The hunt is on to find the new chairperson
Before 2023 rolls around, SDU must have appointed a new chairperson of the board. But what is an appointment body, and who does it consist of?
A few weeks ago, an email was sent out to all students at the University of Southern Denmark about SDU's Appointment Body. It was something along the lines of Electoral Group III, Section 9 of SDU's Statutes and electronic polling.
Merit has set out to get to grips with everything. To do that, we've teamed up with Lisbeth Broegaard Petersen, Chief Legal Officer of the Rector's Office.
What is the point of an appointment body?
To kick off with, let's have Lisbeth Broegaard Petersen cut things down to the nitty-gritty:
- The appointing body is the body which appoints the chairperson of the Board and members of the University's Board of Directors.
Getting a little more technical, the appointment body is a group that is part of a larger process. That's because another group has singled out in advance the candidates to choose from:
- We have a nominating body, which posts public job adverts stating that SDU is seeking a chairperson or new members of the University's Board. The nomination body then nominates a number of candidates, who are then appointed by the appointment body.
After deciding upon a candidate, the next group takes over: the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. Once the Ministry has approved the candidate, SDU has a new chairperson of the Board. This needs to be done by 2023.
To summarise:
- A group called the nominating body finds candidates for the post of chairperson of the Board.
- A group called the appointment body selects the most suitable candidate among the pool of candidates.
- The Ministry approves the chairperson.
- The Chairperson of the Board is appointed to the Board.
What is an appointment body composed of?
The appointment body consists of ten members:
- Seven members hail from the business community, authorities and organisations. Another member is a representative of the Board. Finally, there is an employee representative and a student representative, Lisbeth Broegaard Petersen explains.
As a representative of the students, you are seated at the table with bigwigs from different parts of society. SDU's current list includes directors from the museum world, business community, the healthcare system as well as a former police commissioner.
This time, SDU is seeking a representative among our employees and among our students to join the club and represent the University from within when it's time for the big event: Appointing the new chairperson of the Board.
The elections are imminent
If you want to run for the seat as student representative on the appointment board, please visit this page. Make sure to announce your candidacy by 8 March at 12.00 noon, which is the deadline.
If there are multiple candidates for the seat, this results in elections, in which you, as a student, vote for the listed students. The elections take place between 15 March at 9.00 a.m. and 16 March at 7.00 p.m. via this link.
Lisbeth Broegaard Petersen explains that the seat on the appointment body is unpaid and that SDU cannot say with certainty how many meetings you are expected to sit in. However, they expect no more than a handful over the spring and autumn when the chairperson will be elected.
If you have questions about the appointing body, running for the election or the actual elections, SDU encourages you to write at valg@sdu.dk.