NEWCASTLEUNIVERSITY
C O U R T
8 May 2009
Present:The Chancellor (in the Chair), Pro-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Mrs L Braiden, Mr NE Braithwaite, Sir Patrick Brown, Professor G Burgess, Sir Peter Carr, Mrs J J Clubley, Ms M Coyle, Professor EGN Cross, Sir Michael Darrington, Professor CP Day, Mr A Fenwick, Dr R Hawley, Professor OR Hinton, Lady Irvine, Mr J Jeffery, Lord Judd of Portsea, Miss FM Kirkby, Dr H Loebl, Mr RH Maudslay, Judge Mithani, Mrs S Murray, Mr WP Richens, Professor E Ritchie, Sir George Russell, Mr P Shaw, Mr N Sherlock, Mr HM Shukla, Mrs J Sjøvoll, Professor AC Stevenson, Mr R Taylor, Professor MJ Whitaker, Professor NG Wright and Professor PL Younger.
In attendance:Mr RC Dale(Executive Director of Finance), Dr JV Hogan (Registrar) and Miss EM Niven (Administrative Officer).
Apologies for absence:Mr AG Balls, The Rt Hon Alan Beith MP, Mr A Bergshaven, Mr J Edwards, Ms C Galley, Professor EV Haimes,Dr VA Hammond, Professor C Harvey, Councillor Mick Henry, Mr CJ Hilton, His Honour Judge David Hodson, Mr PM Johnson, Lord Joicey, The Rt Rev the Lord Bishop of Newcastle, Dr M Stoppard.
M I N U T E S
1.WELCOME
The Chancellor welcomedMrs JJ Clubley to her first meeting of Court.
2.RETIRING MEMBERS
The Chancellor thanked the retiring lay and student members for their contribution to the work of Court.
3.MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 6 October 2008 were approved as a correct record and signed.
4.DEATH OF MR ARTHUR TAYLOR
Reported the death of Mr Arthur Taylor, CBE, lay member of Court from 1980-2005. Mr Taylor was a former deputy lieutenant of the County of Tyne and Wear and had served as a senior partner in the Newcastle law firm, Samuel Phillips and Co for more than three decades and was a past president of the Newcastle Law Society. He rose to become Chairman of the National Association of Health Authorities (1984-87), a member of the General Medical Council, past President of the North of England Medico-Legal Society, past Chairman of the Family Conciliation Service for Northumberland and Tyneside and a member of the National Family Mediation's management committee. He was also a member of Northumbria Probation Committee and an honorary solicitor of the United Hebrew Congregation in Newcastle.
Resolved that Court record its deep regret and sympathy for the relatives of Mr Taylor.
Members of Court stood to observe a moment of silence in memory of Mr Taylor.
5.THE CHANCELLORSHIP
Received an oral report from Mr Jack Jeffery, Chairman of the Chancellorship Working Group.
Noted that:
1.Having considered the various suggestions that were submitted for consideration for the Chancellorship, the working group had identified one individual who they wished to recommend to the joint meeting of Court and Senate to be held on 16 June 2009. This individual had been approached and had indicated that they would be willing toaccept the post.
2.Subject to Court and Senate approving the recommendation, the individual concerned had requested that the announcement of the appointment be carefully timed so as not to distract from their ongoing responsibilities.
6.REPORTS FROM COURT STEERING COMMITTEE
Considered:
(a)First Report from Court Steering Committee.
(b)Second Report from Court Steering Committee.
[Circulated with the agenda as Documents B and C. Copies filed in the Minute Book.]
Resolved that:
(i)Court approve the introduction of the title Honorary Life Member.
(ii)The title of Honorary Life Member be awarded to the following individuals:
Dr R Hawley
Miss F M Kirkby
Dr H Loebl
Mr N Sherlock
Lord Walton of Detchant
(iii)The following members be re-appointed to serve on Court from 1August 2009 until 31 July 2012:
Mr A G Balls
Judge Mithani
The Rt Rev the Lord Bishop of Newcastle
Dr M Ridley
Mr P Shaw
Mr H N Shukla
Dr M Stoppard
(iv)Court approve the conferment of Honorary Fellowships on the following candidates at the Honorary Fellowships Dinner and award ceremony to be held in the autumn of 2009:
Professor Tessa Hedley-WhyteAlumnus, current Director of Neuropathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and a 'Scholar in Academy' at the Harvard Medical School.
