New vacancies for 2026-2027 committee

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Three new vacancies have arisen for the 2026-2027 committee because members who had been elected to roles have withdrawn from them after being elected to new roles (see https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/outcome-of-nominations-for-committee-roles-not-filled-at-the-agm/)

Nominations are now open for:

  • vice president
  • three ordinary committee members

Please send nominations to ucu@leeds.ac.uk, or directly to the branch administrator’s university email address (see email version of this post) if you prefer not to alert current branch officers to your nomination.

Candidates, please seek only two nominations plus an email stating your willingness to be a candidate for that role. Those three things need to be with me by the deadline of 12pm midday Wednesday 22 July.

(Please don’t encourage more than two members to nominate you as it just creates extra work for the returning officer and is of no benefit.)

There’s general information about committee elections at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/standing-for-election-to-the-ucu-committee/

Outcome of nominations for committee roles not filled at the AGM

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Here are the outcomes of the nominations for committee roles for the 2026-2027 academic year that were not filled at the annual general meeting.

(Department rep nomination outcomes to follow separately – there are more to process.)

President

Dan Howdon, elected unopposed

Treasurer

Andi Rylands, elected unopposed

Membership officer

Valeria Tolis, elected unopposed

Equality officer

Alexa Athelstan, elected unopposed

Campaigns officer

Two candidates nominated. An election will be conducted. Details will be sent to members in the coming weeks.

Anticasualisation officer

Anne Caldwell and Sandy James (role share), elected unopposed

Casework officer

James Dickins and Kate Hardy (role share), elected unopposed

One ordinary committee member

No valid nominations

Dan, Sandy and Andi’s election to these new positions leaves new vacancies to fill for the committee for the next academic year. (See https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/new-vacancies-for-2026-2027-committee/)

(These results are subject to confirmation by the scrutineers.)

2026-2027 committee confirmed so far

This means the committee for the 2026-2027 academic year is currently:

President

Dan Howdon

Vice-president

(Nominations open)

Treasurer

Andi Rylands

Honorary secretary

Vicky Blake

Membership officer

Valeria Tolis

Equality officer

Alexa Athelstan

Campaigns officer

(Election ballot to be arranged)

Health and safety officer

Neil Maughan

Anti-casualisation officer

Anne Caldwell and Sandy James (role share)

Casework officer

James Dickins and Kate Hardy (role share)

Ordinary committee members

Xanthe Whittaker
Rachel Walls
Lindsey Waterton Taylor
Julia Falvey
John O’Dwyer
Jane Holgate
Itzel San Roman Pineda
Hugh Hubbard
Gogo Anyanwu
Chloe Wallace
Anna Grimaldi
(Nominations open for 3 vacancies)

Leeds UCU branch news and events

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by
In this bulletin
  1. Next general meeting – speakers from Sheffield and Nottingham
  2. Nominations to Committee
  3. UCU committee elections drop-in
  4. Department rep election
  5. Know your Rights Training
  6. Workload survey
  7. Durham Miners’ Gala, Saturday July 11th – free coach
  8. Professor James Dickens Emeritus Professor Privileges Restored

Next general meeting – speakers from Sheffield and Nottingham

12.45 – 2pm Monday 15 June, online.

At our next general meeting we will welcome guest speakers from two branches in dispute: Nottingham, who are currently undertaking a marking and assessment boycott and Sheffield, who are taking action short of a strike. Please come along to show solidarity and learn from their strategies and experiences in the face of redundancies. There will also be a rule change motion to vote on in this meeting. Please see the email dated 5th June for more information. 

Nominations to Committee

Committee has decided to reopen nominations for vacant officer’s roles and the remaining ordinary committee member role for 2026/27. The deadline for nominations (and stating willingness to be nominated) for the UCU University of Leeds branch committee for the 2026-2027 academic year is mid-day Wednesday 30 June.

There is one outstanding ordinary committee member role and the following officer roles up for election 

  • President
  • Treasurer
  • Membership officer
  • Equality officer
  • Campaigns officer
  • Casework Officer

You can find out more about the roles and how to nominate a colleague on our Standing for election to the UCU committee webpage. 

