Article 1. Purpose of the Society
1. To provide a forum for Oxford and Cambridge alumni to meet and network in Shanghai, and for visitors from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to meet with those alumni.
2. To provide a link between Oxford and Cambridge Universities and their alumni living in Shanghai.
Article 2. Membership
1. Any person who has graduated from Oxford or Cambridge Universities, and who lives in the People’s Republic of China, shall be eligible for application for admission as a Society Member, except such person’s membership would contravene the laws or policies of the government of the PRC.
2. Applications for Society membership should be made to the Secretary. Members may be asked to produce their degree certificate in support of their application. The Secretary shall inform the applicant of the acceptance after examination of qualification.
3. The Society Members shall have the following responsibilities:
- To advise the Secretary of any changes in their contact details used for regular communications
- To abide by this Constitution of the Society
- To protect the legal rights and interests of the Society
4. Any person who has been an exchange student, pursued a research, or currently pursuing a degree, in the Universities shall be eligible for application for admission as an Associate Member of the Society. Associate Members have no voting rights and may not stand for Committee positions.
Article 3. Annual General Meeting
1. The AGM will normally be held once in the first quarter of each year.
2. Each Society Member has one vote at any meeting of the Society. Only Society Members attending the meeting have the right to vote, and there will be no voting by proxy.
3. The quorum for the AGM shall be 20 members and a two-week notice shall be given of the AGM in advance.
4. The following key issues should be decided or reported on the AGM, including President and Vice President election, Constitution amendment, and working plan, etc. Unless the terms or context of this Constitution provide otherwise, any decision to be made shall be approved by half of the Society Members present and voting at the AGM.
5. An Extraordinary General Meeting (hereinafter referred to as EGM) shall be called at any time when there is evidence demonstrating that the Constitution is seriously violated or any incident emerges too urgently to wait until the next AGM. The quorum for the EGM shall be 20 members and a one-week notice shall be given in advance. Society Members should be immediately noticed regarding any result from the EGM. Unless the terms or context of this Constitution provide otherwise, any decision to be made shall be approved by half of the Society Members present and voting at the EGM.
Article 4. Executive Committee of the Society
1. President and Vice President should ideally be from different universities.
The roles of the President include:
- Providing vision and leadership for the Society and make final decisions when Committee meetings failed to reach agreement or conclusion.
- The primary leader of the Committee, co-ordinates the Committee, and oversees all activities that are related to the Society.
- Responsible of ensuring the effective performance of the duties of Committee Members, individually and collectively.
The roles of the Vice President include:
- Assisting the President in the Committee Operations.
- Taking on the President’s responsibilities in his/her absence.
- In charge of one or more main functions of the Committee.
2. The President and Vice President are elected by the Society Members at the AGM. To be eligible for President or Vice President, candidate should have served the Committee for at least six months.
3. The Committee Members are appointed by the President. To be eligible for acting as Committee Member, candidate should be qualified Society Member. There should be ideally balanced Committee Members from both Universities but this is non-binding.
4. All the Committee Members, including the President and Vice President, will normally serve a three-year term.
5. President should not serve the Committee for more than two terms.
6. Any Committee Member may terminate his or her Committee membership by notifying the President. The President may dismiss any Committee Member whose conduct is likely to weaken or threaten the operations of the Committee or disgrace the reputation of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Article 5. Board
Board is consisted of retired Presidents of Executive Committee. The main functions of the Board are:
1. To call the AGM and EGM
2. To chair the election of President and Vice President of Executive Committee
3. To make sure the Constitution is respected
Article 6. Constitution
1. Any Society Member may propose a change to the constitution by informing the Secretary in writing at least two weeks before the AGM. Changes to the Constitution require a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at the AGM.
2. Any changes to the Constitution will be valid once approved by the Members of the Society. The normal form for this approval process will be the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
Article 7. Finance
In the event of an activity where money is collected from ticket sales or sponsorships or other means to raise funds for the Society, the accounts should be made available to any Society Member who wishes to see them.