BILL CLINTON, who has made no secret of his love for Oxford and whose daughter is a student there, may be asked to stand for Chancellor of the university to succeed Lord Jenkins of Hillhead.

The prospect of a Clinton candidacy was greeted enthusiastically yesterday by Professor Alan Ryan, Warden of New College, who is on a sabbatical year at Stanford University in California.

He said: “I would love to see Bill Clinton nominated. It would be tremendously good fun and extremely useful if Oxford was going into the fundraising business in a serious fashion. I am sure somebody will put him up.”

The death of Lord Jenkins on Sunday leaves vacant the chancellorship for only the fourth time in 70 years. Sixty-thousand Oxford graduates will vote for his successor. With just 50 graduate supporters required for any nomination, the way is open for Britain’s most intriguing intellectual election campaign this year. The ballot is expected to be held in March.

The chancellorship is a lifetime position, elected by members of Convocation. For the first time, the electorate will all be graduates of the university and not just those whose degrees have been converted into an MA after seven years.

The only catch is they have to vote in person at the university. A record 8,300 turned out in March 1987, when Lord Jenkins gained 3,249 votes to beat Sir Edward Heath and Lord Blake to the post.

The post of titular head of Britain’s oldest university has usually gone in recent times to a heavyweight public figure with strong political connections. In the present financially conscious era, an ability to pull in big donors is an added attraction.

It traditionally offers elder statesmen — there has not yet been a woman — the opportunity of a prominent position of influence from which to pronounce on anything they like.

Debate about possible contenders will be intense in common rooms across the city, although names are unlikely to emerge until at least the start of the new term on January 19. Conceivably, Tony Blair could stand, as Harold Macmillan did when he was Prime Minister in 1960. The required 50 backers could be gathered from within the corridors of 10 Downing Street, but a candidacy is thought unlikely.

Mr Clinton is a more realistic prospect, however. If he indicates that he would like the post he would be a hot favourite among younger graduates and dons dazzled by his star appeal. The former US President, 56, has said that he spent two of the happiest years of his life while a Rhodes scholar at University College.

Lord Jenkins even joked with Mr Clinton during the latter’s visit to the university in May 2001 that he was welcome in any capacity provided he did not have premature ambitions towards the chancellorship.

An Oxford University spokesman said that there were no restrictions against a Clinton candidacy. But he added: “The only thing that might be a barrier would be the need to be in the country for significant amounts of time. That might interfere with his lecture tours.”

Discussion at Balliol College could centre on support for the candidacy of Chris Patten, a Balliol man and the European Union’s External Affairs Commissioner.

Balliol could be hoping for an academic hat-trick as the alma mater of the two previous Chancellors, Lord Jenkins and Macmillan. Mr Patten, 59 this year, is widely viewed as Mr Blair’s favourite Tory and has both the political connections and international profile that Oxford will be seeking.

He may also have had enough of life in the Brussels bureaucracy. He once calculated during a particularly dreary Euro meeting that he had another 175,200 hours to live if he survived 20 more years, and intended to put them to better use.

Baroness Williams of Crosby, 72, could be a strong contender as Oxford’s first woman Chancellor. The former Labour Education Secretary and Lord Jenkins’s fellow “gang of four” founder of the SDP, is a graduate of Somerville. She has an impressive academic pedigree to match her political career, most recently as Professor of Elective Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Supporters of Lord Heseltine, a former President of the Oxford Union, may seek to secure his consent to a nomination. But the former Deputy Prime Minister, who has not concealed his despair at the present state of the Conservative Party, may prefer to retain the freedom to campaign for British entry to the euro should Mr Blair call a referendum later this year.

An outside contender could be Lord Birt of Liverpool, the former BBC Director-General John Birt, given Oxford’s extensive diaspora of media graduates.

But Mr Blair’s personal “strategy adviser” may feel that he has all the influence he needs without submitting to the risky business of an election by Oxford graduates.

The chancellorship is a largely ceremonial role, although the office-holder is expected to attend major functions and important visits. He also officiates at the annual honorary degree ceremony each June and represents Oxford to the wider world. Candidates must be nominated at least 17 days before the vote.

Nominations can be made by any member of Convocation, supported by 50 other graduates, and must be accompanied by a written statement of consent from the candidate.

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