Chancellor of the University of St Andrews

Last updated
Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
Sir Ming Campbell MP 2008 cropped.jpg
Incumbent
The Lord Campbell CH CBE PC KC
since 9 January 2006
Member of General Council
AppointerElected by the members of the General Council
Term length Life tenure
Constituting instrument Universities (Scotland) Act 1858
First holder Henry Wardlaw, Bishop of St Andrews
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Salarysinecure
Website Chancellor of the University of St Andrews

The Chancellor of the University of St Andrews is the titular head of the University of St Andrews. Their duties include conferring degrees, promoting the university's image throughout the world, and furthering the university's interests worldwide. [1] The Chancellor does have the power to refuse an "improvement in the internal arrangements of the University", however, there is no evidence of any Chancellor using this effective veto over the University Court. [2] :12(2)

Contents

The Office of the Chancellor has existed since the foundation of the university in the 15th century, and no comprehensive definition of its powers has been made in any modern statute. The remit and powers of the Chancellor were described by Royal Commission on the Universities and Colleges of Scotland, which described the Chancellor of St Andrews thus:

"The Chancellor is the Head of the University... He is consulted, however, on all public matters relative to its welfare, and he is also Conservator of its privileges. By the foundation charters the power of conferring degrees is vested in him: but this he may exercise either personally when present or by his depute when absent, with the advice of the doctors and masters of the University".

Order XLIX, Commission for Visiting the Universities and Colleges of Scotland [3]

Section 2 of the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 provides that the Chancellor is to be elected by the General Council, to hold office for life, although Sir Kenneth Dover retired in 2005. [2] :Section 2 [4] With the exception of Dover, every Chancellor of the university has been either an archbishop or a peer. The Chancellor is the President of the General Council which meets twice each year, in recent years once in St Andrews and once elsewhere in the United Kingdom. [5] [6]

The Chancellor appoints an Assessor to be a member of the university's governing body, the University Court. [1]

List of chancellors of the University of St Andrews

Bishop Henry Wardlaw, the first chancellor of St Andrews Henry Wardlaw.jpg
Bishop Henry Wardlaw, the first chancellor of St Andrews

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquess of Queensberry</span> Title in the Peerage of Scotland

Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was inherited by the Duke of Buccleuch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk</span> English nobleman and statesman

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, by his first wife, Catharina de Moleyns. The Duke was the grandfather of both Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Katherine Howard and the great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1513, he led the English to victory over the Scots at the decisive Battle of Flodden, for which he was richly rewarded by King Henry VIII, then away in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Argyll</span> Title in the peerage of Scotland

Duke of Argyll is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotland. As such, they played a major role in Scottish history throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The Duke of Argyll also holds the hereditary titles of chief of Clan Campbell and Master of the Household of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Beaton</span> Scottish cardinal

David Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish cardinal prior to the Reformation.

James Beaton (1473–1539) was a Roman Catholic Scottish church leader, the uncle of David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane</span> British politician and judge

Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, was a British lawyer and philosopher and an influential Liberal and later Labour politician. He was Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912 during which time the "Haldane Reforms" of the British Army were implemented. As an intellectual he was fascinated with German thought. That led to his role in seeking detente with Germany in 1912 in the Haldane Mission. The mission was a failure and tensions with Berlin forced London to work more closely with Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Queensberry</span> Title in the Peerage of Scotland

The title Duke of Queensberry was created in the Peerage of Scotland on 3 February 1684 along with the subsidiary title Marquess of Dumfriesshire for the 1st Marquess of Queensberry. The Dukedom was held along with the Marquessate of Queensberry until the death of the 4th Duke in 1810, when the Marquessate was inherited by Sir Charles Douglas of Kelhead, 5th Baronet, while the Dukedom was inherited by the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch. Since then the title of Duke of Queensberry has been held by the Dukes of Buccleuch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Clerk Register</span> Scottish Great Officer of State

The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest remaining Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenance and care of the public records of Scotland. Today these duties are administered by the Keeper of the National Records of Scotland and the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. When established originally in the 13th century, the office of Lord Clerk Register was mostly a clerical office role, but by the 15th century, the Clerk Register had become an officer of state with a seat in the Parliament of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rector of the University of Edinburgh</span>

The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as Lord Rector, the incumbent is more commonly known just as the Rector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland</span>

The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. The office has remained unfilled since the death of Gavin Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland</span> One of the officers of the crown in Scotland

The Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland is the keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, and one of the officers of the crown in Scotland. The Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland is the incumbent First Minister of Scotland, currently Humza Yousaf, since March 2023.

The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland.

Extraordinary Lords of Session were lay members of the Court of Session in Scotland from 1532 to 1762, and were part of the historical judiciary of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Stewart, Duke of Ross</span>

James Stewart, Duke of Ross was a Scottish prince, and the second son of King James III of Scotland and his wife, Margaret of Denmark. James was heir presumptive to his brother until his death, and was Archbishop of St Andrews and Lord Chancellor of Scotland.

James Home, 3rd Earl of Home was a Scottish courtier and landowner.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Chancellor | University of St Andrews". www.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Universities (Scotland) Act 1858", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1858 c. 83
  3. Scotland, Great Britain Commission for Visiting the Universities and Colleges of (1 January 1837). Evidence Taken and Received by the Commissioners - Presented to Both Houses of Parliament by Command of His Majesty: University of St. Andrews. W. Clowes and Sons. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 "2010 | Sir Kenneth Dover | University of St Andrews". www.st-andrews.ac.uk. University of St Andrews. 8 March 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  5. "General Council | University of St Andrews". www.st-andrews.ac.uk. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  6. "Meetings | General Council | University of St Andrews". www.st-andrews.ac.uk. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 30 April 2017.