Reports

Report of the Council on an additional office of Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor

The Council begs leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Statute C III 15 confirms that the number of offices of Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor shall be determined by the Council subject to a maximum determined by Ordinance. This Report proposes the addition of one further office of Pro‑Vice-Chancellor, increasing the maximum number from five to six. This change would enable the Council to appoint a Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor with specific responsibility for supporting all activities related to environmental sustainability across the University. If the change is approved, the Council will give detailed consideration to the title and remit of the new role.

2. At its meeting on 16 October 2023, the Council discussed the Topping Study as well as its overall ambitions in relation to sustainability. Its starting point was a desire to support the ambitions of staff and students to maximise the impact of their work in relation to the University’s objectives with regard to sustainability. Such an effort would have the potential to amplify the impact of educational programmes and research findings, reveal areas of potential collaboration and application across the University, and clarify to potential collaborators, partners, and supporters what the University of Cambridge has to contribute in this critical domain. This larger, University‑wide effort will require the development of an overall institutional strategy in climate and sustainability, built on its interdisciplinary research strengths and encompassing its educational offerings, operations, and outreach activities.

3. To facilitate this reset in approach, the Council would like to appoint a Pro-Vice-Chancellor. The Pro-Vice‑Chancellor with responsibility for sustainability will play a key part in driving progress on the University’s sustainability ambitions on all fronts. Having this responsibility in the hands of one Pro-Vice-Chancellor will make sure it receives the attention it needs without the distraction of competing priorities.

4. The Council is committed to reviewing the effectiveness of the role before the end of the second term, in its usual way, to determine whether this approach is still appropriate once sustainability is more embedded within the University’s core activities. At that time, the Council will consider whether the role will continue in that area or whether the role needs to move across to another area that requires leadership.

5. The Council recommends that, the first sentence of Regulation 1 of the Ordinance for the office of Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor (Statutes and Ordinances, 2022, p. 696) be amended to read as follows:

The maximum number of offices of Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor shall be six.

23 October 2023