Nominating a candidate

To nominate a candidate – a UCU University of Leeds branch member, they don’t have to work in your department – please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk, or you can email the branch administrator directly (see email version of this post for the University of Leeds email) if the candidate wishes to keep their nomination more confidential. No explanation for your nomination is needed – it is sufficient to say “I wish to nominate [name] for [role]”.

Please check first that they are willing to stand for election for that role, and whether they have already been nominated. Candidates only need two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (our branch administrator).

Candidates

Please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk before the deadline to state that you wish to be a candidate for election to the specific role.

Please do not seek more than two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (our branch administrator).

The term of office is 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027.

UCU committee elections drop-in

12-1pm Tuesday 16th June, online.

Are you interested in applying for a committee or branch officer role, but want to know more about what it would entail? We’re holding a drop in on Tuesday 16 June from 12-1pm so you can get answers to any questions you have about the branch roles and any arrangements for getting ‘buyout’ from your university role. 

Topic: UCU committee elections drop-in

Time: Jun 16, 2026 12:00 PM London

(See email version of this post for Zoom link)

Department rep election

You will have received an email about this but in case you missed it, please note that department rep elections are also now open. 

To nominate a colleague as a department rep please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk. No explanation is needed – it is sufficient to say “I wish to nominate [name] as [department rep / department health and safety rep] for [department as listed]”.

Please check first that they are willing to stand for election for that role, and whether they have already been nominated. Candidates only need two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (our branch administrator).

You can find out more on our Choosing your UCU department representatives – UCU University of Leeds Branch webpage.

Know your Rights Training

1-2pm Monday 22nd June 2025 Quaker Meeting Hall, Woodhouse Lane

This ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop is supported with materials from Green and Black Cross, and is a shorter version of their 2 hour workshops. These workshops aim to give participants the knowledge on police tactics commonly used against protesters. Police officers often rely on the lack of legal understanding of those participating in protest. This interactive session will give you the tools to take action more confidently.

We will cover:

  • The Five Key Messages
  • What to take with you on a protest, and how to communicate safely
  • What to do if you witness an arrest, and what to expect if you are arrested
  • Laws commonly used against protesters

Workload survey

Have you completed UCU’s workload survey yet? This is for members and non-members working across post-16 education. Jo Grady wrote in an email to all members: “We look forward to sharing the results in due course (including branch-level data where there are enough responses)”. Please click here to start the UCU workload survey. Since we know workload is a problem for many of you, it would be great to get enough responses at Leeds to see branch level data.

Durham Miners’ Gala, Saturday July 11th – free coach

UNISON have paid for a coach for Durham Miners’ Gala again this year. They have kindly extended the invite to travel on this coach to Leeds UCU members.

“We have booked a coach for Durham Miners’ Gala again this year. If you would like to come along, please email us at unison@leeds.ac.uk to book your place. The coach will leave Parkinson steps at 8:30am and leave Durham at 5pm. Last year, the coach had to park at the Park-and-Ride, so there may be a cost of bus fare to and from this location for you to attend the march”.


Professor James Dickens Emeritus Professor Privileges Restored

On 1 June 2026 the university settled with Professor James Dickins on the first day of an employment tribunal hearing, restoring his emeritus professor privileges and withdrawing a written warning. Professor Dickins has been fighting the removal of his privileges since 2024 and took legal action challenging the University on the grounds of discrimination because of pro-Palestinian beliefs. You can read more about the legal case in this article.

Opening nominations for unfilled UCU committee roles for the next academic year

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

The results of the elections for the UCU University of Leeds Branch committee for the 2026-2027 academic year were declared at the annual general meeting Thursday 21 May 2026. The results are at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/results-of-the-committee-elections-at-the-2026-agm/

There are a significant number of roles unfilled for next year’s committee, so the committee has decided to open nominations again for the following roles.

  • President
  • Treasurer
  • Membership officer
  • Equality officer
  • Campaigns officer
  • Anti-casualisation officer
  • Casework officer
  • One ordinary committee member

The deadline for nominations and stating willingness to be a candidate is 12pm midday 30 June.

