the Visitor being absent, the meeting shall elect a Vice Chairman to preside over it pro hac vice.

7. The Administration of the Funds of the Society shall be vested in the Committee and all cheques shall be signed by at least two signatories, one of whom shall be the Honorary Treasurer.

8. The Funds of the Society may be invested in such stocks, funds, shares, securities and property of any kind as may be thought fit.

9. The Funds of the Society may be lent with or without security, for any purpose which the Committee may consider is for the benefit of the College or of any institution connected with the College.

10. The Committee shall meet at least once in every year. At all Meetings of the Committee five shall form a quorum.

11. Notices of the Annual General Meeting, open to all Members of the Society, shall be sent out by the Secretary or Secretaries at least one month before it takes place. A quorum for an Annual General Meeting shall be not less than 25 members.

12. The Committee may at its discretion, or shall at the request of not less than 25 members, summon a special General Meeting with not less than one month’s notice. The quorum for a special General Meeting shall be not less than 25 members.

13. Alterations in the constitution may be made at any General Meeting, provided that in the document convening the meeting there has been given notice of intention to propose an alteration and of the substance of the alteration proposed. No alteration shall be made which shall cause the Society to cease to be a charity in law.

14. The Society may be dissolved by a resolution passed by a majority of not less than three-quarters of the members attending and voting at any General Meeting of which not less than two months’ notice of the proposal to dissolve the Society has been sent to all members. Any assets remaining at the time of dissolution after satisfaction of all liabilities shall be paid or transferred to the College or applied for such charitable purposes connected with the College as may be specified in the Resolution to dissolve the Society.

Amended as agreed at the Balliol Society AGM on 3 October 2010.