No 6273
Wednesday 11 July 2012
Vol cxlii No 38
pp. 749–802
21 July, Saturday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m.
10 September, Monday. Library closes.
17 September, Monday. Library re-opens.
The ordinary issues of the Reporter for the remainder of the 2011–12 academical year will be published on 18 July, 25 July, and 1 August.
The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that he has received with gratitude a benefaction of £100,000 from Mrs Dina Ullendorff, in memory of her late husband, Professor Edward Ullendorff, FBA, scholar of Semitic languages and Ethiopian culture. The benefaction is to be used to support an annual lecture in Semitic Philology.
The Council is submitting a Grace to the Regent House (Grace 1, p. 766) for the approval of regulations to govern this Fund.
On 22 June 2012, the Septemviri heard an appeal from the decision and sentence of the Court of Discipline delivered on 20 March 2012 in respect of a charge brought by the University Advocate on a complaint from the Senior Proctor against Mr Owen Holland, a candidate for the Ph.D. Degree.
Mr Holland was charged with an offence contrary to Regulation 2 of the General Regulations for Discipline “in that on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 he caused or significantly contributed to the disruption of the lecture scheduled to be delivered by Mr David Willetts at 6 p.m. in the Lady Mitchell Hall at the invitation of the University’s Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH) by leading a pre-planned chanted protest, which was liable to prevent, and which had the effect of preventing, the lecture from taking place”.
The Court of Discipline found Mr Holland guilty and imposed the following sentence: (i) that he be rusticated until the start of Michaelmas Full Term 2014; (ii) that his right to use University premises and facilities be suspended until the start of Michaelmas Full Term 2014; and (iii) that his admission to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (should his candidature for this degree be successful) be postponed until after the end of Easter Full Term 2015.
The Septemviri upheld Mr Holland’s conviction but allowed his appeal against sentence and substituted a sentence that he be rusticated for one Full Term, being the Michaelmas Term 2012, and that his right to use the University’s premises and facilities be suspended for the same period.
At Mr Holland’s request the hearing before the Court of Discipline took place in camera, and the Court of Discipline directed that the proceedings should not be reported until after any appeal had taken place. Mr Holland did not request the hearing of his appeal to be in camera, and the hearing before the Septemviri took place in public. A copy of the document recording the decision of the Septemviri is available online at http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2011-12/weekly/6273/Septemviri-Decision.pdf and a copy of the Court of Discipline’s reasoned decision in writing is available online at http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2011-12/weekly/6273/Court-Reasons.pdf.
The members of the Septemviri were: Lord Irvine of Lairg (Chairman), Professor Sir John Baker, Professor Dame Sandra Dawson, Sir Richard Dearlove, Mrs Sarah Squire, and Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill (Professor Dame Jean Thomas having recused herself). Mr Holland was represented before the Septemviri by Mr Michael Beloff QC and Mr Tristan Jones, both of Blackstone Chambers, Temple, London. The University Advocate was accompanied before the Septemviri by Professor Christopher Forsyth (Acting Deputy University Advocate).
The members of the Court of Discipline were: His Honour Colin Colston QC (Chairman), Mr Max Beber, Mrs Nicky Blanning, Professor Ian Hutchings, and Dr Kate Plaisted Grant (Mr Holland having chosen pursuant to Regulation 1 of the Regulations for the Court of Discipline that the Court should consist of four members of the Regent House in addition to the Chairman). Mr Holland was represented before the Court of Discipline by Dr Catherine MacKenzie, University Lecturer in Law.
The introduction of the Equality Act 2010 brought with it a requirement for public bodies to identify and publish Equality Objectives setting out their priority objectives for progressing equality over a four-year period from April 2012. The Council and General Board have approved the objectives recommended by the Human Resources Committee, and these are now available for the information of the University at http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/equality/reports/objectives_201216.pdf.