This is different from the department rep elections (which are running concurrently).

Nominating a candidate

To nominate a candidate – a UCU University of Leeds branch member, they don’t have to work in your department – please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk, or you can email the branch administrator/organiser directly (see email version of this post for the email address) if the candidate wishes to keep their nomination more confidential. No explanation for your nomination is needed – it is sufficient to say “I wish to nominate [name] for [role]”.

Please check first that they are willing to stand for election for that role, and whether they have already been nominated. Candidates only need two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (me).

You can find out more at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/standing-for-election-to-the-ucu-committee/

Candidates

Please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk before the deadline to state that you wish to be a candidate for election to the specific role.

You can find out more are https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/standing-for-election-to-the-ucu-committee/

Please do not seek more than two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (me).

The term of office is 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027.

Current branch officers will shortly publicise some drop-in sessions for anyone who wants to ask questions about being a branch officer or committee member.

Department rep elections 2026-2028

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Nominations are now open for UCU department reps for 2026 to May/June 2028.

The deadline for nominations, and to consent to being a candidate, is 12pm midday Tuesday 30 June 2026.

This is an ‘all-out’ election: all UCU current department reps and department health and safety reps will need new nominations to be elected again if they are to continue as UCU reps.

This is separate from the UCU committee elections.

Nominating a colleague

To nominate a colleague as a department rep please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk. No explanation is needed – it is sufficient to say “I wish to nominate [name] as [department rep / department health and safety rep] for [department as listed]”.

Please check first that they are willing to stand for election for that role, and whether they have already been nominated. Candidates only need two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer.

You can find out more at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/choosing-your-ucu-department-representatives/

Candidates

Please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk before the deadline to state that you are willing to stand for election as department rep and/or department health and safety rep for the department as listed.

You can find out more at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/choosing-your-ucu-department-representatives/ 

Please do not seek more than two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer.

The UCU department representative roles and boundaries for the June 2026 – May/June 2028 term of office have been decided by the branch committee as follows.

Roles

Members will be elected as a UCU department rep or a UCU department health and safety rep.

Members can be elected to two roles, both as a department rep and a department health and safety rep.

After election, reps may choose to additionally focus on the following specific areas and be listed as that on the website.

Additional areas of focus for UCU department reps

  • anticasualisation rep
  • equality rep
  • postgraduate rep

Areas of focus for UCU department health and safety reps

  • health and safety rep
  • workload rep

By default, health and safety reps will cover all aspects of health and safety, but health and safety reps can choose to focus solely on workload issues and be listed as a workload rep. Workload reps normally undertake a different training programme and won’t be involved in the usual range of health and safety functions, so any movement between these roles needs to be in consultation with the branch health and safety officer.

Boundaries and numbers

Members can elect up to the following numbers of representatives in these departments:

For large areas, reps may also want to list their specific workplace within that department.

List of departments, for the purpose of these elections

Results of the committee elections at the 2026 AGM

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

The results of the elections for the UCU University of Leeds Branch committee for the 2026-2027 academic year were declared at the annual general meeting Thursday 21 May 2026. The results are as follows.

President

No nominations received.

Vice-president

Dan Howdon elected unopposed.

Treasurer

No nominations received.

Honorary secretary

Vicky Blake elected unopposed.

Membership officer

No nominations received.

Equality officer

No nominations received.

Campaigns officer

No nominations received.

Health and safety officer

Neil Maughan elected unopposed.

Anti-casualisation officer

No nominations received.

Casework officer

No valid nominations.

Ordinary committee members (14 to elect)

Xanthe Whittaker
Sandy James
Rachel Walls
Lindsey Waterton Taylor
Julia Falvey
John O’Dwyer
Jane Holgate
Itzel San Roman Pineda
Hugh Hubbard
Gogo Anyanwu
Chloe Wallace
Anna Grimaldi
Andi Rylands

Department rep roles and boundaries for 2026-2028 elections

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

The UCU department representative roles and boundaries for the June 2026 – May/June 2028 term of office have been decided by the branch committee as follows.

