Reports

Joint Report of the Council and the General Board on student membership of the two bodies

The Council and the General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. In January 2012, a Joint Report of the Council and the General Board considered the student membership of those bodies and proposed changes to the election arrangements, which were subsequently approved (Grace 10 of 15 February 2012; Grace 1 of 26 September 2012). As a result of those changes, for the first time in 2013, the elections for student membership of the Council and of the General Board were combined with wider elections to offices in the Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU) and the Graduate Union (GU), the electoral process being run by the two unions.

2. The Joint Report was in response to a proposal that the existing arrangements for direct election of student members of the Council and the General Board should be replaced by the appointment of the President, or other elected officer,1 of the recognized student unions as members of those bodies, leaving, in the case of the Council, one further student to be elected by and from all students in the University.

3. In the Joint Report, the Council rejected this proposal in so far as it concerned the membership of the Council and expressed its opinion (in paragraph 7 of the Joint Report) that ‘direct appointment of the Presidents of the respective unions as ex officio members of the Council is not appropriate and that instead the persons standing for election as Presidents should also stand in a personal capacity as candidates for election to the Council’. Consequently, no change to the provisions of Statute A IV 2 (concerning student membership of the Council) was recommended and these provisions were not revised. Although neither the Council nor the General Board expressed similar reservations about ex officio appointment to the General Board, the Joint Report did not recommend any revisions to the provisions of Statute C, I, 4 (concerning student membership of the General Board) and consequently those provisions were similarly not revised. Thus, as before, eligibility for membership of the Council and the General Board remained independent of eligibility to hold particular CUSU or GU offices. It was not anticipated that this would create difficulties for candidates for election to CUSU or GU offices, as the CUSU and GU Presidents and the CUSU Education Officer had been elected to the Council and the General Board in previous years.

4. During the student elections held in 2013, two cases highlighted the incompatibility of the election arrangements for sabbatical officers with those for Council and General Board membership: a candidate stood for election as CUSU President who was not eligible for election as a student member of the Council; and a candidate for the position of CUSU Education Officer was a graduate student and thus was eligible only to stand for election to the General Board in the vacancy for a graduate student elected from among graduate students of the University, running against candidates standing for election as GU President.

5. The Council’s Committee for the Supervision of the Student Unions (CCSSU) has considered the arrangements for student membership of the Council and the General Board in light of the issues raised during the 2013 student elections. The Council and the General Board, on the recommendation of the CCSSU, are persuaded that:

(i)the detailed provisions concerning the eligibility of students to serve on the Council and the General Board should be transferred to Special Ordinance, as a matter on which the University may decide, without the need for the approval of Her Majesty in Council. The number of student members serving on each body would be retained in Statute;

(ii)there should be an independent student voice on the Council, but that this requirement can be met by setting aside one of the student positions on the Council for a student who is not a sabbatical officer of either union. Having made this provision, the following should serve ex officio in the remaining student positions: the CUSU and GU Presidents on the Council; and the CUSU Education Officer and the GU President on the General Board;

(iii)the elections should continue to be run by the unions, and under the continued oversight of the Council’s Committee for the Supervision of the Student Unions, which receives copies of electoral schemes annually from both unions for review under the University’s Code of Practice in respect of student unions issued under section 22 of the Education Act 1994. However, the University’s rules for the remaining elected student position on the Council should be amended to align more closely with union procedures.

6. The repeal of the existing Statutes and the enactment of the proposed new Statutes were approved by the Regent House on 12 July 2013 (Grace 2 of 3 July 2013, Reporter, 6316, 2012–13, p. 762), subject to approval by Her Majesty in Council. The proposed Special Ordinances were also approved, their enactment contingent on the coming into force of the new Statutes. The approval of the new Statutes by Her Majesty in Council was granted on 11 February 2014 (Reporter, 6338, 2013–14, p. 371). Amendments to the following have therefore been proposed:

(i)New Statutes, as set out in Recommendation II below;

(ii)Special Ordinances, in Annex A;

(iii)Ordinances, in Annex B.

