What do the Board of Trustees do?

• Make sure students are at the heart of everything we do.
• Ensure our services and activities are for the benefit of students at the University of Bristol and monitor and evaluate their performance.
• Make sure we remain financially stable by managing the SU’s finances and approving the expenditure and annual budget.
• Occasionally take legal or operational decisions which cannot be overruled by students.
• Delegate the day-to-day operations of the Students’ Union to the Chief Executive and the staff team.
• They do not get involved in the day-to-day running of the Students’ Union, but they are overall responsible.

How can you make your voice heard?

There are three main ways you can make your voice heard at Bristol SU:

• Contact your Full-Time Officer (FTO) or Student Trustees - The Full-Time officers are your elected representatives, but they are also trustees. They consider the views of students while making decisions as a member of the Board of Trustees. Whilst the Trustees must take some decisions that may not seem directly relevant to your student experience, it is vital that they understand the views of students.
• Raise issues at Student Council or the Annual Members Meeting (AMM) - You can find out more about our democratic events and how they can help get your voice heard.
• Nominate yourself as a Student Trustee or FTO in our annual Elections – Our Elections take place twice a year during October and March. Find out more on our elections page.

Who are the current trustees?

The Board of Trustees has 16 trustees and is Co-Chaired by an elected Full-Time Officer trustee or Student Trustee and a Co-opted Trustee. The board meet regularly throughout the year, with committees meeting at regular intervals before each Trustee Board.

Full-Time Officer Trustees

The seven elected Full-Time Officers are trustees. They are elected by students each spring for a 1-year term, but they can re-run and be elected again in following years.

Student Trustees

The four Student Trustees are elected by students each spring alongside their study to do a 2-year unpaid term (and sometimes 1 year).

Co-Opted Trustees

The four external trustees (called Co-opted Trustees) are independent professionals appointed for their skills, experience and knowledge. They are approved by Bristol SU trustees, following an interview process and are unpaid. They do a 3-year term which can be extended into a maximum term of 9 years in 3 terms of 3 years.

Nominated Trustee

The Board is also advised by a number of Union and University staff:

• Ben Pilling, Chief Executive, Bristol SU (Secretary to the Board)
• Suzanne Doyle, Executive and Governance Manager, Bristol SU (Clerk to the Board)
• Jo Lock, Associate Director of Finance, Bristol SU 
• Rebecca Miller, Associate Director of Finance, Bristol SU 
• Maddy Wall, Associate Director of People & Culture, Bristol SU 
• Christy O'Sullivan, Director of Community & Opportunity, Bristol SU
• Cassie Agbehenu, Director of Impact & Influence, Bristol SU 
• Paul Arnold, Director of Digital, Marketing & Enterprise, Bristol SU
• James Hackney, Financial Contact, University of Bristol
• Keith Feeney, Legal Contact, Senior Lawyer, University of Bristol

Committees of the Board

These committees focus on specific areas of the SU. The committees meet before the main Trustee Board meetings and feed into them.

• Trustee Board
  • The Board monitors and reviews the operations of the Union, the committees, the strategy
• Finance, Audit, Risk & Governance (FARG) Committee
  • Finances - monthly Management Accounts, Budget and Annual Accounts and Report, Internal Audits , the risk register and relevant risks and Governance, e.g. Articles, Byelaws, student democracy and governance code
• People, Culture & EDI (P,C&EDI) Committee
  • Appointment of Co-opted Trustees and Chief Executive, induction, training and development of the Board, Board effectiveness and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
  • The Remuneration Committee is part of the People, Culture & EDI Committee and approves the remuneration (pay and benefits) of the Full-Time Officers and Chief Executive.
• Appeals Panel
  • Meets as required to review the reasonableness of a decision of the Trustees under Articles 22 - 25 (removal of a Trustee from office).

Trustee Board Minutes