No 6175
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Vol cxl No 16
pp. 485–496
The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows.
1. In their two Reports, dated 24 July 2006 and 26 November 2007 (Reporter, 2005–06, p. 885, and 2007–08, p. 293, respectively), the Council described a proposal for the construction of a new building at the Botanic Garden for the study of plant diversity and development, funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and to be known as the Sainsbury Laboratory in honour of Lord Sainsbury of Turville the settlor of the Foundation. The construction of the new building, as set out in the second Report, was approved by Grace 1 of 9 January 2008. The building project is now well advanced; a ‘topping out’ ceremony took place on 6 October 2009 and the building is due to be ready for occupation in January 2011. In this Report the General Board propose the constitution of a new Department, the Sainsbury Laboratory, as an institution within the School of the Biological Sciences.
2. The study of plant development is being transformed by the new scientific and technical resources becoming available to biologists, including high-volume DNA sequencing, novel methods for imaging living materials, increasingly sophisticated genetic tools, and refined chemical methods. Together these provide the opportunity to obtain an integrated understanding of plant development and plant diversity. They set the stage for a new synthesis that will draw on molecular, cellular, whole plant, and population biology to elucidate how organisms are constructed and to shed new light on the evolution and significance of biological diversity. The new Laboratory will undertake research into these matters and provide a focus for leading researchers to create an exceptionally powerful centre of excellence in plant development and diversity, with strong links to the Department of Plant Sciences and allied research groups in the University.
3. As well as meeting the full construction costs of the Laboratory, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation have generously agreed for a minimum of ten years to fund the running costs of the building and to provide a substantial annual grant to fund the full economic cost of the research undertaken by investigators working in the Laboratory on a five-year rolling basis. In addition, the Laboratory is expected to attract research funding from other external sources and partnership funding under the current HEFCE funding model for research. It is proposed that the Laboratory will be a constituent member of the School of the Biological Sciences.
4. It is envisaged that the Laboratory would initially accommodate some ten research groups headed by the Principal Investigators who would represent a balance between senior established academic staff and more junior and mid-career researchers. In order to provide the requisite senior scientific leadership for the Laboratory the agreement between the University and the Foundation includes specific financial provision for three senior positions, at professorial level, one of which would be held in association with the Directorship of the Laboratory, for an initial period. Funding for these senior positions is guaranteed for a minimum period of ten years and the Council of the School of the Biological Sciences have agreed to underwrite the positions for a single tenure. The general operation and scientific work of the Laboratory would be overseen by a Management Board consisting of members appointed on the nomination of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and members from within the University.
5. As well as proposing the formal establishment of the Laboratory as an institution the Board now propose the establishment of three single-tenure Professorships in the Laboratory, including one the holder of which would be the inaugural Director. The Board have agreed that elections to the Professorships would be made by ad hoc Boards of Electors. The Professorship associated with the Directorship would be filled first, in order that the Director-designate could participate fully in the appointments to the two further Professorships.
6. The General Board recommend:
I. That, with effect from 1 January 2011, a Sainsbury Laboratory be established as an institution within the School of the Biological Sciences, and governed by the regulations set out in the Appendix to this Report.
II. That three Professorships be established, with effect from 1 January 2011, each for a single tenure, assigned to the Sainsbury Laboratory and placed in Schedule B of the Statutes.
III. That Regulation 1 for the School of the Biological Sciences (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 570) be amended by adding the Sainsbury Laboratory to the institutions comprising the School.
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23 December 2009 |
Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor |
Andrew Gamble |
J. G. P. Sissons |
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N. Bampos |
Christopher Gilligan |
Sam Wakeford |
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William Brown |
Rachael Padman |
I. H. White |
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Philip Ford |
J. Rallison |
Yang Xia |
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|
Simon Franklin |
Jeremy Sanders |
The Sainsbury Laboratory shall be an institution independent of any Faculty or Department but under the supervision of the General Board, and shall be within the School of the Biological Sciences.
1. The Laboratory shall be under the general control of a Board of Management which shall consist of:
(a)four members appointed by the General Board;
(b)seven members appointed by the General Board, on the nomination of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation;
(c)the Director of the Laboratory, ex officio;
(d)two other senior members of the Laboratory appointed by the General Board on the nomination of the Management Board.
Members in classes (a), (b), and (d) shall be appointed in the Michaelmas Term to serve for four years from 1 January following their appointment. Among the members in classes (a) and (b) shall be not less than three scientists working in institutions overseas and one business person with a scientific background.
2. If any member in classes (a) and (b) misses two consecutive meetings her or his membership shall cease, unless the cause of the absence has been declared sufficient by the Board of Management.
3. The Management Board shall elect a Chairman from among the members in classes (a) and (b), to serve for three years from 1 January following election; the Chairman shall be eligible for re-election for a further period of three years.
4. The Administrator of the Laboratory shall serve as Secretary of the Board.
5. Subject to the powers of the Council, the General Board, the Council of the School of the Biological Sciences, and the Faculty Board of Biology, the general duties of the Board shall be:
(a)to promote research in plant development and plant diversity;
(b)to oversee the scientific progress of the Laboratory;
(c)to approve the distribution of funding in support of the Laboratory from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation;
(d)to prepare an Annual Report on the finances of the Laboratory for submission to the General Board and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation;
(e)to oversee the arrangements for the periodic review of the Laboratory, in accordance with agreements between the University and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation;
(f)to appoint, or reappoint, the scientific staff of the Laboratory, other than those who hold University offices.
6. The Chairman, in consultation with the Director shall submit an Annual Report on the scientific progress of the Laboratory to the General Board and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
1. There shall be a University office of Director of the Laboratory which shall be held concurrently with a Professorship.
2. The Director shall normally be appointed by the General Board for a term of five years and may be re-appointed for further periods, as determined by the General Board, on the advice of a Committee constituted for the particular occasion, in consultation with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
3. Subject to the duties of the Management Board, the Director shall be the administrative head of the Laboratory, and shall be responsible to the Management Board for the proper operation and management of the Laboratory and for ensuring the effective carrying out of the Laboratory’s purpose and functions, including the direction of research in the Laboratory.
4. There shall be such other University offices in the Laboratory as the University, or the General Board, on the recommendation of the Management Board, may establish from time to time. Appointments to such offices shall be made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Statutes and Ordinances.
5. The staff of the Laboratory shall conform to such conditions of residence as may be determined by the Management Board, subject to the approval of the General Board.
6. The duties of the staff of the Laboratory other than the Director, shall be determined by the Management Board subject to the approval of the General Board.
7. During any period of absence from duty of the Director, the General Board, on the recommendation of the Management Board, shall have the authority to appoint a person to be Acting Director. A person so appointed shall be recognized as Director of the Laboratory for all purposes.