7. The Council and the General Board accordingly recommend:

I. That the arrangements for the student membership of the Council and the General Board be amended as set out in paragraph 5 of this Report.

II. That, if Recommendation I is approved, subject to the approval of Her Majesty in Council the Statutes of the University be amended as set out below and that these amendments be submitted under the Common Seal of the University to Her Majesty in Council for approval:

(a) That Section 2 of Statute A IV be repealed and replaced with the following:2

2. The Council shall consist of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, and twenty-three members in the following classes:

Members elected by the Regent House

(a) four from among the Heads of Colleges;

(b) four from among the Professors and Readers;

(c) eight from among the other members of the Regent House;

Members in each of classes (a), (b), and (c) shall be elected by the Regent House for a period and in a manner determined by Special Ordinance.

Student members

(d) three student members.

Members in class (d) shall be such persons as shall be prescribed by Special Ordinance and shall serve for a period determined by Special Ordinance.

Appointed members

(e) four persons appointed by Grace of the Regent House who at the time of appointment are not qualified to be members of the Regent House except under Statute A III 10 (a)(ii) nor are employees of the University or a College, one of whom shall be designated by the Council to chair the Audit Committee of the Council.

Members in class (e) shall be appointed by Grace of the Regent House on the nomination of the Council; the arrangements for nomination shall be prescribed by Ordinance.

(b) That Section 2 of Statute A V2 be repealed and replaced with the following:

2. The General Board shall consist of the following members:

(a) the Vice-Chancellor, as Chair;

(b) eight members of the Regent House appointed by the Councils of the Schools to serve for four years in accordance with arrangements determined by Special Ordinance;

(c) four members of the Regent House appointed by the Council, to serve for four years, subject to the requirement that not fewer than three members of the Board (including the Vice-Chancellor) shall be members of the Council. If a member of the Board ceases to be a member of the Council he or she shall not thereby cease to be a member of the Board;

(d) two student members, who shall be such persons as shall be prescribed by Special Ordinance and shall serve for a period determined by Special Ordinance.

III. That, with effect from and conditional upon the approval by Her Majesty in Council of the Statutes in Recommendation II above, the changes to Special Ordinance and Ordinance as set out in Annexes A and B be approved.

4 March 2014	L. K. Borysiewicz,Vice-Chancellor	Fiona Karet	Flick Osborn
	N. Bampos	Mark Lewisohn	Rachael Padman
	Jeremy Caddick	Rebecca Lingwood	John Shakeshaft
	Athene Donald	Mavis McDonald	Jean Thomas
	David Good	Rosalyn Old	I. H. White
	Andy Hopper	Susan Oosthuizen	A. D. Yates
	Richard Jones
5 February 2014	L. K. Borysiewicz,Vice-Chancellor	Simon Franklin	Rachael Padman
	Philip Allmendinger	David Good	Richard Prager
	N. Bampos	Richard Jones	John Rallison
	Sarah Coakley	Robert Kennicutt
	M. J. Daunton	Duncan Maskell

Note of dissent

I do not support this Report, because the turnout for CUSU elections (15% at the 2012 CUSU sabbatical officer elections), the number of Colleges that are disaffiliated from CUSU and the historically low number of nominations for CUSU sabbatical officers this year are all signs that CUSU is not connecting with students and the CUSU sabbatical officers should therefore not be rewarded with ex officio seats on the General Board and the Council.

Henk-Jaap Wagenaar

Annex A

Changes to Special Ordinance

1) That Special Ordinance A (ii)3 be rescinded and replaced with the following:

SPECIAL ORDINANCE A (ii)
Membership of the Council: detailed provisions (Special Ordinance under Statute A IV 3)

References in this Special Ordinance to classes are to the classes prescribed in Statute A IV 2.

1. (a) Members of the Council in classes (a), (b), and (c) shall be elected to serve for four years, an election of half the members in each class being held during Full Michaelmas Term in each alternate year.

(b) Members of the Council in class (d) shall be

(i)the President of Cambridge University Students Union;

(ii)the President of the Graduate Union;

(iii)one student elected by and from among the students in the University.

