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Senate

Senate Elections

Man putting his vote into a ballot box

The membership of Senate includes sixteen elected members drawn from members of the permanent academic staff, including at least nine of whom shall hold non-professorial posts at the time of election. Elected members are expected to serve a four-year term. The procedures for the election of members of academic staff to Senate is governed by Ordinance 18.

Election to Senate 2025-26 to 2028-29 Now Live 

We are currently seeking three members of permanent academic staff to stand for Senate. Nominations have now closed and ballot information has been sent to all those eligible to vote by email on 7 March 2025.  Electors must, at the date of the election, be members of the academic staff that have a contract of employment commencing at least 20 working days prior to the call for electoral nominations and whose contract extends to at least 31 July 2026 (Ordinance 18).  

We encourage nominations from academic staff at all stages of their careers and from each of our faculties, and in particular from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic staff, and women, who are currently under-represented at Senate. Thirteen of the current elected members of Senate will remain in office in 2025-26; eight in non-professorial posts, five in a Professorship.  Therefore at least one of those elected must hold a non-professional post at the time of election (Ordinance 13).

All staff eligible to vote are encouraged to do so through the link provided in the email, where they will also be able to access details of the candidates and their personal statements.  Any access problems or questions should be sent to senate@essex.ac.uk

The vacancy

The vacancy arises following the completion of terms of Professor Thankom Arun, Dr Rick O’Gorman and Professor Róisín Ryan-Flood.

Deadline

The deadline for votes to be cast is midday on Friday 28 March.  The outcome will be announced on Monday 31 March 2025.

Elected members of Senate

2021-2025

  • Professor Thankom Arun - Essex Business School
  • Dr Rick O’Gorman - Department of Psychology
  • Professor Róisín Ryan-Flood - Department of Sociology

2022-2026

  • Professor Hannah Gibson - Department of Language and Linguistics
  • Dr Laurie James-Hawkins - Department of Sociology
  • Dr Georgi Grahovski - School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (1)
  • Dr Brandon Reeder - School of Life Sciences (2)

2023-2027

  • Professor Fabian Freyenhagen - School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Professor Timo Jütten - School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Dr Olayinka Lewis - Essex Law School 
  • Dr Alastair Litterick, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (3)
  • Dr Christoph Siemroth - Department of Economics
  • Professor Ting Xu - Essex Law School

2024-2028

  • Dr Stevphen Shukaitis - Essex Business School (4)
  • Professor Martin Reed - School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
  • Dr ZhiMin Xiao - School of Health and Social Care (5)

(1) From 1 January 2023
(2) From 1 April 2023
(3) From 1 January 2024
(4) From 30 September 2024
(5) From 1 February 2025

Senate Elections

Elections to Senate are held annually, usually in the spring term. The number of vacancies and eligibility requirements will depend on number and make-up of those members coming to the end of their term of office. A call for nominations with full details provided will be issued at the relevant time.

The process involves completion of a nomination form signed by the nominee and by two electors, one of whom must be from a department/school different from that of the nominee. Nominees will be asked for a brief biography and statement in support of their nomination. Should the number of nominees exceed the number of vacancies, an election will be held.

Senate is committed to ensuring its membership reflects our diverse University community. Anonymised EDI membership data is reviewed to inform the taking of positive action during the Senate election process. Such action may include the use of positive statements to encourage nominees from particular groups, targeted communications through particular EDI networks, the organisation of information events, some of which may be open to the whole University community, and others that may targeted particular groups. To ensure our data sets are as complete as possible in support of this work, all Senate members are encouraged to complete and maintain their staff profile through HR Organiser.

Further detail on the role of a Senate member can be found in our Standards for Senate members.

Opportunities are also available for Senate members to serve on Committees of Senate. Details of the nominations and elections process will be communicated at the relevant time.

More information
Standards for Senate Members

Senate

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Senate Agenda Group

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