The functions of Convocation, whose members include the Chancellor, President, members of the Senate, all faculty members, and all university graduates, are primarily electoral. Members of Convocation elect the Chancellor, who serves as chairman of the body, and the Registrar acts as its secretary and maintains the roll of Convocation. It has the power to confer degrees, including honorary degrees, and award diplomas and certificates of proficiency. The preliminary meeting of Convocation, which was convened in 1890 as an initial step to establishing a provincial university, failed due to political polarization. However, at a meeting held in Victoria in 1912, over 400 of the 739 registered convocation members elected Francis Carter-Cotton as Chancellor and fifteen elective Senate members. The Provincial Government regarded this event as a launching ceremony for the University.