MyGlasgow News

An extraordinary meeting of Senate to be held next month will be asked to approve plans for a new Council of Senate.

The Council of Senate is intended to make it possible to achieve a quorum of members on a regular basis. The full Senate will continue to operate. Its Council will be a sub-committee, empowered to transact Senate business.

The new body will have a total membership of approximately 120, with a quorum of 80. Currently, achieving a quorate meeting of the full Senate requires the attendance of 185 members...a full third of the total.

Professor John Briggs, Clerk of Senate, said: “The proposed Council of Senate will be a senior, academic decision-making body that conforms to principles of good governance and will be aligned with last year’s Review of Higher Education Governance in Scotland chaired by Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski.

“Most importantly, it will have a clear majority of elected members drawn from across the University with 75 elected members, 49 of them ex officio. Unlike the full Senate, the Council will have student membership with 12 of the 49 members ex officio.”

Professor Briggs stressed that the new structure will not exclude any member of Senate from attending meetings of the Council and contributing fully to debate and discussion. Additionally, it will be possible for a meeting of Senate to be called at any time by a minimum of 5 members petitioning the Convenor of Senate calling for a meeting (as is currently the case).   An invitation has been issued to all members of Senate to attend the Extraordinary Meeting which will be held in the Bute Hall on Thursday, 6 February 2014 at 1pm.  At this meeting the proposal to establish a Council of Senate will be put to the vote.  It is anticipated that the meeting will last no more than 15-20 minutes.   The regular, scheduled meeting of the full Senate will follow at 2pm, on the same day, also in the Bute Hall. 

For more information, please contact the Senate Office.

---

First published: 22 November 2013