Administrative elections at Oulu University to be held on 15 Oct 2009

The administrative elections at Oulu University will take place on 15 Oct 2009. This is the first time the elections will be held under the new Universities Act which enters into force on 1 January 2010.

In the elections the members of the university will choose the University Collegiate Body. Eight members will be elected as representatives of the professorship and six members to represent other university staff. The University Student Union will be electing six members to represent the student body. The Collegiate Body will thus be composed of 20 members, for each of whom a deputy will also be elected. Each faculty has to be represented in the Collegiate Body by at least one professor as a full member and one as a deputy representative.

In addition, representatives of the professors and the other staff on the Faculty Councils will be elected. The student members of the Faculty Councils will be elected by the Student Union. The size of the Faculty Councils has changed; their new composition is as follows (professors + other staff + student members):

Faculty of Humanities: 4 + 4 + 4
Faculty of Education: 4 + 4 + 2
Faculty of Science: 8 + 6 + 4
Faculty of Medicine: 6 + 4 + 4
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration: 4 + 4 + 2
Faculty of Technology: 6 + 4 + 4

Election to the University Collegiate Body and the Faculty Councils is for the period 1 Jan 2010 to 31 Dec 2013. The newly chosen Collegiate Body will be responsible for approving the financial accounts and management report of the university as well as discharging the members of the University Governing Board and the Rector from their liability.
The responsibilities of the Faculty Councils include approving the faculty’s operational and human resource plans, appointing the research and education councils of the faculty, deciding on the structure of the curricula for studies at Bachelor’s and Master’s degree level as well as approving completed degrees.

Following the administration elections, the other organs of the university will be elected in time for the university to be operating according to the new Universities Act from 1 Jan 2010 onward.

Nomination of candidates in progress, advance voting from 6 to 12 October

All those entered into the electoral roll are entitled to vote and eligible to be nominated as candidates. The electoral roll can be checked in the Administrative Offices of the faculties as well as in the central hall and the Registry (Administrative Services) at the Linnanmaa campus.

The elections are carried out in two groups, with professors voting and being voted on as candidates in Group1 and other staff voting and being voted on as candidates in Group 2.

The period for nomination of candidates started on 15 September and continues until 29 Sept 2009. In order to nominate a candidate, the signed agreement of an eligible candidate has to be submitted to the election board on the form approved for that purpose.

The period for advance voting is 6 – 12 Oct 2009. Advance voting is open to all persons on the electoral roll. For staff working in Kajaani and Sodankylä advance voting is the rule, since voting on election day is possible only in Oulu. Advance voting is possible in the Faculty Offices, in the administrative building of the Kajaani Department of Teacher Education and in the University Registry. Please find your advance voting location from the list below.

For further information, please contact:

Ann London, Secretary of the Election Board, tel. 553 4100

Advance voting locations:

Faculty Office of the Faculty of Humanities
- personnel of the Faculty of Humanities
- personnel of the university library

Faculty Office of the Faculty of Education
- personnel of the Faculty of Education in Oulu and Oulu Teacher Training School

Kajaani Department of Teacher Education
- personnel of Kajaani Department of Teacher Education and Kajaani Teacher Training School
- personnel of Kajaani University Consortium

Faculty Office of the Faculty of Science
- personnel of the Faculty of Science
- personnel of the Language Centre
- personnel of the Thule Institute

Faculty Office of the Faculty of Technology
- personnel of the Faculty of Technology

Faculty Office of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (Room TA139)
- personnel of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

Faculty Office of the Faculty of Medicine
- personnel of the Faculty of Medicine
- personnel of the Biocenter Oulu
- personnel of the Laboratory Animal Centre

Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory
- personnel of the unit

The University Registry at Central University Administration
- personnel of the Central University Administration
- personnel of the Institute for Electron Microscopy
- personnel of the Learning and Research Services
- personnel that is not mentioned above