Academic Staff Member | Governance and Strategic Planning

An election for the role of Academic Staff Member to serve on the University’s governing body, the University Court, is to be held between 21 and 27 May.

Candidates

The candidates standing for election are:

Martin Corley personal statement (103 KB / PDF)

Sue Fletcher-Watson personal statement (110.6 KB / PDF)

Jennifer Lavoie personal statement (97.12 KB / PDF)

Cormac Mac Amhlaigh personal statement (72.07 KB / PDF)

Dimitri Mignard personal statement (95.21 KB / PDF)

Colin Pulham personal statement (74.74 KB / PDF)

Election

Rona Smith, Deputy Secretary Governance and Strategic Planning, shall be the Returning Officer and Dan Wedgwood, Head of Court Services, shall be Deputy Returning Officer.

The Electoral Roll shall consist of all those employees of the University who are academic or research staff in Grades 1 to 10 or equivalent and on the main University payroll, who are in post as at 27 February 2026. Staff may check whether their name appears on the electoral roll by contacting the Deputy Returning Officer by email: court@ed.ac.uk.

Voting

The election shall be conducted by means of the alternative vote. This voting system is used to elect one representative to one position and each voter has one transferable vote. For further information about the Alternative Voting System, please follow the link to the Electoral Reform Society website: https://electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems/types-of-voting-system/alternative-vote/.

Voting shall be conducted online. All those on the electoral roll for the Academic Staff Member Election shall be permitted access and shall be able to vote on the online voting system from 9.00 am on 21 May 2026 until 12 noon on 27 May 2026. Eligible staff will need to ensure they have registered for a University Login: https://information-services.ed.ac.uk/computing/computing-infrastructure/authentication-authorisation/your-university-login.

The election will be run independently by Civica Election Services on their own voting platform.

Declaration of Result

The Deputy Returning Officer shall ensure that a notice of the result of the election is posted on the University’s website and on Staff News as soon as is practicable after the result has been declared.

Background Information

The University Court is responsible for approving the mission and strategic vision of the University and its major priorities, safeguarding the University’s reputation and values, and taking the final decision on matters of fundamental concern to the University.

More information regarding the University Court is available on its website: https://governance-strategic-planning.ed.ac.uk/governance/university-court

Information on the role of the Academic Staff Member is available below.

Candidate Information (124.39 KB / PDF)

Charities and Trustee Investment Act 2005 guidance (222.65 KB / PDF)

Academic Staff Member regulations (180.99 KB / PDF)

Academic Staff Member election timetable (82.92 KB / PDF)