Air Commodore Ian H Forster Alumnus, current Secretary of the Northumbrian Universities Military Education Committee. Former Director of the Careers Advisory Service from 1 November 1987 and then Director of the Centre for Continuing Education (1989-2000).
Professor Barrie Scuffham OBE Alumnus, current Visiting Professor attached to the Hydrochemical Engineering Research and Outreach (HERO) Group. Former Director of Research for Davy Process Technology.
7.VICE-CHANCELLOR’S BUSINESS
Received a report from the Vice-Chancellor on current issues within the University.
[Paper tabled at the meeting. Copy filed in the Minute Book.]
Noted that:
1.As a consequence of a good performance in the latest Research Assessment Exercise, the University was now the 14th highest funded higher education institution for research in England.
2.In March 2009, the University had been informed that it was to receive a total recurrentgrant of just over £105m for the 2009-10 academic year. However, on 6 May, John Denham, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills,had informed HEFCE that its budget for 2010-11 was to be cut by approximately £180m. The University was yet to learn how this would affect the grant allocation that had been announced but it was estimated that it could be reduced by up to £1m.
3.Funding received from the Research Councils had exceeded projections. This was particularly welcome since such grants covered 80% of full economic costs.
4.In January 2009, the University had launched its 10-step plan to boost the regional economy. One of these steps was to increase the number of regional suppliers used by the University. A business voucher scheme had also been introduced which had been funded using the University’s VAT saving.
5.The University had been awarded £12m to establish a digital economy research hub. The hub, which would be established in conjunction with IBM, Microsoft and Philips, would aim to promote inclusion in digital technology.
6.In April 2009, the Angel Alliance, a collaboration between the University, Durham University and the regional development agency, One North East, had been successful in securing £2.6million from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC). The grant had been awarded to enable both universities to harness science and engineering technology which could ultimately lead to improvements in healthcare. The University had recently learned that the EPSRC had agreed to provide a further award of £1m for this project.
7.The University had secured £488,000 from HEFCE’s Economic Challenge Investment Fund. The University intended to use the money to fund its plans to support the regional economy.
8.There had been a number of recent developments with regard to the Science City initiative. The three partners, the University, Newcastle City Council and One North East, had formed the Newcastle Science Company Limited and the first phase of the developments on the Science Central site had been agreed. The first building to be constructed would be a Science Gateway building, which would provide innovation incubator facilities.
9.The nation was expected to emerge from the recession 5% poorer and with a fiscal deficit of between 12-14% of GDP. The Government’s priorities were expected to be to protect schools and hospitals and, as a result, it was anticipated that there would be less public money available to support higher education. The University was advised by Court members to plan ahead and to consider whether it would wish to reduce the money that was available to all sections of the University or whether certain activities should be discontinued.
10.Despite the difficult economic climate, international student recruitment remained buoyant.
11.The recent decision taken by the members of Executive Board to forego a pay rise was noted and it was considered important for this to be recognised.
12.The reduction in public funding could require the University’s Executive to make difficult decisions. Members of Court offered their support to the members of the senior management team during these potentially difficult times.
8.ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIP OF COURT
Reported that Mrs Jane Clubley had been appointed by Academic Board to serve on Court with immediate effect to 31 July 2011, in place of Ms Kathy Wiles.
9.HONORARY DEGREES COMMITTEE: MEMBERSHIP
Reported that Senate, at its meeting on 13 January 2009, had approved a revised constitution for the Honorary Degrees Committee which now included one member of Court, appointed by Court.
Resolved that Court approve Court Steering Committee’srecommendation that Mr Jeffery be appointed as Court’s representative on the Honorary Degrees Committee to 31 July 2012.
