No 6274
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Vol cxlii No 39
pp. 803–826
21 July, Saturday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m. (see p. 822).
10 September, Monday. Library closes.
17 September, Monday. Library re-opens.
1 October, Monday. Michaelmas Term begins. Congregation of the Regent House at 9.30 a.m.: Vice-Chancellor’s Address, and Election and Admission of the Proctors.
2 October, Tuesday. Full Term begins.
The ordinary issues of the Reporter for the remainder of the 2011–12 academical year will be published on 25 July and 1 August.
The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that he has received with gratitude a benefaction from Hogan Lovells International LLP of £320,000, payable over five years, of which the capital and the income may be used to support a Lectureship in Corporate Law. In recognition of this gift, the General Board, on the recommendation of the Faculty Board of Law, have agreed to name the Lectureship as the Hogan Lovells Lectureship in Corporate Law for five years.
The Council gives notice that, after consultation with the General Board, and on the recommendation of the Nominating Committee for the appointment and reappointment of Pro-Vice-Chancellors (comprising the Vice-Chancellor as Chairman, Professor Frank Kelly, Dr David Good, Dr Rachael Padman (members of the Council), and Professor Howard Chase and Professor Simon Franklin (members of the General Board)), it has reappointed Dr Jennifer Chase Barnes, MUR, as Pro-Vice-Chancellor with responsibilities for International Strategy for three years from 1 January 2013, and Professor Lynn Faith Gladden, T, as Pro-Vice-Chancellor with responsibilities for Research for three years from 1 January 2013.
1. Under the regulations for the appointment of members of the Council in class (e) (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 116), the Council, on the recommendation of the Proctors and the Deputy Proctors, has appointed Mr John Shakeshaft, T, a serving member of the Council in class (e), to chair the Nominating Committee for the current period.
2. The other members of the Nominating Committee are:
The Vice-Chancellor
Dr C. J. Burrow, CAI
Professor A. M. Donald, R
Dr N. J. Holmes, T
Professor F. P. Kelly, CHR
Mr J. Lang, EM
Dr S. E. Lintott, DOW
The Registrary and the Head of the Registrary’s Office support the Nominating Committee.
3. All members of the Council are Trustees of the University as a charity.
4. There are four members of the Council in class (e). External members are appointed for terms of four years. Mr Casserley and Mr Shakeshaft are continuing members. Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, and Dame Mavis McDonald DCB, were both appointed from 1 January 2009 for four years. Their initial term of office therefore comes to an end on 31 December 2012. One place becomes vacant on 31 December 2012, on the retirement, after distinguished service to the Council, and the University, of Dr Lawrence. The Nominating Committee will consider the reappointment of Dame Mavis McDonald, who has indicated her willingness to undertake a second term if reappointed.
5. One of the four external members in office from 1 January 2013 will be appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Council. The Deputy Chairman chairs the Council if it is not appropriate for the Vice-Chancellor to do so (for example, when the Council is discussing the Vice-Chancellor’s annual accountability report and forward plan). He or she will also chair the Remuneration Committee, and may be asked to chair, or serve on, other groups.
6. One of the other three external members will chair the Council’s Audit Committee. This Committee meets about six times a year. The Committee’s work is of great importance to the University, especially in providing assurance that public funds are properly managed, and that management overall is sound.
7. Reasonable travel expenses are paid to external members, but the role is not remunerated.
8. The Council meets eleven times a year, in Cambridge, and there are two additional strategic meetings, in September and in the spring. Occasional special meetings are also held. The basic time commitment is therefore of the order of 15–20 days per year.
9. Expressions of interest, and suggestions by members of the University, should be sent by 12 noon on Monday, 10 September 2012, to the Registrary, marked ‘private and confidential’. Those making suggestions are asked to state why they believe that the person suggested would be particularly suitable for this role. Those submitting information about themselves are asked to include a curriculum vitae, and a letter setting out the contribution they believe they could make to the work of the Council.
10. The Nominating Committee has engaged Perrett Laver as search advisers. If preferred, appointment details can be downloaded from their website at http://www.perrettlaver.com/candidates, quoting reference 1098.
11. Any enquiries may be made to the Registrary (Jonathan.Nicholls@admin.cam.ac.uk) or to the Head of the Registrary’s Office (Kirsty.Allen@admin.cam.ac.uk).
The Council has received the remarks made at the Discussion on 15 May 2012 of this Report (Reporter, 2011–12, p. 636), and has consulted the General Board in preparing this response.
It has noted the comments of Professor N. Gay, and has agreed that the following sentence be added at the end of paragraph 10 of the proposed Ordinance: ‘Where such an appointment is to be made by the Director of Human Resources, he or she will act in consultation with the Chair of the Human Resources Committee.’
In response to the comments of Professor G. R. Evans:
(a) Professor Evans had commented on procedure being included in Ordinances rather than Statute. The Privy Council has indicated that universities should seek to frame matters so that as little recourse as possible is required to be made to the Privy Council for consent to changes in universities’ legislative documents. Accordingly, the Council considers that detailed procedures of this nature should be promulgated by Ordinance where they are still subject to the approval of the Regent House, but not that of the Privy Council.
