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Report of the General Board on the reorganization of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences: Notice

10 November 2003

The Council have considered the remarks made at the Discussion of this Report on 7 October 2003 (Reporter, p. 70) and have referred them to the General Board who have agreed to reply as follows.

The General Board note that none of the speakers opposed the proposed reorganization of the Faculty. They share Dr A. D. Lehmann's view that it represents a desirable and necessary step in promoting the future development of the Faculty and its constituent disciplines. Professor G. R. Evans comments on three matters: the constitutional implications of the proposed departmentalization of the Faculty; the balance of posts; and interdisciplinarity. The General Board do not believe that the Report's proposals raise constitutional questions: rather, they will more clearly delineate where responsibility and accountability lie within the Faculty. The Board are satisfied that the Faculty will have an organizational infrastructure, comparable to those which exist in other departmentally organized Faculties, which ensures an appropriate balance between the remits of the Faculty Board and its constituent Departments. The allocation of University offices set out in the Report represents a distribution of the current establishment, agreed after consultation with the current holders of the offices. It does not constrain future regroupings, but it does offer the flexibility necessary for strategic responses to future developments in the disciplines concerned. The General Board are satisfied that the reorganization proposed will not deter interdisciplinarity and collaboration, either between the constituent Departments or with cognate disciplines outwith the Faculty. The increase in the range of Tripos options, to which Professor W. A. Brown refers, is an example of the Faculty's commitment to promoting interdisciplinarity.

The Council are submitting a Grace to the Regent House (Grace 3, p. 164) for the approval of the recommendations in the Report.


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Cambridge University Reporter, 12 November 2003
Copyright © 2003 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.