Members in categories (i) and (ii) of class (d) shall serve for one year from the commencement of their term of office as President. The member in category (iii) of class (d) shall be elected in each academical year on a date and in a manner determined by or under Ordinance and shall serve for one year from 1 July next following her or his election.

(c) Members of the Council in class (e) shall be appointed to serve for four years from 1 January in a year when the calendar year is odd; the appointment of half the members in this class shall take place in each alternate year.

2. (a) If a member of the Council in any of classes (a), (b), and (c), or any person nominated for election as a member in one of those classes, ceases to be a member of the Regent House, or suffers suspension or deprivation of his or her University office, degrees, or membership of the University, that member’s seat shall thereupon become vacant, or the nomination shall thereupon become invalid, as the case may be.

(b) If a member of the Council becomes Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor, his or her seat shall thereupon become vacant.

(c) If a member of the Council in class (a) or class (b) ceases to be the Head of a College or a Professor or Reader, as the case may be, that member’s seat shall not thereby become vacant.

(d) If the member of the Council in category (i) of class (d) ceases to be President of Cambridge University Students Union or if the member of the Council in category (ii) of class (d) ceases to be President of the Graduate Union, that member’s seat shall thereupon become vacant.

(e) If the member of the Council in category (iii) of class (d), or any person nominated for election as the member in that class, ceases to be a student in the University, or suffers deprivation or suspension of her or his degree or membership of the University, or suffers rustication by a University Court or by a College, that member’s seat shall thereupon become vacant, or the nomination shall thereupon become invalid, as the case may be.

3. (a) If any casual vacancy occurs by death, by resignation, or otherwise, among the elected members of the Council during their period of service, or if it is known that such a vacancy will occur by reason of a member’s resignation, or if any person elected dies, resigns, or is otherwise disabled from beginning service between the publication of the result of the election and the day upon which such a person is due to begin service, the vacancy shall be filled by the holding of a bye-election; provided that no bye-election shall be held to fill a vacancy that occurs less than sixty days of full term before the end of tenure of the member whose death, resignation, or disablement has created the vacancy.

(b) If at any election the total number of vacancies is not filled, the Vice-Chancellor shall arrange a further election to fill such vacancies as are unfilled.

(c) If, after the last date for sending in nominations and before the result of the election has been decided, a person nominated for election in any class dies, or is disabled from serving as a member, or if such a person’s nomination becomes invalid under the provisions of Section 2(a) or 2(d) above, all nominations for that class shall be deemed to be void, and the Vice-Chancellor shall give notice thereof and shall arrange a new election.

(d) Any bye-election, further election, or new election held under subsection (a), (b), or (c) above shall take place as soon as conveniently may be; the arrangements for the election shall be determined and published by the Vice-Chancellor.

(e) If any casual vacancy occurs by death, by resignation, or otherwise, among the members in class (e), the casual vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the procedure for the appointment of members in class (e) in Statute A IV 2 (e).

4. (a) The period of service of members in classes (a), (b), and (c) shall be as follows:

(i)A person elected during the Michaelmas Term (otherwise than to fill a casual vacancy) shall begin service on the first day of January next following the election.

(ii)A person elected in any term other than a Michaelmas Term or elected to fill a casual vacancy which has already occurred shall begin service on the day next following the publication of the result of the election; provided that, if at an election of either such kind the number of persons nominated in any class does not exceed the number of vacancies in that class, the person or persons nominated shall be deemed to be elected and shall begin service on the day following the last day for the receipt of nominations.

(iii)A person elected in any term other than a Michaelmas Term (otherwise than to fill a casual vacancy) shall serve, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1(a) above, until the end of the calendar year next but two following the year in which the election takes place.

(b) Any person elected a member in class (d) at a bye-election to fill a casual vacancy which has already occurred shall begin service on the day next following the publication of the result of the bye-election, provided, that, if the number of persons nominated in a bye-election does not exceed the number of vacancies, the person or persons nominated shall be deemed to be elected and shall begin service on the day following the last day for the receipt of nominations.

