2

I was looking at a document describing setting arrangements for a ceremony and ran into the phrase:

The president of the Student Guild shall sit in the front row, with the Vice-chancellor, the Chancellor, and the Pro-Chancellor

What is a Pro-chancellor? I've never heard of one before.

In-case this is a regional term, I am at a Australian university.

1 Answer 1

3

A "pro-chancellor" (or similarly a "pro-rector," which we have in Germany), is a deputy to a chancellor (or rector), who handles certain duties on behalf of the chancellor (or rector). In the particular case of Commonwealth countries from which you hail, the pro-chancellor is the person who heads the university's executive council on behalf of the chancellor.

1
  • This is correct. It's a usage that dates back to Roman times! "Pro" in Latin means "for" in the sense of "on behalf of". The pro-consul is a person whom the consul has authorized to act with his authority on his behalf, for instance.
    – user10636
    Sep 26, 2014 at 22:35

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .