University Senat
University Senate
The Senate was constituted by the Letters Patent of 1857 as a Body Corporate under the name, style, and title of "The Chancellor, Doctors, and Masters of the University of Dublin". It shall be and shall continue to be a body corporate with a common seal, and shall have power under the said seal to do all such acts as may be lawful for it to do in conformity with the laws and statutes of the State and with the Charters and Statutes of the College.It consists of the Chancellor and the Pro-Chancellors; Doctors and Masters of the University are members of the Senate in accordance with the regulations and conditions as the Board enacts. The Chancellor, as the head of the Body Corporate, is the official custodian of the Common Seal of the Senate. (The 1966 Consolidated Statutes of Trinity College, Dublin and of the University of Dublin (As amended up to and including the Ordinance of 17 January 2006), Chapter X, Para.1)
Membership of University Senate
The University Senate consists of the Caput, together with resident Doctors and Masters of the University in several categories as follows:- Resident doctor or masters of the University, that is, doctors or masters, who are not members of the College or University staff, but who hold rooms in College or are in attendance on lectures in arts or in the professional schools.
- Doctors and masters of the University who have held a studentship of the University or are moderators who have obtained a large gold medal, or moderators who have obtained a gold medal in or after 1935, or moderators who have obtained two moderatorships of a class higher than class III, and who have applied to the Registrar of the Senate to have their names entered permanently on the College books, as members of the Senate, without payment of a fee.
- Former Fellows of the College.
- Representatives and former representatives of the University in Seanad Éireann.
- Members of the staff of the College or University, during their tenure of office.
- Doctors or masters of the University who have applied to the Registrar of the Senate to have their names placed permanently on the College books, as members of the Senate, on payment of a fee of €65.
The Student and Graduate Records Office maintains an up-to-date register of the Members of the University Senate, which is available from the Office for internal College purposes only.
Those wishing to query the status of their membership should contact the Student and Graduate Records Office in the first instance.
Business Meetings
In consultation with the Chancellor and Registrar, the Student and Graduate Records Office is responsible for organising and supporting Business meetings of the University Senate which conduct statutory business other than the conferring of degrees.
Stated business meetings of the Senate are held in Michaelmas and Hilary term, and at such other times as convened by the Chancellor. Statutory business items include inter alia:
- Election to the Office of Chancellor or Pro-Chancellor
- Proposals for honorary degrees
- Proposals for degrees jure officii
- Institution of new degrees
Dates of stated business meetings are normally listed in the Almanack annually. In addition, members are notified by email in advance of scheduled meetings. Senate members may update their contact details by emailing Student and Graduate Records Office.