Court of Governors
Memorandum and Articles of Association
The articles of association are the University’s internal rulebook and regulate the internal management of the University, setting out how decisions are made and various other matters
The University adopted the current articles of association at the Privy Council meeting held October 2010.
Download the University's current Memorandum and Articles of Association PDF (97kbs)
The composition of the University of Westminster's Court of Governors is set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association: the relevant section is appended.
The Nomination and Appointment Procedure is intended to provide detail and supplement that section, and follows the principles of the second report of the Nolan Committee on Standards in Public Life, the good practice guide published by the Committee of University Chairmen (CUC), and the Equal Opportunities Policies of the University. It is considered essential to good governance that all governors should continue to be appointed on the same basis, that is, as governors, members and directors of the company and trustees of the University of Westminster.
List of members
Mr David Batchelor
Mr Batchelor is a chartered accountant and former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner with extensive commercial and professional experience in a wide range of business sectors. He is also currently a non-executive director of Inspace plc, C B Richard Ellis Investors (Jersey) Limited and Easter Holdings Limited.
Mr Robert Briant, BA
Mr Briant is a senior IT support analyst in ISLS and is the elected representative of the University of Westminster’s non-teaching staff.
Mrs Rita Bellamy-James, LLB (Hons), CQSW Barrister
Mrs Bellamy-James is a freelance consultant.
Mr Anupam Ganguli, BA (Hons) Economics, MBA, FCA
Mr Ganguli is Executive Director of Resources for the Arts Council England. He is a governor of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, a trustee of the Legacy Trust and the Runnymede Trust and an independent member of the audit committee of Historic Royal Palaces.
Stephen Hart, BA
Mr Hart is a solicitor, currently working as an employment and public lawyer for HM Government.
The Hon Dame Mary Hogg, DBE, FRSA
The Hon Dame Mary Hogg has an honorary LLD from the University. A former QC, she is now a High Court judge in the Family Division. Her great-grandfather, Quintin Hogg, founded the Polytechnic.
Mr Trevor Hope, ACIB, DipFS, CIM, MBA
Mr Hope is the Chief Investment Officer of international venture capital firm Beringea LLP.
Mr Paul Hopper, BA, MSc, MBA
Mr Paul Hopper has retired as Managing Director with the London Tourist Board and Convention Bureau and is Chairman of Grays of Cambridge (International) Ltd.
Mr Peter Kyle, OBE, CCMI
Mr Kyle is Deputy Chairman.
Mr Richard Lane, BA, MBA
Mr Lane is a partner and the Head of the corporate team of solicitors, Farrer & Co.
Mr Tarik Mahri
Mr Mahri is the 2011/12 President of the University of Westminster Students' Union.
Ms Maggie Lee, BA
Ms Lee is a freelance broadcaster, writer and independent consultant.
Sir Francis Mackay
Sir Francis is a qualified accountant and one of Britain's most successful international business leaders. He has held the rare distinction of simultaneously chairing two FTSE 100 companies. He was knighted in recognition of his services to the hospitality industry and charity. He holds an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University.
Professor Graham Megson BSc (Leeds), PhD (Loughborough), MBA (Reading), FBCS, CITP, CEng
Professor Megson is Dean of the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Westminster and a professor of computer science with particular interests in parallel computation, neural networks and emergent algorithms and is the elected representative for academic council. He has published more than 200 research papers, including five books, on these and related topics. He sits on a number of editorial boards for technical journals and has interests in change management and organisational development.
Mr Gary Morley, FCA
Mr Morley is a chartered accountant and has been a principal with McIntyre Hudson since 2010. He is also a trustee of the British Suzuki Institute and Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. He is a freeman of the City of London.
Mr Philip Murphy, BSc, MRICS
Mr Murphy is a partner, with particular responsibilities for project and cost management and business strategy, with PRP Architects, a multi-disciplinary design practice of 400 staff based in Smithfield. PRP is the country's leading housing and regeneration design and delivery consultancy, with very strong links to public sector clients from HCA, through regional development agencies, local authorities and housing associations.
Mrs Carole Mainstone, BA, MA, MBA
Mrs Mainstone is registrar and secretary and clerk to the court.
Mrs Kate Pattison, MA
Mrs Pattison is the Executive Officer in the Vice-Chancellor's office.
Professor Geoffrey Petts, BSc, PhD, FRSA, FRGS
Professor Petts is the Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University.
Mr Mike Staples, FRICS
Mr Staples was until recently a director of Skanska International Projects and formerly European Managing Director of Hanscomb, an international firm of professional quantity surveyors. He is currently partner and Head of Europe with Rider Levett Bucknall UK Ltd.
