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The Rector's Council is composed of the Rector, the General Administrator, six Vice-Rectors, and three project managers.
Annick Castiaux
Rector
With a PhD in physics, Annick Castiaux began her career at the University of Namur before becoming an information management consultant at I.R.I.S. SA. She then returned to the university to develop the management engineering program and initiate research in this field. In 2015, she founded the Creativity and Innovation Research Center (CIRCe). In 2017, she became Vice-Rector (teaching, quality, digital, communication) and then Rector in 2021 and 2025.
Benoit Champagne
Vice-Rector for Research and Libraries
Full professor in the Department of Chemistry and honorary research director at the FNRS, passionate about quantum chemistry in all its forms and states, he was spokesperson for the intensive computing technology platform (PTCI 2018-) until his appointment as Vice-Rector in September 2025.
Valerie Daenen
General Administrator
Valérie Daenen is a management engineer by training. As General Administrator, Valérie Daenen sits on the Board of Directors and the General Assembly. Acting as an interface between the directives of the Governing Board and the administrative services, she chairs the Management Board and ensures the link between strategy and policy orientations and their implementation by the service and administration departments.
Cecile de Terwangne
Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs
Cécile de Terwangne has been a professor at the Faculty of Law since 2002 (full professor since 2018). Former Director of the Master's program specializing in ICT-DTIC law, she has also held several positions in the service of the university community. Appointed Vice-Rector in 2023, she is a permanent guest of the Board of Directors, the General Assembly, and the institution's consultative bodies.
Stéphane Faulkner
Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation, Quality, and Communication
Professor of Information Management at the Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences, and Management since 2004, he served as Director of the Management Sciences Department for three years and as Head of the Management Engineering Program for 11 years. Chief Information Officer (CIO) since 2019, he was appointed Vice-Rector in 2021 and 2025.
François-Xavier Fievez
Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Quality of Life
Hired as a teaching assistant in 2001 at the School of Modern Languages, he took on increasing responsibilities. He became a senior language instructor (teaching English to students in computer science, economics, biomedical sciences, and physics) and is also an academic coordinator. He was appointed Vice-Rector in 2021 and 2025.
Stéphane Leyens
Vice-Rector for International Relations and Cooperation
Stéphane Leyens is a professor in the SPS Department, which he will head from 2023 to 2025. Since 2007, he has promoted several international cooperation projects with partners in India, the Philippines, and Peru. He is the coordinator of the GIRIS international master's program at UNamur. He was director and then managing director of FUCID, UNamur's NGO. He was appointed Vice-Rector in 2025.
Laurent Schumacher
Vice-Dean of Education
Laurent Schumacher has been a professor of telecommunications and computer networks at the Faculty of Computer Science since 2003. He also served two terms as Vice-Dean of the faculty, from 2012 to 2016 and from 2020 to 2021. Since the Marcourt decree, Laurent Schumacher has also been involved in the development of IT tools for the administrative management of training programs. He was appointed Vice-Rector in 2021 and First Vice-Rector in 2025.
Project managers
- Benoît Frénay - Project Manager, Artificial Intelligence
- Amélie Lachapelle - Project Manager, Transitions and Sustainable Development
- Anne-Sophie Libert - Project Manager, UNIVERSEH
From left to right: Anne-Sophie Libert, Amélie Lachapelle, and Benoît Frenay.