Reports

Report of the General Board on Senior Academic Promotions

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

1. The senior academic promotions exercise in respect of promotions to take effect from 1 October 2010 has been completed. The General Board, at their meeting on 19 May 2010, considered recommendations from the Main Senior Academic Promotions Committee in respect of promotion to personal Professorships, Readerships, and Senior Lectureships. With the recommendations the Board received an extensive report, which included the minutes of meetings of Faculty Promotions Committees, and of the Board’s Main Academic Promotions Committee and Sub-Committees. The report and the minutes provided the Board with an account of the procedure followed for the evaluation and comparison of the evidence for all applicants. The Board were able to see how recommendations had been arrived at so that, without repeating the entire exercise, they could either approve the recommendations or, if they so wished, consider the basis on which any of the recommendations had been made.

2. The contents of the report were as follows:

• Guidance and Procedure (blue booklet)

• Minutes of the Main Committee and Sub-Committees

• Summary lists of Faculty Promotions Committee and Sub-Committee evaluations indicating adjustments in evaluations and special and non-standard aspects of applications

• Summary tables giving names of applicants in priority order by Sub-Committee for each of the senior academic offices

• Funding and statistical information

• Equal opportunity report on all applications received

• Faculty Promotions Committee minutes

• Feedback Statements

3. The Board now recommend the establishment of twenty-four Professorships from 1 October 2010 as set out in Recommendation I. The establishment of these Professorships is proposed on condition that, with the exception of Dr L. Taub, in each case where the person currently holds a permanently established office, that office should be placed in abeyance during the tenure of the Professorship. In proposing the establishment of a Professorship for Dr L. Taub, the Board have agreed that it should be tenable for so long as Dr Taub continues to hold the office of Curator and Director of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science. The Board have accordingly agreed that, in accordance with Statute D, II, 11(b), Dr Taub should hold her current curatorial offices concurrently with the proposed Professorship.

4. The Board also propose the establishment of twenty-seven Readerships from 1 October 2010, as set out in Recommendation II. The establishment of these Readerships, is proposed on condition that, in each case where the person currently holds a permanently established office, that office should be placed in abeyance during the tenure of the Readership.

5. In order to avoid delay in publishing the Report, the Board have put forward their recommendations before the titles of the Professorships and Readerships have been agreed. The Board will announce these titles at a later date, after consultation with the individuals concerned.

6. The Board have also agreed, in accordance with Statute D, XVIII, 3 and the special regulation for University Senior Lectureships (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 727), to appoint the twenty-three individuals listed in the Schedule to this Report to University Senior Lectureships.

7. The estimated total additional cost to central funds in the first year of the proposals for promotion to personal Professorships and Readerships and of the appointments to University Senior Lectureships of the persons named in this Report will be approximately £530,901.

8. The General Board recommend:

I. That, with effect from 1 October 2010, Professorships be established for named persons for one tenure, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Faculty, Department, or Institution named in each case, as follows:

School of Arts and Humanities

One in the Faculty of English for Dr Hilton Richard Leslie Beadle of St John’s College

One in the Department of German and Dutch for Dr Andrew John Webber of Churchill College

One in the Department of French for Dr Emma Fiona Wilson of Corpus Christi College

One in the Department of Linguistics for Dr Katarzyna Malgorzata Jaszczolt of Newnham College

School of the Biological Sciences

One in the Department of Biochemistry for Dr Paul Dupree of Magdalene College

One in the Department of Biochemistry for Dr Ben Francesco Luisi

One in the Department of Pathology for Dr Christine Jannette Watson of Newnham College

One in the Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience for Dr Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz of Sidney Sussex College

One in the Department of Zoology for Dr Helen Le Breton Skaer of Jesus College

School of Clinical Medicine

One in the Department of Haematology for Dr Willem Hendrik Ouwehand of Trinity College

School of the Humanities and Social Sciences

One in the Faculty of History for Dr Simon Richard Stanislaw Szreter of St John’s College

One in the Institute of Criminology for Dr Loraine Ruth Renata Gelsthorpe of Pembroke College

One in the Department of Politics and International Studies for Dr Marc Weller of Hughes Hall

One in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science for Dr Liba Taub of Newnham College, for as long as she holds the office of Curator and Director of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science

School of the Physical Sciences

One in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics for Dr Benjamin Christopher Allanach

One in the Department of Chemistry for Dr Jane Clarke of Lucy Cavendish College

One in the Department of Chemistry Dr Michele Vendruscolo of Clare Hall

One in the Department of Chemistry for Dr Dominic Simon Wright of Gonville and Caius College

