At the Special General Meeting (SGM) this afternoon (Monday 3 October), the Society’s Fellowship voted by a large majority (97% of votes cast) to amend the Bye Laws and petition the Privy Council to implement a Supplemental Charter as proposed by the Society’s Council.
All Fellows and Members of the Society were sent details of Council’s proposed changes on 2 September and Fellows were asked to vote on whether they agreed with the proposals. Out of a total of 11,444 eligible voters, 1,748 valid votes were cast. And of these, 1,651 votes were for ‘yes’ and 53 votes were for ‘no’.
The changes to the Bye Laws include:
-
The removal of Honorary Secretaries (three roles), Immediate Past President, Regions Representative, Chair of Annual Conference, and Postgraduate Representative (the latter two will remain as roles on the Research and Higher Education Committee but not as members of Council).
-
A reduction in the number of Councillors drawn from the areas of Education, Research and Higher Education, and Expeditions and Fieldwork from three to one per area.
-
The introduction of four new roles to ensure representation from across the Society’s breadth of work. The new roles are: a Vice President and a Councillor for both Membership and for Professional Practice.
-
An increase in the term of office to four years to ensure the Society does not prematurely lose expertise and our institutional memory is robust.
-
More frequent meetings so that Council meets four times per year, roughly quarterly.
As our Charter also specifies the make-up of Council, the Society will now petition the Privy Council for a Supplemental Charter, which will include the new make-up of Council.
The amended Bye Laws and draft Supplemental Charter can be read on our website.