Leicester students pass vote of no confidence in Vice-Chancellor
Written by Max Ashforth
Students have no confidence in the Vice-Chancellor and Executive Board at the University of Leicester.
It comes from a vote of no confidence being passed in a student referendum, conducted by the Students’ Union.
The result saw 1,010 students voting for and 82 voting against a vote of no confidence.
Reed James, a key figure in the vote of no confidence campaign, said: “He [the VC] doesn’t seem to really understand student concerns or understand how to communicate with us
“The Vice Chancellor refused to put out a statement against the referendum. Refusing to defend himself says so much.”
Following the result, the Students’ Union have outlined their next steps in a statement:
“It would become a Union policy and therefore the Students’ Union would support the position that students do not have confidence in the VC or Executive Board of the University of Leicester.
“This would not lead to the VC or/and the Executive Board losing their positions, this is for the University Governance Structures to decide.
“We would work as an Executive Committee, and with the relevant students to lobby and communicate the position of ‘no confidence’ to the University.”
Reed added: “What we can now do is tell the Vice Chancellor that we don’t want to be ignored anymore”
“The fact that 1010 Student’s voted for yes compared to only 82 for no shows how much Student’s feel like the University has failed them and needs change.”
The University have since commented: “We are disappointed to learn about the result of today’s vote.
“The University’s leadership team have worked tirelessly to support students through an unprecedented and challenging time, ensuring that they can continue their education and access mental health and wellbeing support.
“We will continue to engage with the Students’ Union and our student body.”
Max Ashforth is a first-year journalism student with aspirations to pursue a career in journalism. You can find him on instagram @Max_Ashforth.
Image taken by LSM member Ollie Monk
