Senate Business Committee

An additional meeting of the Senate Business Committee will be held at 9.30am on Thursday, 18 April 2024 via Microsoft Teams.

Rachael Bernard
Senior Governance Officer
(r.bernard@abdn.ac.uk)

Purpose

The Senate Business Committee has a primary role to agree Senate agendas. In order to engage Senate in open debate, the Senate Business Committee also identifies for each meeting of Senate at least one major strategic topic for discussion.

The Committee has delegated responsibility from the Senate to approve the appointment of Senate members or representatives to University Committees and the schedule for Senate elections.

Remit

The primary role of the Senate Business Committee is to agree Senate agendas.

In order to engage Senate in open debate, and to inform future policy and development by sub-committees for subsequent approval by the Senate, it has been agreed that the Senate Business Committee should identify at least one topic for discussion of a major strategic issue at each Senate meeting.  This would not preclude such topics being included on the agenda ad hoc in response to, in particular, national consultations and major issues that emerged during the course of an academic year that the University should address.

The Senate Business Committee, in drafting Senate agendas, should also decide, as deemed appropriate whether an external speaker (e.g. from the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Executive, Universities Scotland, the Higher Education Academy) should be invited to address the Senate on a topic of current interest or debate within the HE sector.

The Senate Business Committee is also asked to determine the timing of consideration, by the Senate, of annual reports from the Senior Vice-Principal, Vice-Principals and the University Secretary.

Composition and Quorum

• The Senior Vice-Principal (Chair)
• University Secretary
• Vice-Principal (Education)
• Vice-Principal (Research)
• Six elected members of Senate (elected for a two-year term of office and including one Senate Assessor)
• Vice-President for Education of the Students’ Association

Quorum: 50%

Membership for 2023/24

• Karl Leydecker
• Tracey Slaven
• Jo-Anne Murray
• Nick Forsyth
• Richard Hepworth-Young (until September 2024)
• Diane Skåtun (until September 2024) (Assessor)
• Mary Stephen (until September 2024)
• Scott Allen (until September 2025)
• Chantel Den Daas (until September 2025)
• Neil Vargesson (until September 2025)
• Rhiannon Ledwell

Clerk: Rachael Bernard