Met up with the St Andrews United Nations Youth and Student Association society, which has ambitious plans fora charity fundraising event next semester. Whilst I was Chairman of Friends of the Earth International I was heavily involved with the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, so I am keen to do what I can to help. We met up in the Students' Union to discuss progress - what this space for news.

St Regulus Hall asked me to join them for dinner, and for a talk in the library afterwards. As ever I was made very welcome by the Warden, Mrs Minick, and her Hall Committee. My thanks to them for an enjoyable evening.

At the first Meet the Rector event in the Union Bar, Hannah, Duncan and Matthias from the SusDev Soc brought me up to date with their priorities for the forthcoming year. They want to see the University becoming more engaged with initiatives like the Alliance for Global Sustainability, as well as more crossover between the academic and practical action in the University.

Whether you're organising an society event, campaigning on an issue or just need some advice, the Rector is here to help.

Kevin will be in the Main Bar of the Union from 2pm on Thursday 1st October, so come and have a chat!

Dear Students,

To those of you who have just arrived, welcome to St Andrews and congratulations on making such an excellent choice! And to all of you returning for the new academic year, it’s great to see you again.

As you will already know, St Andrews has many traditions, one of the most important of which is the right of students to elect their Rector. The Rector ensures that the student voice is heard when decisions as to the direction of the University are being taken, including everything from the availability and cost of accommodation to the functioning of the library and changes to degree courses.

I was honoured to be elected as your Rector last October. My St Andrews degree has taken me far and wide since I graduated – I have worked in the fields of international development and environmental campaigning, latterly as head of Friends of the Earth International – and I am now the Scottish Information Commissioner, based right here in St Andrews.

Over these next few weeks I will be particularly keen to speak to new students, so you are always welcome to come up and say hello or to come and speak to me about any issue you want to raise. You don’t have to make an appointment, and I hold regular surgeries in the Union (the next surgery will be at 2pm on Thursday 1st October).

I also regularly attend and take an active part in student events, including guest lectures, charity shows, debating competitions and so on, and I am happy to lend my support to as many initiatives as possible, given the phenomenal range of student-led activities in St Andrews.

You can always get hold of me by e-mail and I try to respond quickly. You can also contact James Shield, the Rector’s Assessor, for advice (the Assessor is a current student who assists me and also sits on University Court). James is a 4th year International Relations student and can be contacted here.

Finally, you can find out more about the role of the Rector and keep up to date with current activities here on my website.

I know you will have a great time at the University – enjoy.

Kevin Dunion
Rector

In the first of a series of video podcasts, Kevin discusses his time as Rector so far:

Find more on the Podcasts page.

Met at the Sports Centre, St Leonard's Road, with Sam Roberts, Athletic Union President, and Stephen Stewart, the University's Director of Sport and Exercise. St Andrews has some top class competitors across a range of sports such as in golf, rugby, fencing and lacrosse; over 50 sports clubs with an impressive number of competitive fixtures arranged across the calendar; and a host of students who simply want to use the facilities for tennis, squash, gym training.

As with so many parts of the University the facilities remain little changed from my day as a student and are bursting at the seams because of demand. There are ambitious plans to seriously improve what we have to offer and with committed and enthusiastic guys like Sam and Stephen driving sports forward then we can expect to see real change.

Lots of friends who supported my Rectorial campaign are graduating - thanks and good luck to you all. And I was delighted to be able to meet Chris Hoy - whose awesome Olympic gold medal winning achievements have catapulted him to superstardom. I'm a fair weather cyclist who regularly cycles from Cellardyke to St Andrews and have done the Edinburgh to St Andrews charity ride; and taken my annual holiday to coincide with the final stage of the Tour de France arriving on the Champs Elysees - so was happy to claim some vicarious affinity with the great man and to be able to congratulate him on receiving his honorary degree

Enjoyed a great show in a packed  Younger Hall at which The Other Guys launched their new album 'Well Sung' with superb versions of Dreaming of a Broken Heart, Desperado and Dreaming of You, and their routine was immaculately choreographed by Sarah Jane Dooley. The Guys sang at the launch of my Rectorial campaign so I was delighted to be invited along to their album launch; my thanks and congratulations to David, Henry, Ollie, Rob, Matt, Tom, Thomas, Derek, Richard and Iain. 

One of my favourite functions is to go along to a debate in Lower Parliament Hall and present the Rector's Award at the end of the evening for whatever contribution has caught my imagination. I really enjoyed tonight's Magistrands' debate in which shortly-to-be-departed old hands had a chance to show off their rhetorical flourishes, cutting interventions and, so far as I could tell, to settle old scores. Great fun and I want to thank outgoing Debates Convenor Jessica Siegel for her encouragement this year and to wish Owen Wilton, her successor, good luck.

More photos (click to zoom in):