Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
Encyclopedia
The Chancellor is the titular head of the University of St Andrews
. His duties include conferring degrees
, promoting the University’s image throughout the world, and furthering its interests, both within Scotland
and beyond.
The Office of the Chancellor has existed since the foundation of the University and no comprehensive definition of its powers has been made in any modern statute. The most authoritative definition is contained in the return made by the University to the Royal Commission on the Universities and Colleges of Scotland of 1826 which states: "The Chancellor is head of the University. He is consulted on all public matters relative to its welfare, and he is also Conservator of its privileges. The power of conferring degrees is vested in him: 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". 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. The Chancellor is the ordinary President
of the General Council which meets twice each year, in recent years once in St Andrews
and once elsewhere in the UK.
The Chancellor appoints an Assessor to be a member of the University's governing body, the University Court
.
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
. His duties include conferring degrees
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
, promoting the University’s image throughout the world, and furthering its interests, both within Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and beyond.
The Office of the Chancellor has existed since the foundation of the University and no comprehensive definition of its powers has been made in any modern statute. The most authoritative definition is contained in the return made by the University to the Royal Commission on the Universities and Colleges of Scotland of 1826 which states: "The Chancellor is head of the University. He is consulted on all public matters relative to its welfare, and he is also Conservator of its privileges. The power of conferring degrees is vested in him: 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". The Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 provides that the Chancellor is to be elected by the General Council
General Council of St Andrews University
The General Council of the University of St Andrews is the corporate body of all graduates and senior academics of the University of St Andrews in Scotland...
, to hold office for life, although Sir Kenneth Dover
Kenneth Dover
Sir Kenneth James Dover, FRSE, FBA was a distinguished British Classical scholar and academic, who was head of an Oxford college and from 1981 until his retirement in December 2005 was Chancellor of the University of St Andrews....
retired in 2005. The Chancellor is the ordinary President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the General Council which meets twice each year, in recent years once in St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
and once elsewhere in the UK.
The Chancellor appoints an Assessor to be a member of the University's governing body, the University Court
University Court
A University Court is an administrative body of a university in the United Kingdom. In England's Oxbridge such a Court carries out limited judicial functions; whereas in Scotland it is a University's supreme governing body, analogous to a Board of Directors or a Board of Trustees.-England:In the...
.
List of Chancellors of the University of St Andrews
- 1413-1440 Henry WardlawHenry WardlawHenry Wardlaw was a Scottish church leader, Bishop of St Andrews and founder of the University of St Andrews.He was a son of II Laird of Wilton Henry Wardlaw who was b. 1318, and a nephew of Walter Wardlaw Henry Wardlaw (died 6 April 1440) was a Scottish church leader, Bishop of St Andrews and...
, Bishop of St Andrews - 1440-1465 James Kennedy, Bishop of St Andrews
- 1465-1478 Patrick Graham, Archbishop of St AndrewsArchbishop of St AndrewsThe Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...
- 1478-1497 William SchevesWilliam SchevesWilliam Scheves was the second Archbishop of St. Andrews. In his earlier ecclesiastical career, he had been clericus regiae and Master of the hospital of Brechin. In 1474 he was provided unsuccessful to the Archdeaconry of Dunblane, but by the beginning of 1477 he was Archdeacon of St Andrews...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1497-1504 James, Duke of Ross, Archbishop of St Andrews
- 1504-1513 Alexander StewartAlexander Stewart (Archbishop of St Andrews)Alexander Stewart was an illegitimate son of King James IV of Scotland and his mistress Marion Boyd. He was the eldest illegitimate child of King James IV of Scotland his mistress Marion Boyd...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1514-1521 Andrew FormanAndrew FormanAndrew Forman was a Scottish diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 as well as the headship of several monasteries....
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1522-1539 James BeatonJames BeatonDr. James Beaton was a Scottish church leader, the uncle of Dr. David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland....
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1539-1546 David BeatonDavid BeatonThe Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1547-1571 John HamiltonJohn Hamilton (archbishop)The Most Rev. Dr. John Hamilton , Scottish prelate and politician, was an illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1572-1574 John DouglasJohn Douglas (archbishop)John Douglas was Archbishop of St. Andrews from 1572 to 1574. As was tradition from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, the Archbishop would take on the role of Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, as the University had strong links with the Pre-Reformation church.Douglas was one of...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1576-1592 Patrick AdamsonPatrick AdamsonPatrick Adamson , Scottish divine, Archbishop of St Andrews, was born at Perth, Scotland, where his father, Patrick Adamson, was Dean of the Merchant Guildry. He studied Philosophy, and took the degree of M.A...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1592-1595 John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of ThirlestaneJohn Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of ThirlestaneJohn Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, , Knight , was Lord Chancellor of Scotland.He was the second son of Sir Richard Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire, and Lethington, Haddingtonshire, who settled the lands of Thirlestane upon him, and he was sent abroad for his education.Upon John...
