Race is on for top university job

THE RACE for the position of rector of the Cyprus University is to involve just two candidates: Aris Spanos, and Nicos Papamichael.

Outgoing rector Miltiades Chacholiades has announced that he will not run for re-election for “personal, family reasons.”

Spanos is a lecturer in economics, a member of the university senate and its council. He stood against Chacholiades in the 1994 elections.

His rival Papamichael is currently vice-rector, a position he won back in 1994. He is also a senate member and lectures in mathematics and statistics.

The only candidate standing for Papamichael’s current position is Andreas Demetirou, head of applied sciences, and also a member of the senate and the university council.

Lecturer Andreas Zenios would have stood against him, but would only agree to run if the rules were changed to create a second vice-chancellor post.

Candidates have no political affiliations, and the elections are to be held on October 16.

This Thursday, students will choose 18 representatives from the boards of each department, 16 of whom will vote in the elections. Another six voters have already been chosen.

The student unions will also meet next week to discuss their proposals for improvements to the university.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.