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The Rector's Council brings the values of the institution to life on a daily basis. It proposes a strategic vision to the Board of Directors and the General Assembly, and translates it into policies and guidelines. It is made up of the Rector, the General Administrator, six Vice-Rectors and 3 special advisors.
Annick Castiaux
Rector
Physics Ph.D. Annick Castiaux began her career at the University of Namur, before becoming an information management consultant at I.R.I.S. SA. Returning 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.
Benoît Champagne
Vice-Rector for Research and Libraries
Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Honorary Research Director of the FNRS, passionate about quantum chemistry in all its forms and states, he is spokesperson for the High-Performance Computing Technology Platform (PTCI 2018-) until his appointment as Vice-Rector in September 2025.
Valérie Daenen
General Administrator
Valérie Daenen is a training management engineer. As General Administrator, Valérie Daenen sits on the Board of Directors and the General Assembly. As the interface between the directives of the Rector's Council and the administrative departments, she chairs the Board of Management and ensures the link between strategy and political orientations and their implementation by the departmental and administrative departments.
Cécile 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 of Specialization in ICT Law, she has also held a number of 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.
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Stéphane Faulkner
Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation, Quality and Communication
Professor of Information Management at the Faculty of Economic, Social and Management Sciences since 2004, he held the position of Director of the Department of Management Sciences for 3 years and Head of the Management Engineering program for 11 years. Chief Information Officer (CIO) since 2019, he is appointed Vice-Rector in 2021 and 2025.
François-Xavier Fievez
Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Quality of Campus Life
He joined the School of Modern Languages as a teaching assistant in 2001, and has since taken on increasing responsibility. He became first language master (teaching English to students of computer science, economics, biomedical sciences and physics), and was also pedagogical coordinator. He is 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 coordinator of the GIRIS international master's program at UNamur. He was director, then managing director of FUCID, UNamur's NGO. He was appointed Vice-Rector in 2025.
Laurent Schumacher
Vice-Rector for Education
Laurent Schumacher has been Professor of Telecommunications and Computer Networks at the Faculty of Computer Science since 2003. He has also served two terms as Faculty Vice-Dean, 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 courses. He will be appointed Vice-Rector in 2021 and First Vice-Rector in 2025.
Special advisors
- Benoît Frénay - Artificial Intelligence"
- Amélie Lachapelle - Transitions and Sustainable Development"
- Anne-Sophie Libert - UNIVERSEH"
From left to right: Anne-Sophie Libert, Amélie Lachapelle and Benoît Frenay.