Vice-Chancellors from across the Commonwealth appointed to ACU Council

Press release – 20 August 2013

Vice-Chancellors from universities in 14 countries across the Commonwealth have been appointed to the governing body of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).

The ACU – the world's first and oldest international university network – is governed by its member institutions through a Council comprising up to 23 members, who represent constituencies covering major regions of the Commonwealth. Council members for the 2013-2015 period are:

• Professor I F Adewole – University of Ibadan, Nigeria
• Professor Bishnu Charan Barik – Sambalpur University, India
• Professor Roy Crawford – The University of Waikato, New Zealand
• Professor Cheryl de la Rey – University of Pretoria, South Africa
• Professor Sir Peter Gregson – Cranfield University, United Kingdom
• Professor Richard Higgott – Murdoch University, Australia
• Professor John C Y Leong – The Open University of Hong Kong
• Professor Olive Mugenda – Kenyatta University, Kenya
• Professor Idris Rai – State University of Zanzibar, Tanzania
• Professor A A M S Arefin Siddique – University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Professor Dinesh Singh – University of Delhi, India
• Professor Sharon Siverts – National University of Lesotho
• Professor Jan Thomas – University of Southern Queensland, Australia
• Professor Stephen Toope – University of British Columbia, Canada
• Dato’ Seri Professor Mushkuri Yaacob – Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia
• Dr Syed Muhammad Junaid Zaida – COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan

Professor John Wood, Secretary General of the ACU, said ‘As the overall governing body of the ACU, the Council is collectively responsible for overseeing the ACU’s activities and determining its future direction. We are therefore delighted to have such an experienced and diverse set of university executive heads serving over the next two years. I look forward to formally welcoming our Council members at the ACU’s Centenary Conference in London this October’.

Notes:

1. The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is the world's first and oldest international university network, established in 1913. A UK-registered charity, the ACU has over 500 member institutions in developed and developing countries across the Commonwealth. For further information, visit www.acu.ac.uk

2. The Council is the overall governing body of the ACU. Consisting of up to 23 members (20 of whom are elected biennially), the Council takes all final decisions on matters of fundamental concern to the organisation. For further information, visit www.acu.ac.uk/about-us/council-senior-management

3. Council members must be an executive head of a full member institution at the time of election with at least one year's remaining service as such. Council members shall normally serve for two years and, provided that they continue to meet the eligibility criteria, may stand for one additional term of two years.

4. Current officers of Council are Professor E Nigel Harris – University of the West Indies (Chair), Professor Madeleine Atkins – Coventry University, UK (Vice-Chair), and Professor James McWha – formerly University of Adelaide (Honorary Treasurer). Officers of Council and its Committees for the 2013-2015 period will be appointed when the Council meets on 15 October 2013.

5. For further information, please contact:

Natasha Lokhun
+44 (0)20 7380 6760
[email protected]