10.STRATEGIC POSITIONING PROJECT
Reported that:
(a)Newcastle University was undertaking a strategic positioning project, the overall aim of which was to improve the University’s reputation, profile and impact through a clear, consistent and effective approach to the way in which key messages, core values and successes were articulated.
(b)Closely aligned to the University’s strategic review process, the strategic positioning project would help the University to:
- strengthen its brand and marketing impact through the identification and articulation of a coherent ‘core story’ and associated key messages about the University, which could be used consistently with benefits both externally and with internal audiences;
- ensure that there was clarity and agreement about the features of Newcastle University that differentiated it from other institutions;
- develop and implement a corporate communications and positioning strategy;
- achieve better internal communication and engagement and foster a sense of collegiality.
(c)The University had engaged a consultancy company, Admiral PR, to assist in the delivery of the strategic positioning project. Various market research and workshop activities were being undertaken to assess the perceptions and views of a number of key stakeholders, and the opinions of members of Court were very important in this context.
(d)The second part of the meeting consisted of three 'breakout' groups, each led by a colleague from Admiral PR, which gave Court members an opportunity directly to influence the outcomes of the project.
Received:
The Vice-Chancellor's Strategic Overview Document: Vision 2021, which had recently been considered by Senate and Council and which would form the background to the discussions.
[Circulated with the agenda as Document D. Copy filed in the Minute Book.]
Noted that:
1.The Strategic Overview Document: Vision 2021, had been prepared via an iterative process and various groups within the University had contributed to its development. Court members had been issued with the final version which had been approved by Council at the end of March.
2.The document was intended to clarify the University’s position for internal purposes initially, but it would also be used to inform documents that would be prepared for an external audience.
3.The document aimed to identify how the University could increase its connection with civil society via its response to a number of societal challenge themes. It was necessary to identify a match between the University’s areas of expertise and the societal challenge themes as this would help to establish the University’s distinctiveness.
4.Linked with the strategic overview document was the issue of positioning the University in the world in the way it wanted to be seen. The strategic positioning project was intended to assess how close the University was to achieving its vision.
5.The project was currently at the information gathering stage and various events were being organised which were intended to increase understanding of internal and external perceptions of the University. The information gathered would form the baseline evidence and it would be analysed in order to identify key themes.
11.MEDIA UPDATES
Reported that:
(a)Council had recently passed a motion asking that its members automatically receive significant press releases at the point of their release to the media. Members who did not wish to receive such documents were asked to inform the Registrar.
(b)Members of Court had received an email regarding this proposal.
Agreed that Court members should also receive media updates.
12.ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Reported that:
(a)The Chancellor would be giving a Public Lecture, which would take place at 5.30pm on Monday 6 July 2009, to which all members of Court were invited.
(b)There would be a farewell reception for the Chancellor on Tuesday 7 July 2009, to which all members of Court were invited.
(c)Invitations for both of these events would follow in due course.
Noted that:
1.This was the Chancellor’s last formal meeting.
2.The Chancellor had demonstrated considerable élan and humour when presiding at degree ceremonies which added to the joyous atmosphere for the graduands and their families.
3.The Chancellor’s thoughtful and careful approach to issues had helped to stimulate new ideas and Court expressed its thanks to him for his considerable endeavours on behalf of the University over the past 10 years.
13.MEETINGS 2009-10
Reported that meetings of Court in the forthcoming academic year would be held on:
Tuesday 16 June 2009 at 2.00pm Special joint meeting with Senate to make a recommendation to Convocation on the appointment of a Chancellor.
ONE FROM:
Thursday 1 October 2009 at 11.00am
Thursday 19 November 2009 at 11.00am
Thursday 26 November 2009 at 11.00am
On the date selected in the Autumn:
A programme of visits (details to be confirmed) would be available for members of Court.
A buffet luncheon would be provided at 12.30 pm.
The Honorary Fellowships Dinner would take place in the evening at 6.30 for 7.00 pm.
Friday 16 April 2010 at 10.30am
Noted that the proposed dates for meetings of Court during 2009/10 would be subject to the availability of the new Chancellor, when appointed.
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