The Pool is comprised of 46 persons, elected by Congregation, in one of seven constituencies: six members representing each of (1-4) the four academic divisions; (5) Gardens, Libraries and Museums; and (6) University Administration and Services; and (7) ten members of Congregation, not necessarily representing any division and not in any case being nominated in a divisional capacity.
Elections to the Pool restrict candidates to those members of Congregation to whom Statute XII applies (that is: professors, readers, associate professors or lecturers; any employee of the University who is a member of the Universities Superannuation Scheme or who would be a member if he or she had not been exempted under the provisions of Statute XIV; and the Vice-Chancellor to the extent and in the manner set out in Part G of Statute XII). College staff are not covered by Statute XII as colleges have their own statutes. The exception is college staff at Kellogg, St Cross and Reuben, which follow the University's statutes. Any staff holding joint appointments will, however, be covered by Statute XII in respect of their University contract of employment and duties.
This means that all members of Congregation are eligible to nominate a candidate or to vote, but prospective candidates who want to stand for election must be a member of Congregation to whom Statute XII applies. By convention, it is expected that candidates for election to represent a constituency will also be a member of that constituency.
The full term of office is four years (or less, when a by-election is held to fill the residue of the term of office for an elected member who is standing down early).
Further information about the Pool
The terms of reference and membership of this body are set out in Council Regulations 3 of 2017
Members of the Pool will be chosen by lot to serve on a number of Panels under Statute XII (i.e. Redundancy Panel (Section 14 (6)), Staff Employment Review Panel (Section 35) and University Appeal Panel (Section 52 (2)) and may be expected to also chair a Panel. Before serving on a Panel, each member of the Pool will be required to attend appropriate training, including on equality and diversity, which takes about half a day in total. Because members of the Pool are chosen by lot, it is hard to predict how many times a member will be asked to serve, but at the very most this is likely to be three Panels in a year (and often less), which each take around a day – before the hearing there will also be a large bundle of papers to read. Nominations from BME staff, from men and from academic and research staff are particularly encouraged. No particular skills/experience are necessary, but an interest in staffing matters is helpful.
For further information, please contact the Secretary
