St Chad's College - Governance

Governance

The college's Visitor is the Archbishop of York, currently John Sentamu. The Visitor exercises customary visitorial functions and is the court of final appeal for any matters referred to him or her by the Governing Body. The Visitor is appointed by the Governing Body for a renewable five-year period. In matters regarding the university itself (say those brought forward by students), the university's visitor has jurisdiction.

The college's Rector is Michael Sadgrove, the Dean of Durham Cathedral. The Rector is the titular head of the college, who has responsibility for monitoring the college's furtherance of its Anglican tradition and for interpreting college statutes. Ceremonially, the Rector presides at many official functions in college: the role is akin to the Chancellor's role in the university.

The college is governed by a twenty-member Governing Body, headed by Jonathan Blackie CBE, who retired in 2011 from his post as Regional Director of Government Office North East. Responsibility for purely academic matters rests with the Council of Fellows. The Principal, as chief executive, sits on both the Governing Body and the Council of Fellows. The majority of governors are lay members, which is to say they are from outside the college. The university and the dioceses of York, Durham, Newcastle and Carlisle all nominate governors, though they must be approved by the college's governing body.