Elections by Congregation: Panel for Constituting the Visitatorial Board MT2023

Vacancy

Two members of Congregation required to engage in academic teaching and/or research either by their written contracts of employment or by established and agreed practice elected by Congregation, to serve until the start of MT 2027 [vice Dr Chrystalina Antoniades and Dr Elizabeth A Gemmill]

General Information about this constituency

This constituency is comprised of 12 members of Congregation required to engage in academic teaching and/or research either by their written contracts of employment or by established and agreed practice, elected by Congregation.

This means that all members of Congregation are eligible to nominate a candidate or to vote, but prospective candidates who want to stand for election must be a member of Congregation required to engage in academic teaching and/or research either by their written contracts of employment or by established and agreed practice.

The full term of office is four years (or less, when a by-election is held to fill the residue of the term of office for an elected member who is standing down early).

The Visitatorial Board is able to hear employment matters (complaints and dismissals) where there is a question of academic freedom to be resolved, though for a first hearing the staff member may elect to instead have the matter heard by an employment review panel.

The board consists of 4 members selected from a panel of 12 members of Congregation, who must be engaged in teaching or research. The chair is an external appointee who brings legal experience and an external voice to the panel. The Visitatorial Board meets rarely (the last time was in 2016); it previously had a wider remit but this was significantly limited when Statute XII was amended in 2017. However, being a panel member is an important role as it is essential that the University is able to form a board so that a hearing can take place if required.

The terms of reference and membership are set out in Part C of Statute XII.

For further information, please contact the Secretary (louise.hasler@admin.ox.ac.uk).

General Notes

The elections on 8 June 2023 will be conducted electronically.

Nominations

Hard copies of nomination forms will not be processed. Nominations must be made on an official nomination form. Completed nomination forms must be sent as an email attachment to the Elections Office by 4pm on Thursday, 11 May. Please ensure that the nominators listed in section D are also copied into the email when the nomination form is submitted, as this will act as verification of the nomination in lieu of supplying original signatures.

General requirements and eligibility

All candidates are asked to note the general requirements which apply to all committee members, as set out in Council Regulations 14 of 2002 (General Regulations of Council for Committees). Current members seeking re-election are also asked to check for specific restrictions on consecutive service. For further information, please see the eligibility and amendments to nominations sections within the Information about University elections pages of the Elections website.

Candidate’s statement

Candidates are invited to include with their nomination forms a written statement of no more than 250 words, setting out their reasons for standing and qualifications for the office being sought. In the event of a contested election, these statements will be published both online and in the Gazette. 

Contested elections

In the event of a contested election, the successful candidates will be determined by an electronic ballot. An email with further instructions will be sent to eligible voters on Wednesday 24 May, using the email addresses provided in the electronic register of Congregation (NB with few exceptions, notably clinical staff, this will be the work address ending ‘ox. ac.uk’). Candidates’ statements will also be published in the Gazette dated 25 May. Voters may wish to read these statements before completing their electronic vote. The voting period will close at 4pm on 8 June.

Uncontested elections

If the number of nominations received by the closing date is no more than sufficient to fill the vacancies, the candidates nominated shall be deemed to be duly elected as of the close of the nomination period on Thursday, 11 May. When required, places will be allocated according to academic standing, as defined in Council Regulations 22 of 2002, Part 2: Academic Precedence and Standing. If the number of nominations received by the closing date is less than sufficient to fill the vacancies, those candidates nominated will be deemed elected unopposed, and the remaining vacancies will lapse, in which case, in accordance with the regulations, the places must remain vacant until appointments are made jointly by the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors.

Period of office

All vacancies are from the beginning of MT 2023 unless otherwise stated. In accordance with Congregation Regulations 2 of 2002, in any election where vacancies are to be filled for periods of different length, the elected candidates shall hold office so that the tenure of those who receive more votes shall be longer than that of those who receive fewer votes; but if the election is uncontested or if two candidates receive the same number of votes, the candidate senior in academic standing shall hold office for the longer period. 

Further information 

For further information, please contact the Elections Office (elections.office@ admin.ox.ac.uk).