- 1597-1598 John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord MenmuirJohn Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir-Life:He was second son of David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford, by his wife Catherine Campbell, daughter of Sir John Campbell of Lorn. Along with his brother David Lindsay, lord Edzell, he was sent under the care of James Lawson to complete his education on the continent...
- 1599-1604 John Graham, 3rd Earl of MontroseJohn Graham, 3rd Earl of MontroseJohn Graham, 3rd Earl of Montrose was a Scottish peer and Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1599 to 1604. He was Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland, from 1605 to 1607....
- 1604-1615 George GledstanesGeorge GledstanesGeorge Gledstanes was an Archbishop of St Andrews during the seventeenth century.-Early life:George Gledstanes was a son of Herbert Gladstanes, clerk of Dundee, and one of the bailies of that town. He was born there between 1560 and 1565, and after spending some time at Dundee Grammar School went...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1615-1639 John SpottiswoodeJohn SpottiswoodeJohn Spottiswoode was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland and historian of Scotland.-Life:...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1643-1661 John Campbell, 1st Earl of LoudounJohn Campbell, 1st Earl of LoudounJohn Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun was a Scottish politician. He was the eldest son of James Campbell of LawersJohn Campbell married Margaret, the daughter of George Campbell around 1620. Margaret was heir to her grandfather Hugh Campbell, first Lord Loudoun, who resigned his peerage in John's...
- 1661-1679 James Sharp, Archbishop of St Andrews
- 1679-1684 Alexander BurnetAlexander BurnetAlexander Burnet was a 17th century Scottish prelate. Born in the summer of 1615 to James Burnet and Christian née Dundas, he gained an MA from the University of Edinburgh in 1633. He chose to follow the career of his father, who had been minister of Lauder, by becoming a churchman himself...
, Archbishop of St Andrews - 1684-1689 Arthur Ross, Archbishop of St Andrews
- 1697-1724 John Murray, 1st Duke of AthollJohn Murray, 1st Duke of AthollJohn Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl, KT, PC was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and soldier. He served in numerous positions during his life, and fought in the Glorious Revolution for William III and Mary II....
- 1724-1744 James Brydges, 1st Duke of ChandosJames Brydges, 1st Duke of ChandosJames Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, MP, PC was the first of fourteen children by Sir James Brydges, 3rd Baronet of Wilton Castle, Sheriff of Herefordshire, 8th Baron Chandos; and Elizabeth Barnard...
- 1746-1765 HRH Prince William Augustus, Duke of CumberlandPrince William Augustus, Duke of CumberlandPrince William , was a younger son of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and Duke of Cumberland from 1726. He is generally best remembered for his role in putting down the Jacobite Rising at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and as such is also known as "Butcher" Cumberland...
- 1765-1787 Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of KinnoullThomas Hay, 9th Earl of KinnoullThomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull PC was a Scottish peer and British politician.Hay was elected for Scarborough in 1736, but his election was overturned on petition. He sat as Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 1741 until 1758...
- 1788-1811 Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount MelvilleHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount MelvilleHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC and Baron Dunira was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and the last person to be impeached in the United Kingdom....
- 1811-1814 HRH Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge
- 1814-1851 Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount MelvilleRobert Dundas, 2nd Viscount MelvilleRobert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville KT, PC, FRS was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was also Keeper of the Signet for Scotland from 1800...
- 1851-1900 George Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll
- 1900-1922 Alexander Hugh Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh
- 1922-1928 Douglas Haig, 1st Earl HaigDouglas Haig, 1st Earl HaigField Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
of Bemersyde - 1928 Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane
- 1929-1947 Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
- 1948-1973 Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of HamiltonDouglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of HamiltonAir Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, KT, GCVO, AFC, PC, DL, FRCSE, FRGS, was a Scottish nobleman and pioneering aviator....
- 1973-1980 Bernard Edward Fergusson, BrigadierBrigadierBrigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
The Lord Ballantrae - 1981-2005 Sir Kenneth DoverKenneth DoverSir Kenneth James Dover, FRSE, FBA was a distinguished British Classical scholar and academic, who was head of an Oxford college and from 1981 until his retirement in December 2005 was Chancellor of the University of St Andrews....
- 2006- Sir Menzies CampbellMenzies CampbellSir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...
See also
- Governance of the University of St Andrews