No 6502
Wednesday 18 April 2018
Vol cxlviii No 26
pp. 496–524
18 April, Wednesday. First ordinary issue of the Reporter in the Easter Term.
24 April, Tuesday. Full Term begins. Mere’s Commemoration. Sermon in St Benedict’s Church at 11.45 a.m. Preacher, The Right Reverend Andrew Watson, CC, Lord Bishop of Guildford.
28 April, Saturday. Congregation of the Regent House at 11 a.m.
1 May, Tuesday. Discussion in the Senate-House at 2 p.m. (see below).
4 May, Friday. End of first quarter of Easter Term.
The Vice-Chancellor invites those qualified under the regulations for Discussions (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 105) to attend a Discussion in the Senate-House on Tuesday, 1 May 2018 at 2 p.m., for the discussion of:
1.Topic of concern to the University: Standard of proof applied in student disciplinary cases (Reporter, 2017–18, 6496, p. 396 and 6497, p. 413).
2.Report of the General Board, dated 27 March 2018, on the establishment and re-establishment of certain Professorships (Reporter, 6501, 2017–18, p. 471).
3. Report of the Council, dated 18 April 2018, on external finance for income-generating projects including housing solutions in the non-operational estate (p. 514).
4. Report of the Council, dated 18 April 2018, on a new University nursery building (p. 516).
Further information on Discussions, including details on format and attendance, is provided at https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/governance/decision-making/discussions/.
The Council has received the remarks made at the Discussion on 20 February 2018 (Reporter, 6497, 2017–18, p. 438) concerning the above Report (Reporter, 6494, 2017–18, p. 385).
The Council notes that this Report proposes the addition of Directors of Research and Principal Research Associates to the membership of the Regent House. For reasons explained in the Report, the holders of these appointments are in a special category, having already been the subject of a previous recommendation by Council that they be added to the list of persons qualifying as members of the Regent House. The appointments in question comprise the most senior unestablished research roles, are generically akin to those already listed in paragraph (i) of the Ordinance on membership of the Regent House and in particular, in the case of Directorships of Research, are frequently held by those who have formerly been members of the Regent House as University officers up until the retiring age. The Council agrees with Dr Kell that a review of the membership of the Regent House is overdue and, as Dr Kell notes, it has appointed a Governance Review Working Group to take forward that work (see Reporter, 6464, 2016–17, p. 508). The Working Group has been asked to consider the position of postdoctoral researchers as part of this review. It has also been asked to consider the position of retired members of University staff who are not College Fellows but continue to contribute to the work of the University, as described by Professor Anderson, and of unestablished post-holders, as noted by Professor Evans.
The Council notes Professor Abulafia’s remarks relating to the Council’s response to the initiated Grace concerning the age limit on membership of the Regent House (Reporter, 6494, 2017–18, p. 379). It does not agree with Professor Abulafia that there is a time limit specified in Statute or Ordinance within which the Council must respond to an initiated Grace or amendment. There is a time limit in Special Ordinance A (i) 7(a), but it concerns the submission of a Grace or amendment following rejection of the Council’s decision to withhold its authorization. It does, however, agree that the Council should respond promptly on receipt of Graces and amendments initiated by members of the Regent House and has made an amendment to its Standing Orders to note that it shall normally decide whether or not to authorize submission of such a Grace or amendment, in accordance with Special Ordinance A (i) 7(a), by the end of the term next following its receipt.
The Council is submitting a Grace (Grace 1, p. 517) for the approval of the Report’s recommendations.
As a consequence of the industrial action in the Lent Term 2018, there remains a risk that it will not be possible to appoint External Examiners in time for the examinations taking place in the Easter Term 2018 for the degrees of Master of Philosophy by advanced study and Master of Research. The Council is submitting Graces 3 and 4 (p. 517) to enable those examinations to proceed in the absence of an External Examiner. The Council hopes that it will not be necessary to use the emergency powers conferred by these Graces, but it thinks it a reasonable precaution to ensure that such powers are available. The lists of Examiners appointed for the Easter Term examinations are published on pp. 499–510.
The Council has approved a new Data Protection Policy, which has been issued as part of the University’s preparations for the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation. The policy is published on the Information Compliance website at https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection