The Chancellor of Oxford University has
spoken publicly for the first time in support of attempts to reform the University.In a speech to an audience of alumni last
week, Lord Patten suggested that Cambridge should
follow Oxford’s
lead and introduce sweeping reforms if it is to remain a world-class
university. He said that he hoped Oxford’s
efforts would “make it easier for Cambridge
to follow us if we can get sensible proposals in place.” Cambridge declined to comment. Patten told Cherwell, “Oxford is a great university but we have to
ensure that our management is up to the task of keeping us world-class. John Hood’s
reforms are the culmination of a reform process that began a decade ago. I
strongly support what he is doing which would help us to get more support from
benefactors and to persuade the government to be more generous.”Lord Patten’s comment comes ahead of a
meeting of the Congregation on 1 November to examine a governance discussion
paper. The paper is a revised version of a May Green Paper produced by the
Working Party on Governance and led by the Vice-Chancellor entitled “The Governance
Structure”. This paper proposed to separate academic and institutional
governance by having an academic council and also a board of trustees to look
after the University’s administration, financial and property management. The
board of trustees was to be composed exclusively of external members, an idea
which many disliked.The latest discussion paper has replaced
the board of trustees with a council, which will contain seven external members
and seven internal members and will be chaired by Patten. The academic council, initially to be
comprised of 150 members has also been streamlined to 36, among whom will be
two student representatives. This will be chaired by the Vice-Chancellor.A spokesperson for the University pointed
out that under the existing system, the Vice-Chancellor is responsible for both
academic and institutional governance and so there could be a potential
conflict of interest. By contrast, both the Green Paper in May
and the reformed discussion paper will separate the two areas.The spokesperson added, “Under the
governance proposals, the Congregation retain ultimate power: they can move a vote
of no confidence in anything Council does.” She said, “The Congregation will
have the opportunity to discuss the proposals on 1 November, and that is a
forum for a frank exchange of views, and an airing of any potential concerns,
about the proposals, after which written responses will be received.” Andrew Graham, The Master of Balliol and a
new member of the University’s Council, commented, "The new proposals from
the Working Party on Governance show that there has been a great deal of
intelligent listening. There are still some points of substance to
discuss – and I shall want to hear what colleagues have to say in the debate in
Congregation – but, in my view, we are now heading in the right
direction."The University spokesperson explained the
need for governance reform: “Oxford
University is a large and
complex organisation with 17,000 students, nearly 8,000 employees, and a
turnover, including OUP, of £880m, so it’s essential that the system if
governance is appropriate for the size and complexity of the institution. Since
the governance structure was last reformed in
2000, it has become clear that the current system is not entirely satisfactory and
can be improved. One of the main aims of the proposed changes is to ensure that
academic decisions can be made in the fullest confidence that the University
has the best possible institutional framework (financial, legal and
administrative) in place to support and sustain the academic endeavour.”ARCHIVE: 3rd week MT 2005
Cambridge advised to heed reform
