Council - University of Birmingham

The Council is the University's supreme governing body, responsible for the approval of the mission and strategic vision of the University; monitoring institutional performance against plans and approved KPIs; control of assets; finances, estates and long-term business plans; annual budgets and accounts; oversight of HR policy and employment matters; the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor; ensuring that control and accountability systems for all matters are in place and monitored, including risk assessment and conflict of interest procedures.

The Council annually adopts a Code of Practice on Corporate Governance and Related Procedural Matters which sets out the Council's primary responsibilities and provides a foundation for the work of Council and its committees.

Membership 2026/27

The Council has 24 members, with a diversity of backgrounds and experience. Two-thirds of who are independent 'lay' members (neither employees nor students of the University) and the remainder are academic staff and students.

The Chair of the Council, the Pro-Chancellor, is elected from amongst the lay members. Mervyn Walker is the current Pro-Chancellor.

The membership of the Council for 2026/27 is:

16 Lay Members

	Term of Office (to 31 July unless otherwise stated)
Lucy Baldwin	2030
Lisa Fretwell	2030
Tim Gardam CBE	2028*
Matthew Hammond	2030
Rosie Harris	2030
President Robert J. Jones	2029
Francesca Lagerberg	2030
Sarah Lee	2029
Anthony Lilley OBE	2029**
Nick Owen - Deputy Pro-Chancellor (Finance)	2029
Yogesh Patel	2029
Sunil Purohit	2030
Julie Swann	2030
Mervyn Walker - Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council	2030
Dr Thomas Waite OBE	2028
Vacancy
*Term of office expires on 30 November 2028
**Term of office expires on 31 January 2029

8 Academic and Student Members

Professor Adam Tickell - Vice-Chancellor and Principal

Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams - Provost and Vice-Principal

4 Academic Staff elected by and from the Academic Members of Senate

	Term of Office (to 31 July - unless otherwise stated)
Professor Elizabeth Sapey	2028
Professor Matthew Broome	2028
Professor Aleksandra Cavoski	2028
Vacancy

The President and one other Student Officer of the Guild of Students:

Olly Ashton - President of the Guild of Students

Abhijeet Patel - International Officer, Guild of Students

Secretary to Council

Nicola Owen - Registrar, Secretary, and Chief Operating Officer

Terms of Reference

The powers of the Council are set out in the Charter and Statutes of the University. The primary responsibilities of Council can be summarised as:

To approve the mission and strategic vision of the University, long-term academic and business plans and key performance indicators, and to ensure that these meet the interests of stakeholders.

To ensure that processes are in place to monitor and evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the University against the plans and approved key performance indicators, which should be - where possible and appropriate - benchmarked against other comparable institutions.

To ensure the establishment and monitoring of systems of control and accountability, including financial and operational controls and risk assessment, and procedures for handling internal grievances and for managing conflicts of interest.

To delegate authority to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, as head of the University, for the academic, corporate, financial, estate and human resource management of the University and to keep under regular review how such management functions are undertaken by and under the authority of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

To safeguard the good name and values of the University.

To be the employing authority for all staff in the University and to be responsible for regular review of its human resources strategy.

To be the principal financial and business authority of the University, to ensure that proper books of account are kept, to approve the annual budget and financial statements, and to have overall responsibility for the University's assets, property and estate.

To be the University's legal authority and, as such, to ensure that systems are in place for meeting all the University's legal obligations, including those arising from contracts and other legal commitments made in the institution's name.

To receive assurance that adequate provision has been made for the general welfare of students.

Committees of Council

The four Committees of Council are:

Further information about Committees can be obtained by contacting be contacting the Secretary for the Committee. The Secretary's contact details can be found on the individual web page for each Committee.