You are here: — OUSA Home » Student Officers

• Student Officers
• President
• Deputy President
• Vice President Communications
• Vice President Administration
• Vice President Education Policy
• Vice President Education Support and Research
• Vice President Representation
• Vice President Student Support

Student Officers

All Central Executive Committee Members are ex-officio members of their own region's Regional Consultative Committee (R C C). Meet the team: (Up to date resumes will be available shortly.)

President

Marianne Cantieri
The President is the elected head of the Students Association and is automatically the Chair of the OUSA Board of Trustees (BoT). The full roles and responsibilities of all Trustees are set out in the Constitution and supplemented elsewhere in these Bye-Laws. This description deals with those additional responsibilities that are specific to the role of the President.

I live in North East Spain and in 2003 my grown up children decided to leave home. With my main source of English conversation threatening to disappear and unoccupied time looming, I looked to the O U for a solution. I started studying for a Diploma, once I had that, I decided to aim for an Open Degree, I graduated last year and am now starting another.

The first thing I looked for when I got access to StudentHome was the Students Association, where I found new friends and got involved at local and then central level. I served as OUSA Vice President Education for three and a half years until May 2011 when I was elected President of the Association the post for which I was re-elected at Conference 2012.

Outside of OUSA, I am an avid reader who loves her Kindle which has opened a whole new world of books, previously unobtainable without a visit to the UK and I love exploring the secret corners of the Costa Brava, which are really beautiful between September and June. They're still beautiful in the heat of July and August, but they tend to hide behind a wall of tourists.

Deputy President

Ruth Tudor
The Deputy President assists the President and is automatically a member of the OUSA Board of Trustees. The full roles and responsibilities of all Trustees are set out in the Constitution and supplemented elsewhere in these Bye-Laws. This description deals with those additional responsibilities that are specific to the role of Deputy President.

The Deputy President automatically becomes President if that office becomes vacant between meetings of Conference. If the office of President becomes vacant before 31 July in the year after Conference the Deputy President will assume the role pending a Bye-election taking place. If the office of President becomes vacant after that time, the Deputy President will assume the role to the end of the term subject to that being ratified by both the C E C and BoT.

Watch election podcast or read virtual hustings answers.
Email: ousa-dep-president@open.ac.uk

Vice President Communications

Hazel Pegg
Vice President Communications has the primary responsibility for ensuring that OUSA is communicating effectively both internally and externally and for devising and keeping under continuous review the Association’s communication strategy.

Watch election podcast or read virtual hustings answers.
Email: ousa-vp-communications@open.ac.uk

Vice President Administration

David Humble
The Vice President Administration has the primary responsibility for the Association’s assets, financial management and rules of operation and is automatically a member of the OUSA Board of Trustees. The full roles and responsibilities of all Trustees are set out in the Constitution and supplemented elsewhere in these Bye-Laws. This description deals with those additional responsibilities that are specific to the role of Vice President Administration.

Vice President Administration is a new role which largely combines the old Vice Presidencies of Constitutions and Finance. I was Vice President Constitutions last year and have spent many years working in finance departments and being Treasurer for other organisations. Within OUSA I "served" about four years as one of the unofficial awkward squad making a nuisance of myself to the OUSA Powers That Be, becoming Executive Committee Member for London in 2009.

After two years of being awkward inside the Executive 'tent' I was elected Vice President Constitutions in 2011, spending a year writing Bye-Laws, starting to reform our electoral procedures, working to distil the vast over-detailed policies that weighed us down, encouraging democracy and, of course, being awkward.

As Vice President Administration I will continue working on our democratic deficit whilst preparing for the 2013 Rules Revision Convention and what may well be a more difficult financial climate. But although Vice President Administration is basically a fairly inward looking post the occupant also has to represent our members and their interests – especially as a Trustee.

So I will doubtless continue to be vocal, highly visible and, predictably enough, awkward. Oh – and I will also keep studying towards a BSc Combined Social Science.

Vice President Education Policy

Sandra Summers
Vice President Education Policy has the primary responsibility for keeping the University’s educational programmes and related matters under continuous review and ensuring the effective representation of student views and aspirations for the quality of their learning experience.

Watch election podcast or read virtual hustings answers.
Email: ousa-vp-edpolicy@open.ac.uk
Photo © VW Selburn

Vice President Educational Support and Research

Jon Rainford
Vice President Educational Support and Research has the primary responsibility for ensuring that OUSA is engaging with the student body so that the representations it makes to the University are soundly based on the views and aspirations of students.

Watch election podcast or read virtual hustings answers.
Email: ousa-vp-edsupp-res@open.ac.uk
Photo © VW Selburn

Vice President Representation

Nik Morris
Vice President Representation has the primary responsibility for ensuring that OUSA’s Regions and Nations function effectively as a means of encouraging and enabling students to participate as members of the Association.

My name is Nik Morris; I have been studying with the Open University since 2004 and have been involved in OUSA since my first year studying. I am working towards a History degree but have been sidetracked several times towards maths and science courses. I am aiming to complete my degree in 2012, I suspect that this won't be the end of my studying as it appears to have become something of an addiction; like many students there always seems to be just that one more module that looks really really interesting!

I currently work for myself, as part of a consultancy with several associates, in the heritage area of the construction industry. I have 2 grown up children studying at college as well as a younger child still at senior school.

If you would like to contact me please use ousa-vp-representation@open.ac.uk.

Vice President Student Support

Alison Kingan
Vice President Student Support has the primary responsibility for OUSA’s services aimed at helping and supporting individual students and for taking the lead role in helping OUSA to fulfil its commitments on Equal Opportunities.

Studying history:
I started with the O U in 2001 intending to leave in 2002 but as you can see I missed that deadline. It is not because I have failed the same course for the last decade but I got hooked on studying. I gained a BSc (Hons) Psychology but have dabbled in history and statistics too, helping me to also acquire a BA (Open). I have completed 2 postgraduate Psychology courses.

O U S A involvement:
It took me 2 years to find First Class and another 3 to realise O U S A did more than run First Class. I became a branch delegate at Conference which was where I first heard of the Executive Committee and later learnt more about its roles. Various O U S A posts followed, culminating in initially being elected the region's Executive Committee Member and now Vice President Student Support. I have had help in overcoming a few barriers to study and am looking forward to helping others achieve their goals.

Personal:
Quite a bit of my time is taken up watching cricket. Shaun the Sheep, the Sheep's representative and South West mascot lives here too. He used to attend Regional Forum and Executive Committee Meetings but Lambo now stands in for Shaun at the face to face meetings.