One in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy for Dr William John Clegg of Selwyn College

One in the Department of Physics for Dr Paul Alexander of Jesus College

School of Technology

One in the Computer Laboratory for Dr Neil Anthony Dodgson of Emmanuel College

One in the Department of Engineering for Dr Holger Babinsky of Magdalene College

One in the Department of Engineering for Dr Vikram Sudhir Deshpande of Pembroke College

One in the Department of Engineering for Dr Duncan Campbell McFarlane of St John’s College

II. That, with effect from 1 October 2010, Readerships be established, as follows, and that the General Board be authorized to appoint to each Readership the person for whom its establishment is proposed:

School of Arts and Humanities

One in the Department of French for Dr Martin Paul Vernon Crowley of Queens’ College

One in the Department of French for Dr Mari Catrin Jones of Peterhouse

One in the Department of Linguistics for Dr Bert Vaux of King’s College

One in the Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics for Dr John Nicholas Williams of Clare College

School of the Biological Sciences

One in the Department of Biochemistry for Dr Nancy Margaret Standart of Christ’s College

One in the Department of Experimental Psychology for Dr Timothy John Bussey of Pembroke College

One in the Department of Plant Sciences for Dr Beverley Jane Glover of Queens’ College

One in the Department of Zoology for Dr Howard Andrew Baylis

One in the Department of Zoology for Dr Christopher David Jiggins of St John’s College

One in the Department of Veterinary Medicine for Dr Clare Elizabeth Bryant of Queens’ College

School of Clinical Medicine

One in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry for Dr Fiona Mary Gribble of Churchill College

One in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry for Dr Susan Ozanne of Churchill College

One in the Department of Medicine for Dr Ian Boden Wilkinson of Trinity Hall

School of the Humanities and Social Sciences

One in the Department of Biological Anthropology for Dr Leslie Ann Knapp of Emmanuel College

One in the Faculty of Economics for Dr Hamish Wallace Low of Trinity College

One in the Department of Education for Dr Timothy Rowland of Homerton College

One in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science for Dr Timothy Mark Lewens of Clare College

School of the Physical Sciences

One in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics for Dr Harvey Stephen Reall of Trinity College

One in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics for Dr Caucher Birkar

One in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics for Dr Richard John Samworth of St John’s College

One in the Department of Chemistry for Dr Matthew James Gaunt of Magdalene College

One in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy for Dr Zoe Helen Barber of Downing College

One in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy for Dr Catherine Mary Fiona Rae of Emmanuel College

One in the Department of Physics for Dr John Ellis of Gonville and Caius College

School of Technology

One in the Computer Laboratory for Dr Simone Heidi Teufel of King’s College

One in the Department of Engineering for Dr Colm Durkan of Girton College

One in the Department of Engineering for Dr Carl Edward Rasmussen of Darwin College

SCHEDULE

The General Board have agreed to appoint the following to University Senior Lectureships, with effect from 1 October 2010 to the retiring age.

19 May 2010	Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor	Simon Franklin	Rachael Padman
	N. Bampos	Andrew Gamble	J. Rallison
	William Brown	C. A. Gilligan	Jeremy Sanders
	H. A. Chase	David Good	J. G. P. Sissons
	Philip Ford

School of Arts and Humanities

Faculty of Divinity	Dr Simon James Gathercole of Fitzwilliam College
Faculty of English	Dr Phillip James Connell of Selwyn College
Faculty of English	Dr Robert Grant Macfarlane of Emmanuel College
Faculty of English	Dr Christopher Dominic James Tilmouth of Peterhouse
Department of Italian	Dr Helena Louise Sanson of Clare College
Faculty of Music	Dr Benjamin Walton of Jesus College
Faculty of Philosophy	Dr Clare Elizabeth Chambers of Jesus College

School of the Biological Sciences

Department of Biochemistry	Dr Julian Leether Griffin of King’s College
Department of Zoology	Dr Walter Federle of Jesus College

School of the Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Biological Anthropology	Dr Jay Theodore Stock of Downing College
Department of Education	Dr Denes Szucs of Darwin College
Faculty of History	Dr Stephen Anthony Alford of King’s College
Faculty of History	Dr Carl Stuart Watkins of Magdalene College
Faculty of Law	Dr Jens Martin Scherpe of Gonville and Caius College
Faculty of Law	Dr Catherine Anne Seville of Newnham College

