| Chancellor of the University of St Andrews | |
|---|---|
| Member of | General Council |
| Appointer | Elected by the members of the General Council |
| Term length | Life tenure |
| Constituting instrument | Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 |
| First holder | Henry Wardlaw, Bishop of St Andrews |
| Deputy | Vice-Chancellor |
| Salary | sinecure |
| Website | Chancellor of the University of St Andrews |
The Chancellor of the University of St Andrews is the titular head of the University of St Andrews. Their duties include conferring degrees, promoting the university's image throughout the world, and furthering the university's interests worldwide.[1] The Chancellor does have the power to refuse an "improvement in the internal arrangements of the University", however, there is no evidence of any Chancellor using this effective veto over the University Court.[2]: 12(2)
The Office of the Chancellor has existed since the foundation of the university in the 15th century, and no comprehensive definition of its powers has been made in any modern statute. The remit and powers of the Chancellor were described by Royal Commission on the Universities and Colleges of Scotland, which described the Chancellor of St Andrews thus:
"The Chancellor is the Head of the University... He is consulted, however, on all public matters relative to its welfare, and he is also Conservator of its privileges. By the foundation charters the power of conferring degrees is vested in him: but this he may exercise either personally when present or by his depute when absent, with the advice of the doctors and masters of the University".
— Order XLIX, Commission for Visiting the Universities and Colleges of Scotland[3]
Section 2 of the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 provides that the Chancellor is to be elected by the General Council, to hold office for life, although Sir Kenneth Dover retired in 2005.[2]: Section 2 [4] With the exception of Dover, every Chancellor of the university has been either an archbishop or a peer. The Chancellor is the President of the General Council which meets twice each year, in recent years once in St Andrews and once elsewhere in the United Kingdom.[5][6]
The Chancellor appoints an Assessor to be a member of the university's governing body, the University Court.[1]
