Academic Staff Member

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.

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 for prospective candidates on the role of the Academic Staff Member is available below.

Candidate Information (124.39 KB / PDF)

 

Nomination process

Nominations for the Academic Staff Member are now warmly invited. The successful candidate will take up this position on 1 June 2026.

The electorate 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. 

Only members of the electorate shall be eligible to stand for election and each candidate must be supported by no fewer than five members of the electorate. Nominees should also provide a statement giving details of why they would make a good Academic Staff Member, in no more than 500 words. This statement will be used for publicity purposes and will be circulated to the electorate for information. Campaigning in the form of poster campaigns is not allowed.

The Nomination form and Personal Statement form are available below.


Completed documents should be forwarded to the Deputy Returning Officer by email not later than 12 noon on 11 May 2026 to court@ed.ac.uk.

Candidates standing for election will be announced on this website, through staff news and by email.

A full copy of the Election Regulations is published below:   

 

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 as defined above, 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.

Any person whose name does not appear on the roll may, not later than 24 April 2026, apply to Dan Wedgwood, Deputy Returning Officer to be included in the Electoral Roll, on production of an appropriate contract of employment confirming commencement of employment with the University before or at 27 February 2026.

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.

Contact Details

If you have queries regarding any aspect of the election, please contact the Deputy Returning Officer:

Dan Wedgwood

Email: court@ed.ac.uk

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