Membership

Any person agreeing to the purpose of the association, as set out in the by-laws (see below) will be admitted to membership and shall continue as a member so long as current membership requirements are met.

Membership of the MOA is currently free.

We maintain a strict privacy policy and will not sell on or otherwise divulge our membership database except where required by law.

MOA By-Laws

By-laws of the Michael Oakeshott Association as Amended July 9, 2002

Article I – Purpose

The purpose of the Michael Oakeshott Association (MOA) shall be to encourage study and critical discussion of the work of Michael Oakeshott and of topics related to it.

Article II – Members and Fellows

Any person agreeing to the purpose of the Association will be admitted to membership and shall continue as a member so long as current membership requirements are met. Each member shall have one vote in all business meetings and mail ballots of the Association at large.

An Honorary Fellow of the MOA is any person who has served a term of office as President of the Association and is also a current member. Honorary Fellows may additionally serve in advisory capacities, or otherwise assist current officers of the Association in ways that may be established by the Executive Committee, the current President, or the Association at large. Honorary Fellows, elected under the provisions of Article VII, shall be Honorary Fellows in full standing.

Article III – Officers

The officers shall be a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary-Treasurer. Each shall be elected at the appropriate annual business meeting of the Association by a simple majority of members present and voting. The President and Vice President shall hold office for a single two-year term. The Secretary-Treasurer shall hold office for a renewable four-year term. Terms of office for newly elected officers begin with adjournment of the meeting of their election, and terminate at adjournment of the business meeting that qualifies their successor.

The President shall be the senior officer, and will be responsible for the general administration of the affairs of the Association. The President will preside at all meetings of the Association or its Executive Committee.

The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President if the latter is incapacitated or unable to attend a meeting. The Vice President shall be the parliamentarian of the Association.

The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a current list of members of the Association for purposes of officially establishing membership status when required for any reason. The Secretary-Treasurer will make a record of both program and business meetings of the Association, and will see to it that these records are promptly published on the MOA website. The MOA website will be maintained by the Secretary Treasurer as the ongoing record, forum and archive of the Association, along with an e-mail list of members for purposes of notifying them of important business and program matters posted on this site. The Secretary-Treasurer will be in charge of managing and certifying the results of all ballots of the Association either at meetings or by e-mail. The Secretary-Treasurer or his or her designee will be responsible for receiving and depositing all funds incoming for the benefit of the Association; executing all payments and disbursements on the Association’s behalf when such are authorized by the Executive Committee; keeping a written record of all financial activities; and publishing an annual report on the MOA website.

The order of seniority among the Association’s elected officers shall be: President, Vice-President, Secretary Treasurer. Biennially, in odd-numbered years, a new Vice President will be elected; the outgoing Vice President will automatically become the new President. A vacancy occurring in the Presidency between meetings shall be automatically filled by the next senior officer. Such a vacancy in any other elected office shall be filled by a member appointed by the President, and confirmed by the Executive Committee. Such interim Presidential appointees may be eligible to be elected to the unexpired term for that office at the next annual business meeting of the Association.

In addition to the elected officers provided for above, the Executive Committee may from time to time appoint such other officers, such as an Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, as may be needed for the conduct of the Association’s business.

Article IV – Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall be composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, and two members of the Association elected to four-year renewable terms. In addition, the Executive Committee may admit to its membership an Editor, Archivist, or other persons performing important tasks in fulfilment of the purpose of the Association.

The Executive Committee shall meet at such times and places as it may determine, or at special meetings called by the President. In the interim period between annual meetings of the Association, the Executive Committee shall conduct all matters normally required to administer the affairs of the Association, except for by-law amendments and election of officers. The Executive Committee may conduct its business by mail, including electronic mail, or other means of communication. The Executive Committee will supervise the financial activities of the Association, and will not permit expenditures in excess of funds available. With the President as chairman, the Executive Committee will serve as the program committee or either program or business meetings of the Association. It will arrange all meetings of the Association, and require advance announcement of their time and place.

Article V – Other Committees

The President shall appoint a nominating committee, composed of three members of the Association, to present nominees in accordance with election procedures given in Article VII. The term of office of this committee will expire at the conclusion of the election in question.

The President may appoint such ad hoc committees as may be required to conduct the affairs of the Association.

Status as a committee member may be discontinued by a unanimous vote of the Executive Committee.

Article VI – Meetings

An annual meeting of the Association shall be held at a time and place determined by the Executive Committee. Meetings may be held by e-mail correspondence. At least one month prior to the annual meeting, the Secretary-Treasurer shall send each member a notice of it, including a list of any program presentations to be given and an agenda of the business meeting. Special program meetings may be called by the Executive Committee.

An e-mail ballot on any issue coming before the Association will be initiated upon written request by ten or more members.

Article VII – Elections

Elections of officers of the Association shall normally be conducted in the following manner. In consultation with the Executive Committee, the President shall appoint a nominating committee. The chairperson of the nominating committee will report its nominations at the annual business meeting. In addition, any member of the Association, either by voice at the meeting, or by mail or e-mail petition, may nominate additional persons for any elective office. Persons not members of the Association may not be nominated or hold office. Upon close of nominations, the Secretary-Treasurer will supervise the balloting. The election of officers will be settled by a simple majority. The Secretary-Treasurer incumbent at the start of the election will certify the results of the election, and cause them to be published on the MOA website.

Election of up to two Honorary Fellows for life terms will take place on even-numbered years upon the sole nomination of the President. The election will be settled by a simple majority. Honorary Fellows need not be members of the Association.

The sequence of elections shall be as follows:

biennially in odd-numbered years for Vice President;

quadrenially in odd-numbered years for Secretary-Treasurer;

biennially in even-numbered years for the Executive Committee; and

biennially in even-numbered years for Honorary Fellows, if any.

Article VIII – Non-profit, Non-political, Educational Status; Domicile

A. The Association shall not be conducted or operated for profit, and no part of its net earnings shall inure to the benefit of any founder, officer, fellow, or other individual connected with the Association; provided, however, that this shall not prevent the payment to any such individual of reasonable compensation for services rendered to or for the Association in effecting any of its purposes, nor the reimbursement to any such individual of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred for the purposes of the Association.

B. The Association shall not participate in nor intervene in (including by the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office; and, except as an insubstantial part of its activities, the Association shall not carry on propaganda or otherwise attempt to influence legislation.

C. In case of dissolution, the Association’s property and assets shall not be conveyed or distributed to any founder, officer, fellow, or other individual, nor to any organization created or operated for profit, but shall be distributed only to similar academic or educational organizations to be used to further the original aims of the Association.

D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these By-laws, the objects and purposes of the Association shall be exclusively non-profit, educational and academic.

E. For legal, fiscal and administrative purposes, the Association shall initially be considered to be governed by the laws and regulations applicable to similar entities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America. The Executive Committee is empowered to change such domiciliation if and when it deems such a change to be practicable and in the best interests of the Association. Each or any of the incumbent officers or Executive Committee members is empowered hereby to take the necessary steps to register such domiciliation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and/or in such other jurisdiction as may be chosen by the Executive Committee.

Article IX – Amendments

Amendments to these by-laws may be proposed by the Executive Committee, or by petition of any five members. Amendments shall be adopted by a majority vote at the annual business meeting, unless a mail or e-mail ballot is requested. In the latter case, a majority of those members replying within one month of the ballot mailing shall decide the issue.