SU’s Union Affairs Officer to be Renamed to President

Photo Courtesy: UCL Website

The SU has decided to change the title of the Union Affairs Officer to President. The name change was decided at Tuesday’s Union Executive meeting, and has gone into effect immediately.

The vote was passed with 77% of Union Executive members voting in favour of the name change. Following this, 75% of members voted to instate the decision immediately.

Nothing else about the role has changed other than the name, and Mary McHarg – the current SU president – said in her newsletter on the 14th December that the new title is “much clearer and easily understood”.

The President (formerly Union Affairs Officer) is a sabbatical officer, meaning it is a paid, full-time role, and can only be taken after a student has graduated, or by taking a year out. It is chosen through the Leadership Race, and a new president will be elected in March for the 2024/25 academic year.

The role involves leading the Students’ Union in “making sure its activities and services are transparent and meet the needs of the Membership”, and assisting the Union’s goals of financial and economic sustainability.