Dr Suzy Walton, BSc, MSc, PhD, CSci, C Psychol, C Dir, FRSA, AFBPsS
Dr Walton was a senior civil servant in central government for over a decade, serving in the Prime Minister’s strategy and delivery units in the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. She is a non-executive director of several public interest organisations including Birmingham Children’s Hospital. She is a member of the ethics group of the National DNA Database and a member of the National Specialised Commissioning Group for the Department of Health. From 2000-2006 she was a lay member of the Bar Council’s complaints committee. She is also a mother of four and had an earlier career in the media as a producer, presenter and editor for the BBC, Sky News and LBC Radio.
Ms Kieran Williams
Ms Williams is a lecturer in the Westminster Business School and the elected representative for teaching staff.
Mrs Diane Yeo, BSc, FRSA, FInstF
Mrs Yeo is currently an independent consultant and chairman of the Arts Educational Schools London.
Independent members
Where a vacancy exists for an independent member of the Court of Governors, the nominations committee will consider whether, having regard to the balance of existing membership on the governing body and the needs of the institution, specific guidelines should be established in respect of the nomination in addition to the generic criteria.
A vacancy for an independent member of the Court of Governors will be publicised within the University (through the Vice-Chancellor's letter to staff), and to the Court of Governors, together with a note of the ordinary criteria for membership and any guidelines agreed by the nominations committee, with a deadline for receipt of nominations. Vacancies may also be advertised in the media, circulated to employers' organisations and placed on the internet.
Members of the University, and of the Court of Governors, will be invited to submit nominations to the clerk to the court, in confidence, for consideration by the nominations committee. No commitment may be made to the proposed nominee (since not all nominations will be successful) and nominations must be accompanied by brief biographical details and reasons for the proposal. Applications received by the clerk to the court as a result of advertisement will also be put to the nominations committee for consideration.
The nominations committee will consider all nominations and/or applications submitted by the due date, and make such additional enquiries as it believes appropriate. It will consider, inter alia, whether the person(s) nominated or applying are qualified in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the needs of the court and of the University in respect of particular expertise or experience. Qualified persons will be invited in to the University for an interview with members of the nominations committee.
The committee may either reject a nomination/application, or advise the person that their nomination will be recommended to the court for approval at a later date, or make a formal recommendation for approval at the next meeting of the Court of Governors.
The full Court of Governors will consider recommendations and supporting documentation. Any recommendation to invite an individual to serve as an independent governor must be supported by the majority of the independent members of the court.
Co-opted members
The University and the Court of Governors wish to maintain their ongoing links with Westminster City Council and will therefore continue to request that body to nominate a councillor representative to the court for a period to be agreed with the nominating body but not exceeding three years. The nomination will be subject to formal endorsement by the full Court of Governors.The University and the Court of Governors wish to maintain the current representation of both teaching and non-teaching staff achieved through the co-option of one member elected by and from each of those constituencies. The co-options will be subject to formal endorsement by the full Court of Governors.
Where a vacancy exists for a co-opted member outwith these categories, nomination and appointment will proceed as for independent members.
Other constituencies
The constituency for one student nominated by the Students' Union will continue to be nominated on an annual basis. The University and the court would encourage the Students' Union to continue its current practice of nominating the Students' Union president. This nomination as a co-opted member is subject to formal endorsement by the full Court of Governors.The constituency for one teacher nominated by academic council is subject to formal endorsement by the full Court of Governors.
Terms of office
The clerk to the court will write to all nominees/applicants on their endorsement by the court and advise all new non-staff governors that they will be expected to serve on at least one of the sub-committees of the court.A member of the court of governors shall normally be appointed for a period of three years, with the following exceptions:
- the student nomination shall be for a period of one year
- the co-option of nominee from Westminster City Council shall be for a period agreed with the nominating body but not exceeding three years
- the chairman shall be appointed for a period of five years, such period to start from the date of his/her appointment as chairman and supersede any previous period of tenure
- The nominations committee may identify circumstances in which the membership of an individual governor should exceptionally be extended beyond this point (such as the wish of the University and the court to maintain its link with the family of its founder). Such recommendations shall be subject to the approval of the Court of Governors
The committee will identify any special considerations in respect of individual governors and make recommendations to the court where it considers that, exceptionally, an individual term of office should be extended. The clerk to the court will advise governors where their term of office has expired and may not be extended.
The clerk to the court will also enquire of governors eligible for a further term whether they would be prepared to serve for a further term if so requested.
At the same time, a call for nominations will be published/elections organised, if and as necessary, under the procedures outlined above.
The nominations committee will receive nominations and indications of willingness to serve from current governors. When nominations for renewal of membership are being considered, and especially for a third term, they will be considered against explicit criteria, such as regularity of attendance at meetings of the court and its sub-committees. The nominations committee will consider the balance of expertise and experience on the court and the balance between continuity and change, and put appropriate recommendations to the Court of Governors.
