Several positions on the BSLS Executive Committee will be either vacant or up for renewal this April 2015: Chair, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Book Reviews Officer*, Member at Large and a new role of Member at Large – for a postgraduate or early career researcher without a permanent post*. If you are interested in any of these posts or have questions about them, please do contact me, or any member of the committee. The sections of the Constitution relevant to this process are appended below. (*These are new posts to be recommended by the Executive Committee for ratification at the AGM)
The current position is this. We have had expressions of interest in the posts of Chair, Treasurer, and one of the two posts of Member at Large. Our Membership secretary Jessica Roberts is standing for re-election. We are therefore especially interested in hearing from anyone with an interest in the role of Book Reviews Officer or the new early career Member at Large. If we receive further formal nominations for the posts of Chair, Treasurer, or Member at Large, or more than one nomination for the new posts, there will be an election by secret ballot during the AGM.
Any member of BSLS is eligible for these posts and can propose themselves or someone else. Each proposed candidate will also need two nominations from members of BSLS, and these proposals and nominations should be sent to our current Chair John Holmes (j.r.holmes@reading.ac.uk) and myself, the Secretary (p.middleton@soton.ac.uk).
Could expressions of interest or proposals be sent as soon as possible please, and ideally before April 8, 2015.
Peter Middleton
Secretary
18. 3. 2015
[FROM THE CONSTITUTION]
4. OFFICERS
4.1 There shall be an Honorary President, whose appointment is for an unlimited period.
4.2 There shall be an executive committee, consisting of: Chair; Secretary; Treasurer; Membership Secretary; Communications Officer; and not more than three Members at Large.
4.2.1 The role of the Chair is to oversee the fulfilment of the Society’s aims.
4.2.2 The role of the Secretary is to document meetings and other aspects of the Society’s activities, particularly to prepare minutes of Committee meetings and General Meetings, and to put them forward for approval.
4.2.3 The role of the Treasurer is to be signatory to the Society’s bank account(s); to present accounts for approval at the AGM.
4.2.4 The role of the Membership Secretary is to receive and process membership applications, to obtain fees from existing members, to pass on money to the Treasurer, and to maintain a membership database.
4.2.5 The role of the Communications Officer is to develop electronic resources; to manage and maintain an e-mail list, and to liaise with the Membership Secretary in relation to membership of the list.
4.3 Where it proves impossible to fill posts, one member may hold two, but no more than two posts.
4.4 Signatories for the society’s bank account(s) shall be the Treasurer and any other committee member.
4.5 The membership of the Executive Committee shall be determined by elections held at the annual general meeting of the society. Members wishing to stand for election should be nominated by two members of the society before the start of the AGM. Where there is more than one candidate for any post, election shall be held by a ballot on the basis of a single transferable vote.
4.6 Members of the Executive Committee shall serve three-year terms of office.
