Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Readership in the Department of Chemistry

The GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The Department of Chemistry is one of the leading chemistry departments in the world and has a distinguished record of providing academic leadership in all branches of the subject; it is consistently placed at or very near the top of international rankings of chemistry research in the higher education sector.

2. Strength in core inorganic chemistry is considered essential for a well-balanced Departmental research portfolio and this is reflected in the prominent position the field occupies in leading institutions worldwide. Inorganic chemistry remains an extremely popular option with undergraduates and heavy teaching loads are deflecting academic staff away from research. The appointment of an eminent established researcher in the general field of core inorganic chemistry would have an immediate and substantial impact on research activity and demonstrate support for the field as an important part of a world-leading chemistry portfolio. In view of this, the Department of Chemistry has identified a need to strengthen research and teaching in core inorganic chemistry and wishes to reinforce its activities in this field, especially in the area that embraces reactivity, synthesis, and structural chemistry. The Department is particularly keen to strengthen its research base in molecular catalysis, solution phase co-ordination chemistry, and/or solid state chemistry.

3. The Council of the School of the Physical Sciences have approved the case made by the Department and recommend the establishment of a Readership in the Department of Chemistry, with effect from 1 October 2009, with the aim of attracting an established inorganic chemist of international quality.

4. The proposed establishment of this Readership will be funded by suppressing the University Lectureship that was released from abeyance on 8 November 2007 following the election of Professor John Pyle to the Professorship of Physical Chemistry (1920). The additional costs will be met by the School of the Physical Sciences from within the budget for salary costs already identified in its five-year plan.

5. The General Board have accepted the proposal of the Council of the School of the Physical Sciences for the establishment of this Readership. The criteria for appointment to a Readership through open competition will be identical to those for appointment through the senior academic promotions procedure. The Appointments Committee will be constituted as specified in the Regulations (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 708).

6. The General Board accordingly recommend:

That a Readership be established in the Department of Chemistry from 1 October 2009.