Role of Staff Governor
The staff governors are identified through election by the following constituencies for a three year period (which may be renewed by subsequent election):
- Senate
- Academic staff
- Professional and support staff
Although they are elected, staff governors do not have a narrow representational function. That would be incompatible with the identity of the Court as a corporate body. As with all governors, the role of staff governors is to act in the best interests of the University.
The Court approaches its work through debate and discussion and there can be different views expressed in the process of developing a final position which the Court corporately agrees to adopt.
Nevertheless, the staff governors, by virtue of their knowledge of the University, generally drawn from having been in one or more roles which connect them with a wide range of staff, bring to the Court’s debate important insight and an informed perspective of the views, attitudes, concerns and ambitions of staff.
The staff governors sit on Court Committees and contribute similarly there. The key channel of communication from the Court, complementing where relevant the management cascade of decisions made by the Court, is the Court Bulletin which is now published soon after each Court meeting.
Staff governors have access to induction and to training and development opportunities to help them undertake the role. The evaluation of the performance of staff governors is encompassed within the Court’s mechanisms for evaluating its corporate effectiveness, for example through an annual evaluation of the work of its various committees and the 3 to 5 yearly review of the effectiveness of Court.
Staff governors may also be engaged in other activities associated with the Court but outside the structure of formal meetings such as the Court’s strategic away days, graduations and other events.