On 23 June, the first meeting of the newly elected Senate of Vilnius University took place. During the meeting, Prof. Eglė Lastauskienė was unanimously re-elected by secret ballot as Chair of the Senate for another four-year term.
All 41 Senate members who participated in the vote supported Prof. Lastauskienė's candidacy. There were no invalid ballots.
Expressing her gratitude for the trust placed in her, Prof. Lastauskienė emphasised that collaboration, open dialogue and community engagement would continue to be the guiding principles of the Senate's work.
"I sincerely thank everyone for such strong support. I believe that together we will continue to seek solutions that are important for the entire University community," said the Chair of the Senate.
During her previous term, Prof. Lastauskienė placed a strong emphasis on engaging the University community, maintaining dialogue with academic units and student representatives, discussing the University's strategy, and updating key documents related to academic activities.
At the first meeting of the new term, the Vice-Chairs of the Senate were also elected. Prof. Indrė Isokaitė and Prof. Virginija Jurėnienė were elected to these positions. The meeting also addressed organisational matters related to the Senate's new term, launched the process of forming Senate committees, and outlined the priorities for the coming months.
The newly elected Senate consists of 46 members, including academic staff elected by the Vilnius University community, student representatives and the Rector. The Senate is one of the University's principal governing bodies, responsible for safeguarding the freedom of culture, science, research and teaching, considering matters of general academic importance, and adopting decisions necessary for their implementation.