Roles

Members will be elected as a UCU department rep or a UCU department health and safety rep.

Members can be elected to two roles, both as a department rep and a department health and safety rep.

After election, reps may choose to additionally focus on the following specific areas and be listed as that on the website.

Additional areas of focus for UCU department reps

  • anticasualisation rep
  • equality rep
  • postgraduate rep

Areas of focus for UCU department health and safety reps

  • health and safety rep
  • workload rep

By default, health and safety reps will cover all aspects of health and safety, but health and safety reps can choose to focus solely on workload issues and be listed as a workload rep. Workload reps normally undertake a different training programme and won’t be involved in the usual range of health and safety functions, so any movement between these roles needs to be in consultation with the branch health and safety officer.

Boundaries and numbers

(For large areas, reps may also want to list their specific workplace within that department.)

Members can elect up to the following numbers of representatives in these departments:
  1. Professional services
  2. Faculty of engineering and physical sciences
  3. Faculty of arts, humanities and cultures
  4. Faculty of business
  5. Faculty of environment and social sciences
  6. Faculty of health and life sciences

Professional services

Academic operations

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Central offices

UCU department reps 4
UCU health and safety reps 4

Finance

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

Futures institutes

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Learning and teaching

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

People and culture

UCU department reps 4
UCU health and safety reps 4

Research and innovation service

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

Risk management

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Strategic marketing

UCU department reps 4
UCU health and safety reps 4

UNIPOL student home

UCU department reps s1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Digital and information services directorate

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

IT

UCU department reps 5
UCU health and safety reps 5

Library

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

Leeds institute for teaching excellence

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Transformation office

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Student education and experience

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Digital Education Service

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Student Curriculum and Operations

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Student Experience and Support

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Student Success and Educational Engagement

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Facilities directorate

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

Faculty of engineering and physical sciences

Engineering and physical sciences, faculty

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

School of chemical and process engineering

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of chemistry

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of civil engineering

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of computer science

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of electronic and electrical engineering

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of mathematics

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of mechanical engineering

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of physics and astronomy

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

Southwest Jiaotong University – Leeds joint school

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Faculty of arts, humanities and cultures

Arts, humanities and cultures, faculty

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Fine art, history of art, and cultural studies

UCU department reps 1*
UCU health and safety reps 1

Performance and cultural industries

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of design

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of English

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of history

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of languages cultures and societies

UCU department reps 4
UCU health and safety reps 4

Language centre

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of media and communication

UCU department reps 2*
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of music

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

School of philosophy, religion and history of science

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

Faculty of business

Leeds university business school

UCU department reps 7
UCU health and safety reps 7

Faculty of environment and social sciences

Environment and social sciences, faculty

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

School of earth, environment and sustainability

UCU department reps 8
UCU health and safety reps 8

School of education

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of food science and nutrition

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of geography

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of law

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of politics and international studies

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of sociology and social policy

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

Institute for transport studies

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

Faculty of health and life sciences

Health and life sciences, faculty

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

Leeds institute for data analytics

UCU department reps 1
UCU health and safety reps 1

National institute for health research (NIHR) research delivery network coordinating centre

UCU department reps 4
UCU health and safety reps 4

School of biology

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of biomedical sciences

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of dentistry

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of healthcare

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

School of medicine

UCU department reps 16
UCU health and safety reps 16

School of molecular and cellular biology

UCU department reps 3
UCU health and safety reps 3

School of psychology

UCU department reps 2
UCU health and safety reps 2

(*In these areas where the reps in post since before the 2024 election exceeded the number of reps roles listed as available for the 2024-2026 and 2026-2028 elections then the current reps can all be re-elected if the election is uncontested by new candidates.)

UCU committee elections, AGM and next general meeting

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Committee elections

The branch’s annual general meeting is coming up fairly soon, Thursday 21 May 12.45pm – 2pm (on Zoom).

Nominations are now open for the UCU branch committee for the academic year 2026-2027.

