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 2024-25 to 2027-28

In accordance with Ordinances 13 and 18, the following member of academic staff has been elected to Senate for the period 2024-25 to 2027-28:

  • Professor Martin Reed

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 Raynee Gutting - Essex Pathways
  • Dr Laurie James-Hawkins - Department of Sociology

2023-2026

  • Dr Georgi Grahovski - School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (1)
  • Dr Brandon Reeder - School of Life Sciences (2)

2024-2028

  • 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
  • Dr Stevphen Shukaitis - Essex Business School (4)
  • Professor Martin Reed - School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering

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

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.