General Council Elections
The Chancellor
The Chancellor of the University is elected by the members of the General Council. The present Chancellor, The Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP, was elected from 1 January 2006 and holds this office for life.
General Council Assessors to the University Court
Every two years the General Council elects one of its members to serve as an Assessor to the University Court for a four-year term. The current Assessors are - Miss Kathleen M Patrick (re-elected 2008 until 31 July 2012) and Dr Ewan Brown CBE FRSE (re-elected 2010 until 31 July 2014).
The election of one person to replace Miss Patrick as a General Council Assessor to the University Court took place via an online voting system from mid-May to mid-June 2012. A total of 772 General Council Members voted under the Alternative Vote system.
George S Brown, (BSc (Hons), 1983) was eliminated after the first round of counting with 24 votes. Kenneth W M Cochran, (BSc (Hons), 1979) was eliminated after the second round of counting with 112 votes. Nigel E Morecroft, (MA (Hons), 1980) was eliminated after the third round of counting with 218 votes. After the fourth round of counting Nigel B Christie, (MA (Hons), 1971) received 336 votes and Ms E Jane Ryder, (MA (Hons), 1974) received 322 votes.
Therefore Nigel B Christie, is duly elected to the position General Council Assessor to the University Court to serve for a four-year term from 1 August 2012.
A full breakdown of the results is available to any General Council member by contacting the Clerk via the contact details at the foot of this page.
Business Committee
The General Council requires to elect three of its members to serve on the Business Committee for a period of four years from 1 July 2013. The retiring members are Mr Alan R Frith and Mr Martyn P L Strachan. Mr James M North resigned in April 2012.
The process of voting is now online with special provision for participation by those members who do not have internet access and request assistance from the General Council Office.
An email calling for nominations will be sent out in January 2013. Nominations will close at 5pm on Friday 29 March 2013 and candidates’ details will be made available on the General Council website by early May 2013. Instructions on how to vote will be sent to General Council members in May 2013 and voting will run from 14 May to 10 June 2013. The result will be announced at the General Council meeting in St Andrews on 29 June 2013.
Committee of the Alumnus Association
The General Council requires to elect one of its members to serve on the Committee of the Alumnus Association for a period of five years from 1 July 2013. The retiring member is Mr Graeme R C Scott.
The nomination and election process will operate utilising the online nomination and voting system and will run in tandem with the election of members to the General Council Business Committee, as set out above with the same nomination closing time / date of 5pm on Friday 29 March 2013.
Nomination forms for both the Business Committee and the Committee of the Alumnus Association are available from this page (see right hand column), by E: generalcouncil@st-andrews.ac.uk T:01334 461913 or by contacting Ms Louise Taylor, Clerk to the General Council, University of St Andrews, Crawford Building, 91 North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9AJ. (Please clearly state which nomination form is required).
All nominees must be proposed and seconded by members of General Council and nominations should be accompanied by a short candidate biography (not exceeding 100 words) and photograph which will be made available to General Council members in the event of a ballot.
Further information about the above election processes, the vacancies or the work of the General Council can be obtained from Ms Louise Taylor, Clerk to the General Council, University of St Andrews, Crawford Building, 91 North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9AJ or by email to generalcouncil@st-andrews.ac.uk
Ms Louise Taylor
Clerk to the General Council
11 January 2013