5. For the purpose of this Special Ordinance the term ‘student in the University’ shall be defined by Ordinance.

2) That Special Ordinance A (v) 13 be rescinded and replaced with the following, and A (v) 2 renumbered as 3:

1. Members of the General Board in classes (b) and (c) pursuant to Statute A V 2 shall serve for four years, half the members in each class being appointed at the same time as, or shortly after, each biennial election of members of the Council. Changes of membership shall take effect from 1 January next following. Further arrangements for the election of members in class (b) shall be made by Ordinance.

2. The members of the General Board in class (d) shall be

(i)the Education Officer of Cambridge University Students Union;

(ii)the President of the Graduate Union.

The members in class (d) shall serve for one year from the commencement of their term of office as Education Officer or President, as the case may be. If the member in category (i) of class (d) ceases to be the Education Officer of Cambridge University Students Union or if the member in category (ii) of class (d) ceases to be President of the Graduate Union, that member’s seat shall thereupon become vacant.

Annex B

Changes to Ordinance4

1) That Regulations 8–14 for the election of members of the Council (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 111) be rescinded and replaced with new Regulations 8 and 9 as follows, and Regulation 15 renumbered:

Members in class (d)(iii)

8. The annual election of the member in category (iii) of class (d) shall be held jointly by Cambridge University Students Union and the Graduate Union in accordance with an electoral scheme for the conduct of such election which shall be submitted to the Council jointly by the President of the Cambridge University Students Union and the President of the Graduate Union each year.

9. For the purposes of Special Ordinance A (ii), the term ‘student in the University’ shall mean any person eligible to vote in elections for the office of President as governed by the constitutions of the Cambridge University Students Union and the Graduate Union as determined from time to time, or who would be so eligible but who has resigned his or her membership of the Union.

2) That the Regulation for the election of student members of the General Board (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 114) be rescinded in its entirety.

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Readership in Transfusion Medicine

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The School of Clinical Medicine undertakes medical education and research in close collaboration with its NHS partners, and identifies research themes which will link key areas of biomedical science with relevant clinical problems of importance to the health service. One such area is Transfusion Medicine, where the School benefits from the presence on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus of NHS Blood and Transplantation (NHSBT), the NHS agency with clinical responsibility in this area.

2. Many human diseases are potentially amenable to cellular therapies or transplantation procedures. Future clinical advances will require an improved understanding of a wide range of issues, including the generation of appropriate cell types or tissues and the associated immunological challenges. Haematological cells are already widely used as a treatment for patients with haematological malignancies. Recent advances in stem cell biology have laid the foundation for new approaches to the generation of a wide range of cell types which could potentially be used for cellular therapies. The University has considerable existing strength in stem cell biology and medicine, which has been identified as a strategic research initiative by the Board’s Research Policy Committee. Developments in Transfusion Medicine would build on these strengths.

3. In order to enhance leadership in research and teaching in Transfusion Medicine the Faculty Board of Clinical Medicine propose the establishment for a single tenure of a Readership in Transfusion Medicine, to be funded by NHSBT. If necessary, the Faculty Board have agreed to underwrite the costs from resources available to the School of Clinical Medicine. NHSBT have agreed to award an Honorary Consultant contract should the successful candidate be clinically qualified; the Faculty Board have undertaken to provide support and facilities for the Readership from within existing resources.

4. The General Board have accepted the Faculty Board’s proposal for the establishment of this Readership. The criteria for appointment to a Readership through advertisement 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. 748).

5. The General Board accordingly recommend:

I. That a Readership in Transfusion Medicine be established in the Department of Haematology for a single tenure from 1 June 2014.

28 February 2014	L. K. Borysiewicz,Vice-Chancellor	Simon Franklin	Patrick Maxwell
	Philip Allmendinger	David Good	Rachael Padman
	N. Bampos	Richard Jones	Richard Prager
	Sarah Coakley	Robert Kennicutt	John Rallison
	M. J. Daunton	Duncan Maskell	Henk-Jaap Wagenaar