Skip to main contentCambridge University Reporter

No 6504

Wednesday 2 May 2018

Vol cxlviii No 28

pp. 533–549

Notices

Calendar

4 May, Friday. End of first quarter of Easter Term.

10 May, Thursday. Ascension day. Scarlet day.

15 May, Tuesday. Discussion in the Senate-House at 2 p.m. (see below).

19 May, Saturday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m.

20 May, Sunday. Whitsunday. Scarlet day. Preacher before the University at 11.15 a.m., Dr D. Mukarji OBE, formerly Director of Christian Aid and sometime Vice-President of the Methodist Conference.

Discussions (at 2 p.m.)

Congregations

15 May

19 May, Saturday at 10 a.m.

29 May

20 June, Wednesday at 2.45 p.m. (Honorary Degrees)

12 June

27 June, Wednesday at 10 a.m. (General Admission)

26 June

28 June, Thursday at 10 a.m. (General Admission)

10 July

29 June, Friday at 10 a.m. (General Admission)

30 June, Saturday at 10 a.m. (General Admission)

20 July, Friday at 10 a.m.

21 July, Saturday at 10 a.m.

Discussion on Tuesday, 15 May 2018

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, 15 May 2018 at 2 p.m., for the discussion of:

1.Report of the Council, dated 1 May 2018, pursuant to Special Ordinance A (i) 7(b) concerning an initiated Grace relating to the University and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (p. 539).

Further information on Discussions, including details on format and attendance, is provided at https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/governance/decision-making/discussions/.

Grace 1 of 18 April 2018 (Regent House membership for Directors of Research and Principal Research Associates): Notice of amendment

27 April 2018

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that he has received a proposal for the amendment of Grace 1 of 18 April 2018 (Reporter, 6502, 2017–18, p. 517), signed by 26 members of the Regent House as noted in the Annex below.

The Grace at present reads as follows:

That the recommendations in paragraph 3 of the Report of the Council, dated 7 February 2018, on membership of the Regent House for Directors of Research and Principal Research Associates (Reporter, 6494, 2017–18, p. 385) be approved.

The amendment proposed is as follows:

That the recommendations in paragraph 3 of the Report of the Council, dated 7 February 2018, on membership of the Regent House for Directors of Research and Principal Research Associates (Reporter, 6494, 2017–18, p. 385) be approved, subject to the following additional change also being made to the Ordinance in question:1 that the text ‘provided that no person shall qualify for membership in categories (i), (iii), or (iv) unless he or she is also a member of a Faculty, or holds an appointment listed in those categories in a Department or other University institution which is independent of a Faculty’ be deleted.

The Council will consider the proposed amendment to Grace 1 of 18 April 2018 published above at its meeting on 18 June 2018.

Annex

The following members of the Regent House have proposed the amendment to the Grace:

R. J. Anderson

A. M. Dunning

Y. Ko

R. D. Mullins

D. L. Bates

T. G. Griffin

N. Krishnaswami

R. M. Norton-Wright

T. D. Bauereiss

K. Gudka

I. J. Lewis

M. A. Scott

V. Borges Ferreira Gomes

A. J. Hutchings

T. Masood

D. R. Thomas

S. A. Butler

G. C. Jenkinson

M. Mesquita da Costa

E. Yoneki

D. T. Chisnall

A. M. Jungwirth

R. M. Mortier

R. N. Clayton

S. R. Kell

A. Mycroft

Footnotes

Amending Statutes for St John’s College

30 April 2018

The Vice-Chancellor begs leave to refer to his Notice of 26 March 2018 (Reporter, 6501, 2017–18, p. 466), concerning a proposed amending Statute for St John’s College. He hereby gives notice that in the opinion of the Council the proposed Statute makes no alteration of any Statute which affects the University, and does not require the consent of the University; that the interests of the University are not prejudiced by it, and that the Council has resolved to take no action upon it, provided that the Council will wish to reconsider the proposed Statute if it has not been submitted to the Privy Council by 30 April 2019.

Election of student member of the Council and of the General Board

30 April 2018

Further to the Notice dated 10 March 2018 (Reporter, 6499, 2017–18. p. 447), the Vice-Chancellor gives notice that, in the elections held from Tuesday, 6 to Friday, 9 March 2018, the following person was elected as a student member of the Council and the General Board in class (d):

Council

Category (ii) – GU President

Ropek-Hewson, Sofia, PEM

General Board

Category (ii) – GU President

Ropek-Hewson, Sofia, PEM

Universities Superannuation Scheme: Grace submitted under Special Ordinance A (i) 5

1 May 2018

The Council, at its meeting on 23 April 2018, discussed the Grace initiated by members of the Regent House concerning the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) (Reporter, 6497, 2017–18, p. 413). The Council decided that it could not authorize submission of a Grace that would contravene the University’s Statutes and is publishing a Report (p. 539) which recommends that the Regent House approve its decision to withhold submission of that Grace. It noted that a number of members of the Council were also active members of USS in the sense that they were accruing entitlements within and making contributions to the USS. However, the Council took the view that none of its members had any conflict of interest such as to preclude them from taking this decision.

In recommending the withholding of the Grace, the Council was aware that this decision might be perceived as a repudiation of the points set out in the Grace. The Council wishes to reassure the Regent House that this is not the case. It recognizes that the retirement benefits offered by USS, and in particular those offered under a Defined Benefit scheme, are highly valued by the University’s USS members, and that they play an important role in attracting academic and professional staff to the University. The Council also acknowledges the significant level of support garnered by the Grace – unprecedented, at least in recent times – which indicates the strong backing for maintaining high-value retirement benefits.

In the circumstances the Council has decided to propose a Grace (Grace 1, p. 540) which repeats paragraphs (i)–(iii) of the original initiated Grace, including the acceptance of the level of risk implied by the Trustee’s proposals and assumptions in its September 2017 valuation. However, paragraph (iv) has been replaced with new paragraphs (iv)–(vii). The new paragraphs aim to reflect the importance which the Council attaches to retaining high-value retirement benefits for the University’s USS members. They also include a commitment to report to the Regent House by the end of 2018–19 on other ways of maintaining the total remuneration and retirement package in the longer term in the event that the benefits that can be delivered through negotiations between UUK and UCU are materially less than those currently available to the University’s USS members. The Council took the view that those of its members who were also active members of the USS as described above had a conflict of interest such as to preclude them from taking this latter decision, although they were able to participate in the discussion relating to it. The decision was consequently taken by a quorum of Council members who were not also active members of the USS.

Supplementary information relating to the USS, including the valuation process, can be found at http://www.staff.admin.cam.ac.uk/.

Statutes approved

27 April 2018

The Registrary has received notice from the Clerk of the Privy Council that Her Majesty the Queen, at a Council held on 24 April 2018, was pleased to approve amendments of Statute A III and Statute A VIII, which were submitted under the Common Seal of the University in accordance with Grace 1 of 27 September 2017.

These changes confirm in Statute the powers of members of the Regent House to initiate and submit Graces to the Regent House, and to initiate proposals for the amendment of a Grace already submitted to the Regent House but not yet approved.

Ballot of the Regent House: Voting now open

The following ballot is currently open for voting by members of the Regent House:

Ballot on Grace 2 of 17 January 2018 (class-lists)

Voting closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, 7 May 2018 and voting information, including fly-sheets, is available online at https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/ballots/voting/Pages/Ballot-Grace2of17Jan18.aspx [Raven only]. Postal voters are reminded that 7 May is a bank holiday and that Royal Mail will not be delivering or collecting post on that date.