Edvard Glucksman

I am excited to run for a position on the University Senate.

In my roles as ESE faculty director for sustainability education and ESI associate director for student engagement, I spend a lot of time thinking about the future of our community.

This means further empowering students to make informed choices to shape their educational experience at Exeter, ensuring that they are ready to make the most of life’s opportunities after graduation.

For academic colleagues, this means thinking deeply about how we can continue to deliver excellence in research and education whilst responding to concerns around workload, accessibility and culture. It also means providing compelling opportunities for colleagues to engage with exciting and innovative educational initiatives, such as professional education or digital learning technologies.

On Senate, I would ensure:

-         Transparency and accountability in processes relating to forthcoming changes to our education strategy.

-         The promotion of a strategic direction towards a more inclusive community, to ensure that the university reflects the diversity of wider society.

-         Representation of academic colleagues from all campuses and sites, and engagement with the challenges specific to their workplace.

Thank you for your support!

Raphaëlle Haywood

I joined the University 4 years ago as a Lecturer in Astrophysics, contributing to research, education and building a strong university community. I recently designed and taught a new, interdisciplinary undergraduate module on climate change. As Assistant Director of the Global Systems Institute, I organised Streatham's first assembly in March 2024 that brought students and staff together to examine what we, as a university should do about the climate crisis. This assembly is the first of a series whose outcomes will inform my time in Senate, by surfacing what really matters to our community.

We need a strong, bold University whose strategy and decisions are guided by science and democratic dialogue. As a member of Senate, I will ensure that University governance and decisions are informed by our colleagues' research and expertise from all disciplines, especially on the climate and ecological crisis. I will push for all our students to be taught the skills and knowledge they need to tackle the planetary challenges facing them. I will foster a University where all academics have space and time to meet, exchange ideas freely, and innovate across disciplines. I will champion a culture that empowers us all as agents of positive change.

Alison Truelove

At a time when universities are subject to a multitude of external factors that are fundamentally challenging our purpose and provision, I would be honoured to serve as a member of Senate and to have the opportunity to join discussions that shape Exeter’s education, research and external engagement strategies.

In addition to my experience as an education-focused academic (leading work on developing colleagues’ teaching practice and building institution-level frameworks for student success), I lead a multidisciplinary, large-scale national project to develop researchers’ business awareness and extend the impact of their work beyond academia. Through regular engagement with academics, industry partners, policy makers and representative bodies across the UK, I therefore have a good understanding of the opportunities colleagues here at Exeter can harness to thrive in their own careers, and to contribute to the success of the university as a whole.

Internally, the networks I have established through my broad portfolio – across many academic and professional teams, as well as our various campuses – have allowed me to understand contexts and needs beyond my own disciplinary work. As such, I hope to contribute to Senate from an evidence-led perspective that is mindful of the diverse needs of our staff and students.

Ben Zissimos

I joined the University of Exeter in 2012 and am now in my twelfth year here.  I have served one four-year term as an elected senator and am now proposing to serve for a second term.  I was first elected as a representative of the Business School, and together with the other elected senators and Dean Alex Gerbasi, we established the new practice of holding regular meetings to relay colleagues’ concerns directly to the Dean.  We then brought these concerns to Senate when appropriate, establishing a new channel to represent colleagues’ views on Senate.  One of the main issues I advocated for was ensuring that colleagues have their own offices, as there is widespread agreement that this is essential for us to perform effectively as instructors, researchers, and administrators.  If elected for a second term, I will work to ensure that you gain representation on Senate at the new Faculty level.  I will work to set up elected senators’ meetings at the Faculty level, collaborating with other elected senators and the Dean of Faculty to relay your views and concerns at that higher level.