The Council is the governing body of the University. It is ultimately responsible for the overall planning and management of the University, including (among others):
- additions, amendments and revocations to the Statutes and Ordinances
- the making of regulations
- the management of financial and physical resources
- the appointment and management of staff
- the supervision of commercial and trading activities
- the execution, variation and rescission of contracts on behalf of the University.
The Council is also responsible for ensuring that the funding made available to the University by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is used as prescribed.
The Council derives its existence and authority from Article 11 of the Charter. The powers vested in the Council are set out in Section 18 of the Statutes. The Council's primary responsibilities and scheme of delegation is set out in the Statement of the Council's Primary Responsibilities and delegated and related matters. The Standing Orders of the Council set out such matters as the conduct of meetings, quorum and voting, registration and declaration of interests, arrangements for committees (including joint committees) and the role of the Nominations Committee.
Much of the business of the Council is transacted through the committee structure. The University's committee structure chart sets out the various committees of Council and Senate and their relationships.
The composition of the Council is set out in Section 17 of the Statutes. This provides that Council shall consist of members of different classes, namely: (1) officers; (2) twelve members appointed by the Council; (3) six members appointed by the Senate; (4) one member of the non-teaching staff; (5) the President of the Students’ Union.
The Secretary to the Council is the Registrar and Chief Operating Officer, Mr Simon Higman. Day-to-day enquiries should be addressed to the Assistant Secretary, Secretariat. The confirmed, unrestricted/ non-confidential minutes of Council meetings are publicly available and copies can be obtained by e-mailing H.Daggenhurst@soton.ac.uk
To view abridged biographical details of members of the Council, arranged by class of membership, please click on the relevant class of membership below.
Class 2: Members appointed by the Council
Class 3: Members appointed by the Senate