General Council
The General Council consists of graduates, academic staff and University Court members.
Through its Business Committee it plays an advisory role to the University Court in the Governance of the University.
The Chancellor is the Chairman of the General Council and the main running of the council is undertaken by the Council's Secretary.
Secretary - Professor Ann Smyth
Secretary of the General Council 2018 - 2022
Ann graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a B.Sc. in Psychology(1970); Ph.D.(1974) and M.Phil.(Clin.Psychol.) in 1975.
She worked in clinical practice and led a research team working on psychosocial issues in cancer and cancer genetics. She had leadership roles in several national and international bodies including the Board of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer through which she established a unit in Brussels concerned with patient reported outcomes in international clinical trials in oncology. From 2001-8 she was Director of Training for Psychology Services for NHS Scotland with responsibility for expansion and modernisation in postgraduate education for psychologists to meet NHS service needs.
From 2007-15 she served as a General Council Assessor on the Court of the University of Edinburgh and hence as a member of the Business Committee. She was a member of the Steering Group of The Scottish Code of Good Higher Education Governance (2017).
As Secretary of the General Council she is responsible for the administration and organisation of its activities together with Alison MacLeary, Assistant to the Secretary.