Governance

We are a UK-registered charity incorporated by Royal Charter.

ACU Council May 2024

The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is a UK-registered charity incorporated by Royal Charter.

The ACU Council is our governing body and is responsible for overseeing the organisation’s activities and determining its future strategic direction. Council members also act as our Trustees.

The Council is made up of a maximum of 23 members, who are vice-chancellors of ACU member universities from across the Commonwealth, elected by their peers within the ACU membership network.

Our current Council members are:

Chair: Professor Cheryl de la Rey** - University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Vice-Chair: Professor Wendy Thomson CBE* - University of London, UK

Honorary Treasurer: Professor Edmund Burke*** – Bangor University, UK 

* Member in 1st Term of Office

**Member in 2nd Term of Office

*** Co-opted

Executive Committee

  • Chair: Professor Cheryl de la Rey**, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
  • Professor Wendy Thomson CBE*, University of London, UK
  • Professor Barnabas Nawangwe* – Makerere University, Uganda
  • Professor Pal Ahluwalia* – University of the South Pacific, Fiji
  • Dr Rhonda L Lenton* – York University, Canada
  • Professor Edmund Burke*** – Bangor University, UK 

Audit and Risk Committee

    • Chair: Professor Amanda Broderick** – University of East London, UK
    • Graeme Appleby – The British Academy, UK
    • Professor Sir Hilary Beckles* - The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
    • Professor Abiodun H Adebayo - Covenant University, Nigeria

Find out more about the role and functions of our Council and what being a Council member entails

Policies