General Assembly

The main purpose of the General Assembly is to act as a two-way channel of communication through which the University presents its achievements to its broader constituencies and receives feedback and advice on matters relating to University business.

According to the Statutes of the University (Statute IX), the General Assembly shall have the following powers:

  1. To present the University and its achievements to the wider community and to receive the views thereupon from that community;
  2. To receive from the Board, and to discuss, comment and express an opinion thereon, an annual report on the working of the University and the audited annual financial statements of the University;
  3. To appoint the Pro-Chancellor of the University, as provided for in Statue IV.7, on the recommendation of the Nominations Committee provided for in the Statute VI.2;
  4. Pursuant to the provisions of Articles VIII and IX of the Charter, to scrutinise and express an opinion on proposals from the Board for the amendment of the Charter and these Statutes;
  5. To discuss and declare an opinion any matter whatsoever relating to the University, on reference from the Board or otherwise, and to transmit such opinion to the Board, whose duty it shall be to consider the same;
  6. To be a constituency in the election of the Chancellor as provided for in Statue IV and the Ordinances.

The members of the General Assembly and the Alumni Association, together with all members of paid University staff eligible to hold superannuable appointments, form the constituency for the election of the Chancellor.

Membership of the General Assembly

The General Assembly is a much larger body than the Board of Governors. In common with the Board, it has a majority of lay members. Lay members are drawn from a wide range of local, regional and national interests, and together they offer the University a wealth of experience and expertise from differing perspectives and backgrounds. 

Minutes of meetings of the General Assembly

You can download the minutes of our General Assembly meetings from the following dates (the files below are PDF documents):