Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees

From 1 January 2016, the governing body of the University (formerly known as ‘Council’) was renamed ‘the Board of Trustees’. The composition of the Board of Trustees also changed with effect from 1 January 2016. These changes were made in response to a review of the effectiveness of the Board of Trustees.

There are 20 members of the Board of Trustees, with a lay majority.  The members are the Vice-Chancellor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Treasurer, up to 15 lay members elected by Court upon the nomination of Court’s Nominations Committee, a member formally nominated by Convocation, 3 members of the academic staff, 2 members of non-academic staff and 2 students. Elected and appointed members serve for renewable three-year terms, with the exception of student members who serve one year terms.

Powers of the Board of Trustees

Under the Charter, the Board of Trustees is the governing body of the University. Members of the Board of Trustees are charity trustees and accept ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of the University by ensuring that it is solvent, well-run and delivering the charitable outcomes for the benefit of the public for which it was established.

The primary responsibilities of the Board of Trustees are set out in its Statement of Primary Responsibilities (PDF, 48kB), and were approved by the Board of Trustees at its meeting on 2 October 2015.

All Board members are expected to comply with the following General Role Description & Code of Conduct for Members of the Board of Trustees (PDF, 231kB).

Statutes relating to the Board of Trustees

• Statute 15 - Membership of the Board of Trustees 
• Statute 16 - Meetings of the Board of Trustees 
• Statute 17 - Powers of the Board of Trustees 
• Statute 33 - Validity of Acts of Court, the Board of Trustees and Senate 

Please download the University of Bristol Statutes for further details.

Board of Trustees - attendance

• Council and Council committee attendance record 2014/15 (PDF, 106kB)
• Council and Council Committee attendance 2013/14 (PDF, 47kB)
• Council and Council Committee attendance 2012-13 (PDF, 42kB)

Committees of the Board of Trustees

• Audit Committee
• Finance & Major Projects Committee
• Membership Appointments & Governance Group
• Human Resources Committee
• Remuneration Committee
• Education & Student Experience Committee

Each Committee is bound by the Standing Order on Committees of the Board of Trustees (Office document, 59kB) .

 

Joint Committees of the Board of Trustees and Senate

• Ethics of Research Committee
• Honorary Degrees Committee
• IT Committee

Each Committee is bound by the Standing Order on Committees of the Board of Trustees (Office document, 59kB) .

Secretariat

The Board of Trustees is serviced by the Governance team.