All committee roles are elected each year (except the ‘immediate past president’) from all the UCU members at the University of Leeds. Get your nominations in!

The deadline for nominations to the committee is the day before the AGM (Wednesday 20 May) but don’t leave it late because there’s a closure period between now and then (which is why I’m asking for nominations this far in advance).

Ask me if you have any questions about the nominations process.

The roles for election are:

  • President
  • Vice-president
  • Treasurer
  • Honorary secretary
  • Membership officer
  • Equality officer
  • Anti-casualisation officer
  • Health and safety officer
  • Campaigns officer
  • Casework officer
  • 14 ordinary committee members

Find out more about the roles and how to send in your nominations at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/standing-for-election-to-the-ucu-committee/

I’m sure any of the current committee members would be willing to answer any questions you have about being on the committee.

(Nominations for department reps are separate from this – I’ll send an email about these in a few weeks.)

Ordinary general meeting, Thursday 30 April, 12.45pm – 2pm

Submit motions by 12pm Monday 20 April.*

If you want the branch to propose an amendment to another branch’s motion to UCU Congress 2026, this is the general meeting to submit that motion of amendment to.

Annual General Meeting, Thursday 21 May 12.45pm – 2pm

Deadline for nominations to the branch committee is Wednesday 20 May.

Submit motions by 12pm Friday 1 May.*

If you want the branch to give advice to branch delegates attending UCU Congress 2026, this is the latest general meeting to do that.

(*These dates are one working day earlier than the deadlines published at the start of the academic year, following a more recent committee decision.)

This post is based on an email sent to branch members 24 March 2026 by Alan Smith, branch administrator/organiser

Branch resolution: Police presence, freedom of expression and student wellbeing on campus

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

This branch notes:

  • Three students were arrested on campus on 21st October following a peaceful protest against the inclusion of arms companies complicit in genocide at a careers fair
  • The police were ‘informed’ by SMT about the protest
  • Such a move is in line with a wider authoritarian approach currently being adopted at the University
  • A recent report on the detrimental impact of the presence of police on campus on marginalised students and staff
  • That the University of Leeds has University of Sanctuary status

This branch resolves to:

  • Write to the senior management team asking them to:
    • respect students’ right to freedom of expression, specifically in the right to express lawful views and opinions freely
    • commit to a policy of no police or armed forces on campus unless there is a meaningful, direct threat to a person(s).
    • conform with its status as a University of Sanctuary, by not allowing companies onto campus whose corporate activities are part of causing people to seek sanctuary in the first place
  • Support students in their right to freedom of expression, including peaceful protest on campus

This resolution was carried by members of the branch at the ordinary general meeting 13 November 2025. The text here is subject to approval of the minutes of that meeting. The motion was proposed by Kate Hardy and seconded by Sandy James.

Branch resolution: revitalizing our branch

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

This branch notes:

  • The HE sector faces a severe national crisis, with over 15,000 jobs lost in the past year.
  • While the University of Leeds has not initiated redundancies, management has introduced an early retirement scheme without union consultation.
  • Colleagues face growing uncertainty due to fluctuating student numbers and a turbulent international context.
  • Persistent issues around workload, casualisation, and insecurity will be worsened by the proposed scheme.
  • Following intense industrial action, branch meeting participation and local rep activity have declined.
  • A national ballot on pay, conditions, and redundancies is underway, with other campus unions balloting simultaneously.

This branch resolves to:

  • Reinvigorate committee and rep activity to boost participation and mutual support.
  • Recruit new caseworkers to manage the early retirement scheme and potential restructuring.
  • Encourage reps to hold local meetings to gather concerns and shape a renewed branch strategy.
  • Urgently request a meeting with the VC for meaningful negotiation on the scheme and future workforce plans.
  • Work closely with the other two campus unions to coordinate “get the vote out.”
  • Protect and strengthen democracy and equal voice within branch structures.

This resolution was carried by members of the branch at the ordinary general meeting 13 November 2025. The text here is subject to approval of the minutes of that meeting. The motion was proposed by Gabriella Alberti and seconded by Jane Holgate.