School of the Physical Sciences

Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics	Dr Matthew Bowen Wingate of Fitzwilliam College
Department of Earth Sciences	Dr Kenneth James McNamara of Downing College
Department of Geography	Dr Elizabeth Watson of Newnham College
Department of Chemistry	Dr Andrew Edward Henry Wheatley of Fitzwilliam College
Department of Physics	Dr Christopher Gorham Lester of Peterhouse

School of Technology

Computer Laboratory	Dr Markus Guenther Kuhn of Wolfson College
Computer Laboratory	Dr Andrew William Moore of Corpus Christi College
Department of Engineering	Dr Joan Lasenby of Trinity College

Statistical Summary

Attached as Annex A to this Report is a statistical summary by Sub-Committee of the number of successful and unsuccessful applications for promotions to personal Professorships, Readerships, and Senior Lectureships.

Senior Academic Promotions 2010 – Annex A

Statistical Summary of Outcomes by Sub-Committee

Professorships

Sub-Committee	Successful	Unsuccessful	Total
Arts and Humanities	4	2	6
Biological and Medical Sciences	6	8	14
Humanities and Social Sciences	4	8	12
Physical Sciences	6	6	12
Technology	4	5	9
Total	24	29	53

Readerships

Sub-Committee	Successful	Unsuccessful	Total
Arts and Humanities	4	6	10
Biological and Medical Sciences	9	11	20
Humanities and Social Sciences	4	12	16
Physical Sciences	7	4	11
Technology	3	4	7
Total	27	37	64

University Senior Lectureships

Sub-Committee	Successful	Unsuccessful	Total
Arts and Humanities	7	5	12
Biological and Medical Sciences	2	4	6
Humanities and Social Sciences	6	12	18
Physical Sciences	5	1	6
Technology	3	1	4
Total	23	23	46

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a BP Foundation McKenzie Professorship of Earth Sciences

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

1. The Directors of the British Petroleum Foundation have made a generous benefaction of £4.35m to Cambridge in America to commemorate the scientific contributions of Professor Dan McKenzie, CH, FRS, Fellow of King’s College and Emeritus Royal Society Professor of Earth Sciences. The Board of Cambridge in America have agreed to allocate the sum of £4.15m to form an endowment to support research in the broad area of quantitative physical Earth Sciences and, in particular, the establishment of a Professorship in this field. The Board have also agreed that the remainder of the benefaction (£200,000) should be made available to support the work of the Professor.

2. Professor McKenzie is one of the most distinguished international earth scientists of the past 50 years, whose contributions range widely and profoundly over many major branches of the subject. One of his most important legacies which his work has demon­strated repeatedly, is the notion that simple models, based on sound physical principles, can be used to explain quantitatively most natural geological and geophysical phenomena. He has made major research contributions to fields as diverse as marine geophysics, plate tectonics, continental deformation, mantle con­vection and the interior evolution of planets, igneous petrology, and geochemistry. Professor McKenzie retired in September 2009 and is now an Emeritus Royal Society Professor in the University.

3. In addition to marking Professor McKenzie’s exceptional contribution to the subject and his productive scientific interaction with the company over many years, BP intend, through this donation, to enhance the excellence of research and training in quantitative physical Earth Sciences in the University and sustain the interaction with BP (both directly with the company and through the existing BP Institute). In particular, they wish to do so by securing the senior academic leadership and intellectual critical mass in this area, through a permanent Professorial level appointment.

4. Accordingly, the General Board now propose that a Professorship should be established in the University, to be named the BP Foundation McKenzie Professorship of Earth Sciences. The General Board have determined that elections to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors; the General Board have also agreed that on the occasion of each election to the Professorship they will invite BP to suggest the name of a suitably qualified person for inclusion among the General Board’s three nominations to the Board of Electors.

5. The General Board recommend:

I. That a BP Foundation McKenzie Professorship of Earth Sciences be established from 1 October 2010, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Earth Sciences.

II. That the regulations for a BP Foundation Fund for Earth Sciences, as set out in the Schedule to this Report, be approved.

