The Senate of Vilnius University Will Be Chaired for the Second Term by Prof. Eglė Lastauskienė

The first meeting of the new Senate of Vilnius University (VU) took place on 23 June. Professor Eglė Lastauskienė was unanimously re-elected as Chairperson of the Senate for another four-year term by secret ballot.

All 41 members of the Senate taking part in the ballot voted in favour of Prof. E. Lastauskienė’s candidacy. There were no invalid ballot papers.

Thanking for the trust shown, Prof. E. Lastauskienė stressed that cooperation, open dialogue and community engagement will remain key principles in the work of the Senate.

‘I sincerely thank everyone for such support. I trust that we will continue to strive towards common solutions that are relevant to the University community as a whole’, said the Chairperson of the Senate.

In the previous term, Prof. E. Lastauskienė focused on community engagement, dialogue with academic units and student representatives, consideration of the VU strategy and updating documents relevant to academic activities.

The Deputy Chairs of the Senate were also elected at the first meeting: Prof. Indrė Isokaitė and Prof. Virginija Jurėnienė. The meeting discussed the organisation of the work of the new Senate, started the process of forming Senate committees and presented the work for the coming months.

The new Senate comprises 46 members – academic staff elected by the academic community of Vilnius University, as well as student representatives and the Rector. The Senate is one of the main governing bodies of Vilnius University, guaranteeing freedom of culture, science, research and teaching, discussing general academic issues and taking the decisions necessary for their implementation.