Cambridge University Reporter


Report of the General Board on the establishment of a HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies and related matters

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

1. The University has a well-established record of research and teaching in Islamic Studies that is among the best in the Western World. Academic work is located primarily in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (formerly Oriental Studies) and the Faculty of Divinity. However, the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies acts as the focus for outreach in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, through its provision of a termly lecture series and a series of workshops and conferences. In addition through the work of academics located in other Faculties and Departments and College Research Fellows, research and teaching in this field extends broadly across other disciplines including history, sociology, politics, and anthropology. These activities are underpinned by extensive Arabic, Persian, and Turkish collections in the University Library and in many Faculty and departmental libraries.

2. While it is important that the University maintains its long-standing commitment to the study of the languages and literary production of the Middle East, there is a vital role in the development of critical and constructive awareness of the role of Islam today, both in the Middle East and on a global scale, through a combination of research, teaching, and public engagement. This is reflected in a very substantial growth of interest from undergraduate and graduate students who want to pursue courses and research work in Islam and the Middle East.

3. An opportunity, building on these strong foundations, substantially to increase the University's provision has now arisen through a most generous benefaction of £8m from HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a leading international businessman and philanthropist with global interests in many sectors including banking, the media, and leisure industries. Following consultation with the Faculty Board of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, the Committee of Management for the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, and the Council of the School of Arts and Humanities, the General Board propose the replacement of the existing Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies by a new Centre to be known as the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies.

4. The benefaction, which would be paid in four annual instalments, would form a Fund whose income would enable a range of developments in the new Centre that would promote academic work within the broad field of Islam in the Global Age including:

It is intended that the first research programmes of the Centre would focus on: (a) Islam in the United Kingdom and Europe, and (b) Islam in the media. Over time the Centre will develop its range of activities as a centre of excellence, undertaking both academic research and public outreach to disseminate its findings to a wider audience. The work of the Centre would be expected to attract external funding from other sources.

5. The Centre would be an institution under the supervision of the General Board but would interact widely with academics with cognate interests from both within the University and outside. The Centre's work will be led by a Director, who will hold a University office in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, and would be appointed by the Board on the recommendation of the Centre's Committee of Management. The Committee of Management will include members appointed by the General Board and members nominated by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. As well as supervising the academic work of the Centre, the Committee of Management would have authority to convene an advisory board to provide guidance on the Centre's long-term programme and funding opportunities. The Centre would be housed in the building of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

6. The General Board recommend, with effect from 1 June 2008:

I. That a HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies be established, and governed by the regulations set out in Schedule I to this Report, in place of the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

II. That a HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Fund be established and governed by the regulations as set out in Schedule II to this Report.

III. That the regulations for Endowed University Lectureships (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 704) be amended by adding the following entry:

  Fund
Subject
Faculty or Department
HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Fund
Islamic Studies
Middle Eastern Studies       

28 February 2008 ALISON RICHARD, Vice-Chancellor WILLIAM BROWN KATHERINE LINDER
 NICK BAMPOS P. COULTHARD D. W. B. MACDONALD
 GRAEME BARKER PHILIP FORD MELVEENA MCKENDRICK
 JOHN BELL RICHARD FRIEND PATRICK SISSONS
 TOM BLUNDELL RICHARD HUNTER I. H. WHITE

SCHEDULE I

HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies

Management

1. The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies shall be an institution under the supervision of the General Board and shall be under the general control of a Committee of Management which shall consist of:
(a) the Chairman of the Council of the School of Arts and Humanities who shall be Chairman;
(b) a representative of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies;
(c) the Director of the Centre;
(d) no fewer than two other members appointed by the General Board including one on the recommendation of the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences and one on the recommendation of the Faculty Board of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies;
(e) up to three persons nominated by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal;
(f) up to two additional persons co-opted at the discretion of the Committee, provided that it shall not be obligatory to co-opt any person.

2. Members in class (d) shall be appointed in the Michaelmas Term to serve from January following their appointment for two or four years as the General Board shall determine at their appointment.

3. Co-opted members in class (f) shall serve until 31 December of the year in which they are co-opted or of the following year as the Committee shall determine at the time of their co-optation.

4. The Assistant Director of the Centre shall serve as Secretary of the Committee.

5. The duties of the Committee shall be as follows:
(a) to meet the aim of the Centre being to foster deeper understanding between the Muslim world and the West through the twin paths of high quality research and effective outreach;
(b) to meet the objectives of the Centre being:
 (i) to create, on a self-sustaining basis, a world-class cadre of researchers at the postgraduate and postdoctoral levels by providing studentships and fellowships designed to feed into the next generation of academics as well as the public and private sectors;
 (ii) to develop an energetic public outreach programme helping to ensure that public policy and debate is based on an informed understanding of Islam in today's societies;
 (iii) to advance tolerance, mutual understanding, and cross-cultural dialogue between Islam and the West;
 (iv) to act as an active partner with other national and international centres in promoting an informed understanding of Islam and Muslims in the contemporary world;
 (v) to engage with Muslim organizations and members of the Muslim community in the United Kingdom and Europe;
 (vi) to develop the activities of the Centre around the overarching theme of Islam in the Global Age and sub-themes of Islam in Europe and the United Kingdom, and Islam and the media, but so that the Centre should evolve over time (as approved by the General Board) to meet contemporary needs;
(c) in collaboration with the Faculty Boards concerned, to promote teaching in Islamic subjects, and to promote research in these subjects and the publication of the results of such research;
(d) to co-operate with outside bodies in the encouragement of teaching and research in Islamic subjects;
(e) to create programmes and communications accessible to the wider community which encourage informed discussion on contemporary issues in the study of Islamic subjects;
(f) to administer funds allocated to them for the purposes specified in (a) to (e) above;
(g) to manage the distribution of income from the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies Fund between the activities of the Centre;
(h) to supervise the work of the staff of the Centre;
(i) to appoint at their discretion an advisory group comprising eminent persons who can assist in the development of the Centre and whose membership shall include representatives of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

