The lord rector of the University of St Andrews is an elected position, usually also the president of the University Court of the University of St Andrews; the University Court is the supreme governing body of the university.
Overview
The rector is elected every three years by the matriculated students of the university. The current office of rector, sometimes termed lord rector, was instituted by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Universities (Scotland) Acts regulate the governance of the ancient universities of Scotland, and require the election of a rector for the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St Andrews. The newer University of Dundee also elects a rector due to its historical ties to St Andrews, whereas other modern universities do not.
Since 1970 the rector has appointed a student as the rector's assessor, who is a full voting member of the University Court, and also serves as a member of the students' representative council.
The current rector, Stella Maris, was removed from the university court in July 2024 following an inquiry carried out by a KChttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cye0rj48kg5o . In 2025 she was reinstated after winning her appealhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy0z1elj1zo . In January 2026 she was removed a second timehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm24d2jdd5lo for "repeatedly rejecting her obligations of collective responsibility and refusing to observe court’s ... basic rules of governance"https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/removaloftherector/ . In March 2026 she was reinstated after winning her second appeal.https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/university-was-correct-to-dismiss-rector-over-breaches-of-governance/ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stella-m-a55144186_letter-to-members-of-court-on-my-reinstatement-activity-7437813968724942848-NUd9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACofM3MB0RSf3w0Gx9mUO4aNB7F3sg2fpOQ
List of rectors +Rectors of the University of St Andrews #Name Years served1Sir Ralph Anstruther, 4th Bt.1859–18622William Stirling-Maxwell, MP1862–18653John Stuart Mill1865–18684J.A. Froude1868–18715Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves1872–18746Dr. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley1874–18777Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne1877–18808Sir Theodore Martin1880–18839Donald Mackay, 11th Lord Reay1884–188610A.J. Balfour1886–188911Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava1889–189212Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart, The 3rd Marquess of Bute1892–189813James Stuart, MP1898–190114Andrew Carnegie1901–190715John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury1907–191016Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery1910–191317John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair1913–191618Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig1916–191919Sir James M. Barrie1919–192220Rudyard Kipling1922–192521Fridtjof Nansen1925–192822Sir Wilfred Grenfell1928–193123Field Marshal Jan Smuts1931–193424Guglielmo Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi1934–193725Lord MacGregor Mitchell1937–1938 26Sir David Munro1938–1946 27Sir George Cunningham1946–194928David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter1949–195229David Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford1952–195530David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir1955–195831Robert Boothby, Baron Boothby1958–196132C. P. Snow1961–196433Sir John Rothenstein1964–196734Sir Learie Nicholas Constantine (Baron Constantine from 1969)1967–197035John Cleese1970–197336Alan Coren1973–197637Frank Muir1976–197938Tim Brooke-Taylor1979–198239Katharine Whitehorn1982–198540Stanley Adams1985–198841Nicholas Parsons1988–199142Nicky Campbell1991–199343Donald Findlay1993–199944Andrew Neil1999–200245Sir Clement Freud2002–200546Simon Pepper2005–200847Kevin Dunion2008–201148Alistair Moffat2011–201449Catherine Stihler2014–201750Srđa Popović2017–2020 51Leyla Hussein2020–202352Stella Maris2023–Present
See also Ancient university governance in Scotland Governance of the University of St Andrews Chancellor of the University of St Andrews Principal of the University of St Andrews
References
External links The Rector of the University of St Andrews