We aim to be open and transparent about how we are run. Find out about our governance and the different groups and leaders who guide our organisation.
Articles of association
We are a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. We are governed by our articles of association, which are registered at Companies House.
View our full Articles of association (pdf).
Our Board
The Board is our main decision-making body and meets five times a year. Our Board has up to 21 members, including 15 elected members:
- President
- Vice-Presidents for England and Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
- Treasurer
- Four policy leads
- Six elected members
- Six members appointed by the Board on advice from the Governance and Nominations Committee to bring a balance of diversity and skills
You can view our:
Our President
Our president is a member of Universities UK who is elected by our members and serves for two academic years. The president chairs all Universities UK Members' Meetings, the Board, and the Board Advisory Committee.
Our current President is Professor Malcolm Press CBE DL, Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University. His term of office began on 1 August 2025.
Sub-committees
The Board is supported by sub-committees. The membership and terms of reference of these sub-committees are:
- Board advisory committee (pdf)
- Governance and nominations committee (pdf)
- Membership committee (pdf)
- Resources committee (pdf)
- Audit and risk committee (pdf)
- Remuneration committee (pdf)
Senior leadership team
Our Chief Executive is Vivienne Stern. She is supported by a team of directors from UUK and UUKi. The team is responsible for the day-to-day management of UUK.
Policy leads, networks and groups
Our policy leads, networks and groups guide the development of our policies. They are made up of vice-chancellors.
They build and strengthen links with experts, government agencies, professional bodies, industry and commerce, other education sectors and international audiences.
The current networks are:
- Funding
- International
- Research and Innovation
- Student and regulation
- Specialist Institutions’ Forum
The policy leads report to the board through each of the elected chairs.