6. The Committee of Management shall prepare annual estimates for submission to the General Board and shall submit written reports at least twice a year to HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

7. The Committee shall have the right of reporting to the University.

8. During any period of absence from duty of the Director, the General Board on the recommendation of the Committee of Management shall have the discretion to appoint a person to be Acting Director. A person so appointed shall be recognized as Director of the Centre for all purposes.

Staff of the Centre

9. The Directorship and Assistant Directorship of the Centre shall each be held concurrently with a University office.

10. The Director and Assistant Director shall be appointed by the General Board on the recommendation of the Committee of Management. The Director shall hold office for five years, and the Assistant Director shall hold office for four years. Each shall be eligible for reappointment.

11. Under the general control of the Committee of Management, the Director shall be the administrative Head of the Centre, and shall be responsible for the direction of Islamic studies in the Centre and their encouragement generally in the University.

12. Appointments and reappointments to a University office in respect of the graduate staff of the Centre other than the offices of Director and Assistant Director shall be made by the Committee of Management but subject to the approval of the General Board.

13. The duties of any graduate staff of the Centre other than the Director shall be determined by the Committee of Management, subject to approval by the General Board.

14. The Director and any other members of the graduate staff shall conform to such conditions of residence as may be determined by the Committee of Management with the approval of the General Board.

HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Visiting Fellowships

15. In order to enable scholars from outside Cambridge to take part in and contribute to the work of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies there shall be Visiting Fellowships for persons who are able to make important contributions to the objectives of the Centre.

16. The maximum number of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Visiting Fellowships that there may be in the Centre at any one time shall be determined by the Committee of Management of the Centre. Appointments and reappointments to Visiting Fellowships shall be made by the Committee of Management of the Centre for periods not exceeding one year at a time.

17. A Visiting Fellow shall be required under the general supervision of the Committee of Management to take part in the teaching and research programme of the Centre.

18. Visiting Fellows shall not hold any University office during the tenure of their Fellowships. A Visiting Fellow who is not a member of the University at the time of appointment shall be required to become a member as soon as is conveniently possible thereafter.

19. The stipend, if any, of a Visiting Fellow shall be determined by the Committee of Management with the approval of the General Board on the occasion of each appointment or reappointment.

20. Subject to the approval of the General Board the Committee of Management may make grants to Visiting Fellows to meet travelling or other expenses incurred in connection with their Fellowships.

HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Postdoctoral Fellowships

21. The Committee of Management shall decide upon the number of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Postdoctoral Fellowships to be awarded each year always provided that at least one Fellowship is held in each year. Appointments to these Fellowships shall be made by the Committee of Management upon the recommendation of the Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies.

22. The Fellowships shall be tenable for periods of up to five years.

23. The annual stipend of a Fellow shall be within a range determined by the Committee of Management, to be approved from time to time by the General Board.

24. Additional research support grants may also be awarded to HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Postdoctoral Fellows.

25. Subject to the approval of the General Board the Committee of Management may make grants to Postdoctoral Fellows to meet travelling or other expenses incurred in connection with their Fellowships.

HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Postgraduate Scholarships

26. The Committee of Management shall decide upon the number of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Postgraduate Scholarships to be awarded each year, always provided that at least one Scholarship is held in each year.

27. The Electors to an HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Scholarship shall be the Head of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, the Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, and the Assistant Director of the Centre provided that if the Director of the Centre and Head of the Department are the same person the Committee of Management shall appoint one other teaching officer in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies to serve for two years from 1 January following his or her appointment.

28. In order to be eligible for a Scholarship, a candidate must have been admitted, or be seeking admission, as a student studying towards the Ph.D. Degree in the field of Islamic studies, within the Department of Middle Eastern Studies.


SCHEDULE II

HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Fund

1. The sum of £8m received by the University from HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal shall form a fund to be known as the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Fund which shall be used to promote the study of Islam.

2. The administration of the Fund shall be under the control of a Committee consisting of the Chairman of the Council of the School of Arts and Humanities who shall be Chairman; the Chairman of the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences; the Chairman of the Faculty Board of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; the Head of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies; and the Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies.

3. The expendable portion of the Fund shall be applied:
(i) to the payment of the stipend, national insurance, pension contributions, and associated indirect costs of a University Lecturer, to be known as the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Lecturer in Islamic Studies, in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, who shall be the Assistant Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies;
(ii) to support the activities of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies as the Committee of Management shall determine including making grants to the Director and Assistant Director of the Centre to meet travelling or other expenses incurred in connection with these activities;
(iii) to support such number of postdoctoral and visiting fellowships and postgraduate scholarships in Islamic Studies as the Committee of Management of the Centre shall determine;
(iv) to reimburse the University for any sums that it has made available from its own resources in order to underwrite the income available for the Centre during the first ten years of its life.

4. Any expendable portion of the Fund that is not applied under Regulation 3 in any financial year may be accumulated and expended in any one or more subsequent years.

5. The University shall have the power to alter these regulations by Grace on the recommendation of the Managers, subject to the approval of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.