Board of Trustees

What is the Board of Trustees?

The Board of Trustees is the group of people with ultimate responsibility for everything that the Students' Union does. It is responsible for the governance and financial and strategic management of the Students' Union.

In particular the Board of Trustees has the following three roles:

To make sure that everything we do benefits the students at the University of Plymouth. As the Students' Union is a registered charity with set aims and objectives, we are required to ensure that everything we do benefits the students at the University of Plymouth. As well as monitoring what the Students' Union is doing now, the Trustee Board approves our strategic plan, ensuring that we will continue to benefit future generations of Plymouth students.
To ensure that the Students' Union remains financially solvent.
If the Students' Union is to carry on benefiting students, it must have the money both in the short and long term to do this. For example, the Trustees have to approve all significant items of expenditure and the annual budget.
To ensure that the Students' Union doesn't break any laws or regulations relating to the work that we carry out. As the Students' Union offers so many services to our members, there are many laws and regulations that we have to follow. If the Students' Union were found to have broken any of these, it is the Trustees who would be ultimately responsible and could potentially face legal action.

Key documents

Who are the Board of Trustees?

All decisions by the Trustee Board are taken by all the Trustees, acting collectively and as a team. All Trustees have an equal responsibility for the oversight of the Students' Union. The Trustees of University of Plymouth Students' Union fall under three categories. Each of the Trustees has their own experiences which, collectively, help ensure that the Board of Trustees can carry out its roles. All trustees serve for a fixed term of office which can be renewed for a specific maximum period (depending on which type of trustee they are).

Board members 2023 / 24

Sabbatical Officer Trustees:

Dindu Okechukwu, UPSU President (Chair)
Josh Frost, UPSU Vice President Activities
Darcie Jones, UPSU Vice President Education
Krupa Naik, UPSU Vice President Wellbeing & Diversity

Student Trustees:

Viv Hocking
Christopher Styles
Harry Simpson

External Trustees:

David de-Berger
James Hemsley
Jane Hopkinson (Deputy Chair)
Naomi Wrigley