Trustee Board
Reading University Students’ Union is a charitable organisation and is governed by a board of trustees. The role of the trustees is to provide the organisation with direction on major issues.
The Trustee Board consists of five full time Officer Trustees and three Student Trustees elected annually by secret cross campus ballot and between two and four External Trustees, appointed by a simple majority vote of the Students’ Union Appointments Committee. It is supported by the senior management team. The Trustee Board is the decision maker of the Students’ Union and has end line collective responsibility for all activities of the Students’ Union. The duties of the Trustees are to ensure proper and prudent administration of the organisation both legally and financially.
Student Trustees are elected in by the student body in the annual RUSU elections. Like the Student Officers the Student Trustees keep office for a period of one year. It is a voluntary role undertaken alongside their degree. A Student Trustee (if re-elected) may serve up to two consecutive terms.
Alongside the Student Officers and External Trustees the Student Trustee role is to make important decisions about RUSU and to guide the direction and strategy of the Union.
The Student Trustees for the academic year 2011-12 are:
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Freddie Clifford
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Hannah Hayes
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Emily Hatcher
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External Trustees are selected through an application process for their knowledge and experience. They serve a term of office of up to two years and may serve a maximum of two terms, which may either be consecutive or non-consecutive.
The External Trustees provide valuable assistance in the process of setting and monitoring the strategy of the Union.
RUSU currently has three External Trustees:
John Cryne (2010-present)
John is an alumnus of Reading University having graduated in 1976 with a degree in Human Geography. During the course of his four years at Reading, he spent one year as a sabbatical officer of the Union, so is now well placed to provide support and advice to the current crop of Student Officers and staff. He spent some 30 years working in the financial services sector, first in government and latterly with a large accountancy firm. Since university he has also been a prominent member of the Campaign for Real Ale, including a spell of nine years as its National Chairman.
Bob Deffee (2011-present)
Bob has nearly 40 years of experience of working in and with students unions in the UK and around the world. He started his working career as a sabbatical officer and then went on to work for the NUS. From there he spent a considerable time at STA Travel, ultimately heading up their marketing function. He then moved to the British Refugee Council where he was the Head of Campaigns and Public Affairs.
Joe Martin (2011-present)
Joe started as a sabbatical officer at Leicester Students’ Union. He was elected onto the trustee board of NUS Services Ltd with responsibility for the retail trade. He was then a sabbatical officer at University of London Union. He has worked for the Learning and Skills Improvement Service as a Project Manager and the Central Office of Information as a Research Manager.
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