Rector’s Election 2026: One Candidate - Prof. Frank Bezzina

Prof. Frank Bezzina has received 15 nominations from the Council members for the election of Rector, due to take place later this month.

Prof. Frank Bezzina is currently Pro-Rector for International Development and Quality Assurance at the University of Malta (2021- ), having previously served as Dean (2016-2021) and Deputy Dean (2012-2016) of the Faculty of Economics, Management & Accountancy, and Head of the Department of Management (2013-2021).

He lectures mainly in Management Science and Evidence-based Management. His research focuses on investigating phenomena in the Organisational Sciences. He has published papers in various international journals of repute which include the European Management Journal, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, and Expert Systems with Applications. Beyond his academic role, Prof. Bezzina has been engaged in various consultancy assignments and projects for private and public organisations. He is currently non-executive Director of the Central Bank of Malta and was for five years the non-executive Chairperson of WasteServ Malta Ltd. Between June 2022 and March 2024, he served as Acting President of the Republic of Malta.

The nominations were submitted before the established deadline of noon of Wednesday 11 March 2026.

An extraordinary meeting of Council shall now convene on Thursday 26 March, whereby members of the Council, presided by the President of the Council, Perit Karmenu Vella, shall vote in a secret ballot and behind closed doors and make their choice, electing the Rector for a five-year term of office.

Since there is only one Candidate, Prof. Bezzina shall have to obtain at least 50% + 1 votes of the Members present during the Council meeting in order to be elected.

The candidate will be asked to give a presentation and reply to questions posed to them by members of the Council during this extraordinary meeting.

The next Rector will be the 82nd in the University’s long history, succeeding Prof. Alfred J Vella who has held office for the past ten years.

Further details will be communicated when the result is out on 26 March.