Notices by the General Board

Establishment of a Professorship of Public Policy

The General Board, on the recommendation of the Faculty Board of Human, Social and Political Science and the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences, has approved the establishment of a Professorship of Public Policy (Grade 12) in perpetuity from 1 July 2026, assigned to the Department of Public Policy (Reporter, 6764, 2024–25, p. 196), known as the Bennett School of Public Policy. The full salary costs of the Professorship of Public Policy will be met from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy Fund (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 789). The Resource Management Committee approved the funding arrangements of the Professorship by circulation on 2 July 2025.

This post is a strategic commitment to the School of the Humanities and Social Science’s development and growth of public policy and is key to the launch of the Bennett School of Public Policy, representing a significant investment by the University. The activities of the Professor will be split approximately 30%:40%:30% between teaching, research and administrative duties respectively. The Professor will be responsible for helping to deliver modules for the M.Phil. courses in Public Policy and in Digital Policy (including contributing to assessment and admissions), in addition to developing a new Ph.D. programme in the Bennett School of Public Policy and the supervision of Ph.D. students. The Professor will be expected to take a lead in the development of major research grant applications, including the hiring of pre- and post-doctoral researchers associated with successful bids, and subsequent mentoring. The ideal candidate will have an outstanding research record of international repute in public policy. Finally, the Professor will be expected to make a significant contribution to both Department and Faculty Committees and be expected to accept an appointment to University Committees.

The General Board has agreed, on the recommendation of the Faculty Board of Human, Social and Political Science and the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences, the appointment shall be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors with the candidature open to all persons with experience in the general field of the title of the office.

The Council is submitting a Grace (Grace 8, p. 787) for the approval of the establishment of the Professorship in perpetuity.

Publication of Faculty membership lists

The General Board, after consultation with the Registrary and the Secretaries of Faculty Boards, has approved changes to the process for the publication of Faculty membership lists, used in the elections of Faculty Board members. These changes will save time for both the local and central teams involved in compiling and publishing the lists.

From 1 October 2025, the Secretary of each Faculty Board will publish preliminary and final lists of members of their Faculty on a dedicated local webpage. A list of the webpages on which the membership lists are published will be maintained on the Reporter website. There are no other changes to the process, which retains the opportunity to comment on and make corrections to the preliminary list before the final version is published and the timeline for publication of the two versions.

The Board has also approved consequential changes to General Board Regulations, noted below.

In the General Regulations for Faculties (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 600), by amending Regulations 2, 4 and 5 to read as follows and by removing from Regulation 3 the words ‘and to the Registrary’:

2. In October of every year, not later than the first day of Full Term, the Secretary of each Faculty Board shall publish a preliminary list of the members of each Faculty on a website available to members of that Faculty.

4. As early as possible in the Michaelmas Term each year, and in any case not later than the fifth weekday in November, the Secretary of each Faculty Board shall publish a final, promulgated list of the names of persons who are members of that Faculty under Regulation 1 of the Regulations for Faculty Membership on the same website as the preliminary list. Where relevant, that list shall also include the institution to which each member of the Faculty is affiliated.

5. The lists promulgated in accordance with Regulation 4 shall constitute the several Faculties for the purpose of the annual meetings of the Faculties. Those meetings shall be held after the sixth day and before the twenty-fifth day of November. Between the promulgation of the lists and the end of the academic year the Secretary of each Faculty Board shall not be required to ascertain or to record any change that may occur in the membership of a Faculty.