Wanted: One Rector

[Duncan]

Quoting Anon. from 22:01, 16th Sep 2008

What about Ian Hislop? Pretty good at supporting students against the machinations of the University hierarchy, I would have thought, but maybe a bit too busy to give the role much time.

Seconded.

[Hennessy]

I think Ian Hislop would be an excellent idea. Would suit the role perfectly.

[hr]

The Sinner.
"Apologies in advance for pedantry."

[exnihilo]

Someone ought to write to him then. And quickly.

[James Shield]

If you'd like a template letter that I've used for other potential candidates, send me an email on dorep@st-andrews.ac.uk. I can also help you to find addresses to send letters to, etc.

[Anon.]

I'm not a student of the University (or even a member), so I can't nominate him.

[Anon.]

...but wouldn't he look wonderful at his installation! [chortles to self]

[exnihilo]

They'd need to go back to the old gown, the new one would trail.

[ct3012]

Pardon my ignorance, but what does the Rector actually do? I've only been at St Andrews for a year so this hasn't really came up before now.
My only experience of any Rector so far has been seeing the she-devil Lorraine Kelly in a student fire safety dvd sent out to all Dundee uni students (they need that sort of thing, apparently).

[Ewan Husami]

www.yourunion.net/rector

[Bonnie]

What's the gossip around town as to who HAS been nominated? Not, "I like this person" and "I might write to that person", but "I got 20 people to sign the nomination form and handed it into Mrs. Lorraine Fraser."

[pickled]

Hardeep Singh Kohli

He'd be great!

[exnihilo]

Every time there's a thread on Rectors someone proposes this guy. He stood at Glasgow and got thrashed. What the hell makes people think he'd be any good?

[Eliot Wilson]

Dare I ask if anyone has actually been nominated yet, or is it the usual round of idle wish-fulfilment?

[Albany]

My only experience of any Rector so far has been seeing the she-devil Lorraine Kelly in a student fire safety dvd sent out to all Dundee uni students (they need that sort of thing, apparently).

Er... having had had plenty of friends at Dundee Uni over the years she was Rector, I've never heard of such a thing. May I suggest that it certainly wasn't even nearly as widely circulated (to 18,000 students or whatever Dundee has) as you're alleging.

But yeah, link posted above. The Rector is fundamentally the students' representative on the court.

Hardeep Singh Kohli

He'd be great!

He's not great at anything. Not only is he completely unfunny, he also has rather undesirable political opinions as evidenced by his Question Time appearance.

[classydriver]

As someone who has sat on the Court, can I point out that the Rector is *not* fundamentally the students representative on the Court. The President of the Students' Association and the Director of Representation are the student body's representatives on the Court. The Rector is in the chair and thus must preside over the meeting in a non-bias manner. That said, from my own experience, Simon has always been good at ensuring that the student representatives are allowed time to make points they deem of importance to students and their concerns.

Outside of the Court meeting, whatever the Rector does or doesn't do to represent student concerns is entirely at his (or her) discretion.

[anynameyouwant]

Eddie Izzard is the obvious candidate: intelligent; well read; extremely funny.

[exnihilo]

But it might not be a bad idea to select someone who would put the students' interests first. They may not technically be your representative on the Court, but they bloody well ought to be doing their bit for their constituents: the students.

I too have sat on Court, and in my humble experience the Rector can be a far more powerful ally to the students than the president or the DOREP will ever be.

[Eliot Wilson]

Two weeks after I first asked, still no word from anyone who has actually nominated anyone. Is this because:

a) those who are closely and actively involved in putative rectorial campaigns aren't posting on the Sinner, or

b) because, in a shock development, St Andrews students are full of good ideas but haven't got the slightest scrap of motivation to do anything about them?

[RandomMusings]

Eliot, I think it is actually a lot harder to get someone worthy to agree to actually run for the role. I know an awful lot of people have been contacted and they have pretty much all responded with their regret that they cannot donate the time or effort required. Maybe we are paying the price of having such a good rector now - Simon is a hard act to follow.

[exnihilo]

Is he? No disrespect to him, but I find it hard to believe that most of the names mentioned here, if actually approached, would have so much as heard of him. Getting people to answer in the affirmative is really down to drafting the right letter for each potential candidate. Different aspects of the job attract different people, and while a significant proportion will decline due to time, distance, similar commitments elsewhere, there are still plenty who will accept if properly approached.