(b) Professor Evans is concerned that the wider ambit of the new policy may be used to address ‘systemic’ concerns or matters of alleged mismanagement or maladministration. The University’s ‘Whistleblowing’ policy exists to address such matters; the informal stage of the proposed Grievance Procedure provides an opportunity for alternative processes to be considered and engaged where resolution through the Grievance Procedure is not the most appropriate course.
(c) Although Professor Evans is concerned that fairness is not mentioned in the policy, Statute U, I, 1(c) requires that the proposed Ordinance be construed to give effect to the principles of justice and fairness.
(d) Professor Evans questions the change in the policy from ‘friend or representative’ to ‘fellow employee or TU representative’. The wording used is that suggested in the ACAS Code of Practice, and was considered to be consistent with the creation of a more informal procedure. However, in the light of the suggestion that the rights of officers are being unnecessarily diluted, it is proposed that the words ‘a colleague’ be substituted for the words ‘a University employee’ in paragraph 13, and for the words ‘another University employee’ in paragraph 26 of the proposed policy.
(e) The Council agrees with Professor Evans’s view that the Disciplinary Process should also be reviewed in the light of the proposed changes to the Grievance Procedure, and this is being pursued, particularly with regard to the appeal process.
The Council, with the concurrence of the General Board, is submitting a Grace (Grace 1, p. 822) for the approval of the Report as amended above.
The General Board have now considered the remarks made at the Discussion of this Report on 29 May 2012 (Reporter, 2011–12, p. 696), and respond as follows:
Professor Gay commented on three matters:
(a) The budget for promotions. The budget is set annually by the Resource Management Committee, and is indicative. The Board point to the very high priority that has been given to protecting this budget notwithstanding the difficult financial position, and allowing the Senior Academic Promotions Committee some flexibility to exceed the indicative budget in relation to their assessment of the strength of the cases presented.
(b) Status of the SAP. Professor Gay is incorrect in stating that the current procedure is informal; it is not, the procedure was subject to the approval of the Regent House which, however, authorized the General Board to make changes from time to time in the interests of the efficient management of the process.
(c) The appeal process. The Board consider that the current arrangement whereby the appeal is limited to review on procedural grounds is appropriate and in accordance with the requirements of natural justice. Allowing unsuccessful candidates the opportunity, on appeal, of a complete re-hearing of the merits of the case would be disproportionate, given the nature of the competition compared to e.g. dismissal or a serious disciplinary matter, and the fact that there is an annual round of applications.
With respect to Professor Evans’s remarks, the Board consider that her observation about the ‘danger in allowing too much freedom to the General Board to make legislative changes of their own making’ is not borne out by the evidence. The Board consider that in this and other matters, they have struck a balance between their determining minor, mainly operational changes, while reserving substantial changes of policy for decision by the University following a Report.
The General Board have agreed, in accordance with Regulation 4 of the regulations for Payment Additional to Stipend, to amend the Schedules of such payments as set out below. This is the first review since the schedule of payments was approved in the June 2002 (Joint Report of the Council and General Board on the revision of the regulations governing payments additional to stipend in respect of administrative responsibility, Reporter, 2001–02, pp. 650 and 888).
The Schedules indicating the level of pensionable additional payment for administrative responsibility for the Head of each Department have been updated to reflect the latest information about the relative weight of responsibilities across Departments. In particular, the updated Schedules give greater weighting to reflect the administrative responsibility associated with staff and student numbers in the Department. The same methodology will be applied to review the comparable payments to Deputy Heads of Department and Chairmen or Secretaries of Faculty Boards not divided into Departments specified in Schedule X.
The changes will be effective from 1 October 2012. The General Board will review the Schedules periodically to reflect the latest available data.
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Chemistry |
Engineering |
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Physics |
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Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics |
Materials Science and Metallurgy |
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Archaeology and Anthropology |
Medicine |
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Biochemistry |
Oncology |
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Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology |
Pathology |
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Education |
Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience |
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History |
Public Health and Primary Care |
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Judge Business School |
Veterinary Medicine |
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Law |
Zoology |
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Astronomy (Institute) |
Experimental Psychology |
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Classics |
Genetics |
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Clinical Biochemistry |
Geography |
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Clinical Neurosciences |
Land Economy |
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Computer Laboratory |
Pharmacology |
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Earth Sciences |
Plant Sciences |
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Economics |
Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics |
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English |
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Architecture |
Politics and International Studies |
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Divinity |
Psychiatry |
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Haematology |
Social Sciences |
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Music |
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Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership |
Middle Eastern Studies |
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East Asian Studies |
Paediatrics |
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French |
Philosophy |
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German |
Spanish and Portuguese |
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History of Art |
Surgery |
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History and Philosophy of Science |
Theoretical and Applied Linguistics |
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Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic |
Obstetrics and Gynaecology |
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Italian |
Radiology |
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Medical Genetics |
Slavonic Studies |
Notes:
The Institute of Criminology and the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law are included within Law.
The Centre for Business Research is included within Judge Business School.