General
The regulations apply within the framework of the Act Relating to Universities and University Colleges, and other laws, regulations, and agreements at the University of Oslo.
§1 Purpose
The Centre for Gender Research (STK) is a university centre which has the overarching purpose of carrying out interdisciplinary research, teaching, and dissemination within the field of gender studies, as well as promoting gender research at the university’s other units.
The centre should be outward facing, play an active role in developing interdisciplinary arenas and networks, and seek contact and cooperation with other research institutions, both in Norway and abroad, and with authorities and other social institutions.
The centre should be able to offer teaching at every level, and, by agreement, to offer singular courses or larger course groups to cooperating faculties. The centre has a particular responsibility to encourage high-quality research training within its field.
§ 2 Organization
STK is organized as an academic unit directly under the University Board. It is organized as a interdisciplinary and inter-faculty centre, with an open-ended timeframe. The centre has a permanent contact person in the rectorate, who is tasked with protecting STK’s interests in various leader meetings and central committees. The chairperson of the Centre Board and the centre director report to the rector and the university director.
§ 3 Organizational bodies
The centre shall comprise:
- A board
- A chairperson of the board
- A centre director
- A deputy for the centre director
§ 4 The Centre Board
§4.1 Areas of authority
The board is the centre’s executive organ and is responsible for overseeing that the centre’s academic work holds a high standard and that the centre is run in an efficient manner that complies with relevant laws, regulations, and rules, and within the framework and aims stated by the university board.
All decisions in the Centre Board are made under a delegation of authority from and on behalf of the University Board. The Centre Board must send an annual report to university management, which will inform the University Board about the centre’s activities.
The Centre Board is responsible for setting overarching aims, priorities, and strategies for the centre’s activities.
The Centre Board exercises its authority by approving:
- the annual plan and budget
- long-term plans, with special emphasis on strategy and inter-faculty as well as external co-operation within the centre’s areas of activity
- the centre’s general framework and priorities
- significant organizational changes
The Centre Board is responsible for following up through:
- regular assessments of status and results in relation to aims and plans
- approving accounts and the annual report
The Centre Board exercises its duties by drawing up:
- the centre’s long-term plan, with special emphasis on strategy within the centre’s areas of activity
- the annual plan and budget
The Centre Board should also:
- provide appointment recommendations for academic positions
- provide appointment recommendations for the position of centre director
- The Centre Board can establish individual appointment committees to recommend and rank candidates for academic positions
§4.2 Composition
The Centre Board comprises 11 members, distributed in the following way:
a) Four members from cooperating faculties at the University of Oslo. The deans of The Faculty of Social Sciences and The Faculty of Humanities nominate one member each, and there are also two members from the other faculties at the University of Oslo.
b) Two members of academic staff at the centre, of which one should be a doctoral or postdoctoral candidate
c) Two members of the student body
d) One member of the technical-administrative staff at the centre
e) Two external members
The Centre Board is appointed by the rector based on nominations gathered through the following procedure:
- Nominations for members from cooperating faculties are gathered from the dean of the relevant faculty
- Employee representatives are nominated by the group that they represent, in accordance with specified rules.
- One of the student representatives must be registered on a course or programme offered by STK, or have an appointed supervisor at STK, and is nominated by the Student Council. The other student member is nominated by the Student Parliament.
- External representatives are nominated by the university director.
- Substitute members must be nominated for category a), so that all eight faculties are represented on the Centre Board, either by members or substitute member. The substitutes for the faculty representatives are nominated by the respective deans. All members are nominated with personal substitutes. As far as it is possible, nominations should contribute to diversity on the board.
The term of office is four years. For the student members and the members representing doctoral and postdoctoral candidates, the term is one year. A representative or deputy representative must resign if the person's affiliation with the group or the unit ceases.
§ 5 Chairperson
The Centre Board shall have a chairperson and a deputy chairperson, who are nominated by the rector. The term of office is normally four years, with the possibility of one re-election.
The chairperson leads the board and oversees the centre’s operations on behalf of the board.
The chairperson is the external representative for the board within the board’s area of authority. The chairperson leads the board’s negotiations and works together with the centre director to plan the board’s work.
The chairperson can, in cooperation with the centre director, make decisions in urgent matters that cannot wait until the next board meeting.
§ 6 Daily management
The centre shall have a director, who oversees the totality of the centre’s operations on behalf of the board. The centre director reports to the board. It is also possible to make a work description for the centre director.
The centre director leads the centre’s operations within the framework and resolutions given by superior authorities. The centre director has the overall responsibility and authority in all matters that do not explicitly belong to the Centre Board’s realm of authority and has the general authority to decide in individual, day-to-day matters.
The centre director prepares the meetins of the Centre Board together with the chairperson. The centre director is responsible for preparing case documents with suggested resolutions and is responsible for ensuring that the board’s resolutions are put into motion.
The centre director is elected in accordance with election regulations at the University of Oslo. The centre director appoints a deputy who is part of their leadership team in day-to-day operations, and who will step into the role of director when the director is absent for longer periods. Beyond this, the deputy can be given other specified leadership functions and duties.
If the centre has a head of office, then the head of office will lead the centre’s administrative and managerial work in cooperation with, and with delegated authority from the centre director.
General provisions
§ 7 Separate regulations
The Centre Board drafts suggested statutes (administrative regulations) that are approved by the rector on behalf of the University Board.
The Rules of Procedure for Governing Bodies at the University of Oslo [Forretningsorden for styringsorganer ved Universitetet i Oslo] apply to the board’s meetings.
§ 8 Commencement
These statutes are in force from 1 January 2010.
Please note that the English translation of the statutes are for information purposes only. For all legal purposes, the original documents in Norwegian are the authoritative versions.