In the October council meeting, Spronken said that, given the increased number of support and maintenance staff, he felt it was necessary for broader representation on their behalf. “If I’m not present, there is nobody else who can speak on our behalf or vote on important topics.”
However, his proposal to add an extra seat could not be approved immediately as it would have consequences for the makeup of the rest of the council. The council currently consists of twelve seats, distributed equally between students (six) and staff (one for support staff and five for academic staff). An extra support staff representative would also require an extra student representative, bringing the total to fourteen seats. This proposal was not met with overwhelming approval, as there were fears that more council members would result in longer debates.
Four-two
Last week, dean Jan Smits made a decision: “We understand that an extra representative for support staff is desirable, but we also don’t want to increase the size of the council, in part to remain in line with other faculties.” The council approved this suggestion, so in future, staff will be represented by two members on behalf of support staff and four on behalf of academic staff.
This renewed seat distribution requires a change to both the faculty regulations and the election regulations, which the Executive Board and the University Council will still have to discuss. The two support staff representatives will then be able to be elected at the next Faculty Council elections in 2027.