Administration
Academics at Queen's is organized into ten undergraduate, graduate and professional faculties and schools. The governance of the university is conducted through the Board of Trustees, the Senate, and the University Council, all three of which were established under the Royal Charter of 1841. The Board is responsible for the university's conduct and management and its property, revenues, business, and affairs. Ex officio governors of the Board include the university's chancellor, principal and the rector. The Board has 34 other trustees, 33 of which are elected by the various members of the university community, including elected representatives from the student body. The representative from Queen's Theological College is the only appointed trustee.
The Senate is responsible for determining all academic matters affecting the university as a whole, including student discipline. The Senate consists of 17 ex officio positions granted to the principal and vice-chancellor, the vice-principals of the university, the senior dean of each faculty, dean of student affairs, the deputy provost, and the presidents of the undergraduate, graduate and faculty associations. The Senate also consists of 55 other members, appointed or elected by various communities of the university including elected representatives of the student body.
The Royal Charter of 1841 was amended to include the University Council in 1874. The Council is a composite of the Board of Trustees, senators and an equal number of elected graduates. It serves as both an advisory and an ambassadorial body to the university as a whole and is responsible for the election of the chancellor. Although it is not directly involved in operations, the Council may bring to the Senate or Board of Trustees any matter that it believes affects Queen's well-being. The Council meets once per year, typically in May.
The Chancellor is the highest officer and the ceremonial head of the university. The office was created in 1874 and first filled in 1877, although it was only enshrined in law in 1882 after its amendment into the Royal Charter of 1841. The responsibilities of the chancellor includes presiding over convocations, conferring degrees, chairing the annual meetings of the Council and is an ex officio, voting member of the Board of Trustees. A person is elected to the office of chancellor on a three-year term by the Council unless there is more than one candidate, in which case an election is conducted among Queen's graduates.
The Principal acts as the chief executive officer of the university under the authority of the Board and the Senate, and supervises and directs the academic and administrative work of the university and of its teaching and non-teaching staff. As of 1974, principals were appointed for five-year terms, renewable subject to review. The formal authority for the appointment of the Principal rests under the Royal Charter with the Board of Trustees although recent principals have been selected by a joint committee of trustees and senators. As of 2011 Daniel Woolf was the twentieth principal, serving since 1 September 2009. The office of the vice-chancellor has typically been held by the incumbent principal. In 1961, an amendment was secured by the Board to separate the office of principal from vice-chancellor if it wished. The first, and only person to ever hold the office of vice-chancellor, but not the office of principal, was William Archibald Mackintosh.
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