‘EDUCATING the whole person in mind, body and spirit’ is the shorter version of the mission statement of Liverpool Hope University College. Expressed more fully, it includes the following statement:

The College Governing Council and staff constantly reflect on this. Governors who interview candidates for posts emphasise the importance of the mission, so that all who join the staff are aware of its relevance to life in the Hope community. The Rector and Chief Executive, Professor Simon Lee, keeps it very much at the forefront of all that happens in Hope. In order to illustrate the seriousness with which our students and staff accept and live out the mission, I have, as Chair of Governors, chosen several areas of college life and invited a number of staff and students to record some of their experiences. These illustrate the many reasons why students can be praised for, and congratulated on, the use of their gifts for their own benefit and for that of the whole college community. The areas are relationships between governors and the students’ union, recruitment and retention of students, Hope Across the Irish Sea, international students, student support, aspects of learning and teaching, and the Network of Hope.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GOVERNORS AND THE STUDENTS' UNION

During my eight years as a governor of Liverpool Hope, I have observed that the students’ union has been represented on the Governing Council by a succession of excellent presidents. The current president, Ms Kelly Parker, has participated in all Governing Council and academic board meetings over the past two years and has conducted herself with dignity. She is widely known. She presents informative reports on the activities of the union and its finances, and is unafraid to speak out for students’ needs.