21 May 2010	Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor	Simon Franklin	J. Rallison
	N. Bampos	Andrew Gamble	Jeremy Sanders
	William Brown	C. A. Gilligan	J. G. P. Sissons
	H. A. Chase	David Good	Sam Wakeford
	Philip Ford	Rachael Padman	Yang Xia

 

SCHEDULE

BP Foundation Fund for Earth Sciences

1. The sum of £4.15m received from the Board of Cambridge in America representing a donation from the BP Foundation to commemorate the scientific contributions of Professor Dan McKenzie, CH, FRS, Fellow of King’s College and Emeritus Royal Society Professor of Earth Sciences, shall form a fund called the BP Foundation Fund for Earth Sciences. The purpose of the Fund shall be the support of research in the broad area of quantitative physical Earth Sciences.

2. The Managers of the Fund shall be:

(a)the Head of the Department of Earth Sciences;

(b)the Head of the School of the Physical Sciences;

(c)three members, including one nominated by BP plc, appointed by the Faculty Board of Earth Sciences and Geography.

Managers in class (c) shall be appointed in the Michaelmas Term and serve for four years from 1 January following their appointment.

3. The first charge on the Fund shall be the stipend, national insurance, pension contributions, and associated indirect costs payable by the University in respect of the BP Foundation McKenzie Professor of Earth Sciences and any other University offices and posts in the field of quantitative physical Earth Sciences as may be established from time to time by the University, or the General Board, as a charge on the Fund.

4. After provision has been made in accordance with Regulation 3, or during a vacancy in the Professorship, the income of the Fund may be applied at the discretion of the Managers for the support of research in quantitative physical Earth Sciences, including supporting the work of the Professor.

5. Any unexpended income of the Fund in a financial year may be either added to the capital of the Fund or accumulated for use as income in future years, as the Managers may determine.

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Humanitas Visiting Professorships Fund

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

1. The University has received an offer from Lord Weidenfeld, on behalf of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and of benefactors associated with the Institute, to fund Visiting Professorships in up to ten fields in the arts, social sciences, and humanities. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue is a London-based think-tank and philanthropic organization which seeks to promote international understanding through policy research, education, and cultural exchange. Each Visiting Professorship would be funded for five years with one Visiting Professor elected for a maximum term of eight weeks in each of those five years. The Visiting Professorships would be held at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH).

2. The promotion of interdisciplinary research and innovation in the various fields of the arts, social sciences, and humanities is an important element of the University strategy. The development of cross-disciplinary enquiry helps stimulate fresh thinking and dialogue, facilitating new collaborations and reaching out to new audiences. The University is also committed to encouraging comparative perspectives in these fields, furthering understanding of their importance for different global regions and the relationships between these.

3. The offer to fund the Visiting Professorships has received the support of CRASSH, the Council of the School of Arts and Humanities, and the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Encouraging interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives, the Visiting Professors will help bring the most up-to-date views in the arts, social sciences, and humanities to constituencies within the University and to interested audiences. CRASSH will liaise actively with interested Faculties and Departments to introduce the Visiting Professors to the wider intellectual life of the University and to ensure that the scheme delivered the maximum benefit.

4. The Visiting Professorships will attract distinguished academics and leading practitioners with an active interest in the academic shaping of their field. The duties of each Visiting Professor will be to deliver a series of up to three public lectures during one term of the year in which they hold the Visiting Professorship and to engage in a symposium. The symposium will focus in particular on the interests of graduate students in the field concerned, and graduate students from the University of Oxford will be invited to participate, on a reciprocal basis, under the auspices of the parallel scheme there. It is anticipated that Visiting Professorships in four fields would be established from 1 October 2010, with up to six in other fields to follow in subsequent years.

5. The General Board have accepted the proposal from the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities to recommend the establishment of a Humanitas Visiting Professorships Fund and the establishment of the office of Humanitas Visiting Professor. The Board are assured that the Visiting Professorships can be expected to attract an excellent field of candidates. The Visiting Professors will be elected by the General Board, under the provision of Statute D, XV, 1(c), on the recommendation of an Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee will also act as the Managers of the Humanitas Visiting Professorships Fund.

6. To attract the widest possible field of candidates the General Board recommend that the Visiting Professorships should be open to persons of any age. The Board accordingly recommend an amendment to Statute D, XIV, 14 to include the Humanitas Visiting Professorships in the list of Professorships which may be held by persons over the age of 67 years.

7. The General Board recommend:

I. That a Humanitas Visiting Professorships Fund be established in the University to be governed by the regulations set out in the Schedule to this Report.

II. That, with effect from 1 October 2010, the office of Humanitas Visiting Professor be established, assigned to the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities and placed in Schedule B and H of the Statutes, and that the title of the Visiting Professorship be determined by the General Board on the occasion of each election.

III. That, 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: