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{\author Windows User}{\operator Deborah Phillips}{\creatim\yr2009\mo7\dy27\hr12\min2}{\revtim\yr2009\mo7\dy27\hr12\min2}{\version2}{\edmins0}{\nofpages7}{\nofwords1848}{\nofchars10539}{\*\company ¹ÏÉñÍø}{\nofcharsws12942}{\vern16521}}
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\par }\pard \s15\ri360\sa200\sl276\slmult1\widctlpar\tqc\tx4320\tqr\tx8640\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin360\lin0\itap0 {\fs18 \hich\af220\dbch\af291\loch\f220 Alastair Hunter}{\fs18 \hich\af220\dbch\af291\loch\f220 , Governance conference speech
\hich\af220\dbch\af291\loch\f220 , }{\fs18 6 March}{\fs18  2009}{\fs18 
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\fs22\lang1033\loch\af291\hich\af291\dbch\f291\cgrid {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 Alastair Hunter\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 , \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 ¹ÏÉñÍø president-elect
\par }\pard \sa200\sl360\slmult1\widctlpar\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 UEL, Friday 6}{\fs28\super \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 th}{\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  March:\tab \tab 
Governance
\par }\pard \sa200\sl360\slmult1\widctlpar\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 
\par \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 The report in THE of February 26}{\fs28\super \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 th}{\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 2009 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
that post-92 institutions are keen to reduce the size of their governing bodies to fewer than twelve, to exclude staff and students, and to ensure a majority of non-university memb\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 ers\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 ,
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  brings us one large step closer to P\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 oppleton plc\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
. It beggars belief that, in a sector where abuse and incompetence are already rife, the future should be so cavalierly mortgaged to those whose vision is narrowly commercial, whose responsibility to emp\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 loyees 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 is \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
virtually zero, and whose concern for students goes little beyond the income they generate. I have no idea what is the optimum size for these slimmed-down boards. The theoretical minimum is of course three: the Vice-Chancellor and his two chums f
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 rom Po\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 ppleton Pork Products plc.\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 I suppose in the interests of some kind of accountability none will fall below five. At least it will reduce photocopying costs for protest mail-shots; on the other hand, they are likely to increase significantly in number.
\par \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
Colleagues, this conference today is timely. The particular circumstances which motivated it are of course the curious goings-on at this very institution and the mystery as to the real reasons for the suspension of the VC. I\rquote 
m not about to shed crocodile \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 tears for \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 Martin Everett (and fewer still for Simon Lee),\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 but the deeper malaise of governance implied by these events is of concern to us all. The effective exclusion of the voice of the university itself is a sign \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 that \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
the kind of structure indicated by \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 the THE report\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  is already a }{\i\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 de facto}{\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  reality on many governing bodies.

\par \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 My own direct experience is of the pre-92 sector. I was on the Court of Glasgow University for six years as one of two elected staff reps (one is elected from academic and related, the \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
other from suppo\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 rt staff; in general nominees\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  from the relevant unions are elected unopposed). There are also a number of academic\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 s
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  elected by Senate, and student representatives. The overall balance is, of course, in favour of lay members, but at present \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
there is no move to slim down numbers or remove democratic members. Changes are, of course, relatively difficult to bring about because these institutions are governed by statutes which are rather difficult to modify.\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 But in reality, the effectiveness of t\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 hese staff voices is strictly limited, and certainly unlikely to affect strategic decisions. That said, it is important not to underestimate the embarrassment factor, the
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  invaluable privilege of\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  access to information about what is going on, and the power t\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 o influence voluntary severance\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 and potential redundancy situations. There is also an important human dimension: the exposure of what are often neo-Thatcherite business people to responsible staff reps makes it just a little bit more difficult for the most
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  egregious sorts of corporate misrule to be perpetrated.
\par \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 The problems indicated by these introductory observations are not extraneous to the university, nor do they represent an unwelcome imposition \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 on reluctant senior administrations 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 by outside forces. Th\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
e truth is that they have been actively created by the gradual development of managerialism internally in response to successive government initiatives from the Thatcher period onwards. I needn\rquote 
t rehearse these factors here: they can, I suppose, be summed\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 up in two mantras \endash  \lquote value for money\rquote  and \lquote efficiency gains\rquote  \endash 
 which have combined to drive down the unit of cost per student with concomitant effects on salaries and infrastructure.\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  From the outset, instead of actively challenging the obviously destructiv
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
e policies of government, VCs and governing bodies rolled over and accepted almost without a murmur the supposed need for crass efficiency gains. Perhaps they were fearful for their Ks, perhaps they were simply incompetent; what they cannot argue is that 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 t\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 he consequences were in any way in any kind of doubt.
\par \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 The trouble with cuts is that they create an internal market of fear and competition, and are destructive of collegiality.\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 When each Dean has to fight his or her own corner, when each Head of Department\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 has to compete for replacement staff and adequate running costs, when each individual academic has to struggle for travel grants, photocopying, and research leave, it is little surprise that the virtues of the old university system rapidly vanish. I do n
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 o\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 t for a moment want to defend an imaginary golden age, and I am clear that there were abuses in the past both of patronage and of an irresponsibly }{\i\fs28 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 laisse\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 z-\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 faire}{\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
attitude to the gentleman scholar (gender intended) who rarely graced the department with his p\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
resence and whose output since being given his chair consisted of little more than the occasional letter to the Times. But what has come in its place is arguably a far worse thing: the costly disaster of the RAE, the complete abandonment of any pretence t
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 h\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 at academic values should have priority, the relentless weighing and measuring of everything to find out its cost, and the dirigiste imposition \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
by senior management \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 of whatever is the latest business school fad. \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 By the way, I do not wish to imply that \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 b\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 usi
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 ness \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 s\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 chools do not do serious work: the problem is that their work is prone to being appropriated by management fashionistas! 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 Every new VC now feels compelled to restructure the institution. Departments give way to Schools, Faculties to Divisions, Schools\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 to Centres, only for Departments and Faculties to be reinvented. Where Deans were \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 once \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
elected academic colleagues they are now upwardly mobile apparatchiks, fully absorbed into the cabal of the Senior Management Team\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 . If you are lucky, the HoD may still \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
be aware of the true purpose of the university \endash  though not if they too are thrusting!! \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
At the heart of this whole dysfunctional process is a lack of trust and an essentially bullying ethos. The footsoldiers cannot be trusted (it is alleged) to understand \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
the harsh realities of the financial and political pressures we are under; as a \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 result they have to be cajoled\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 , bullied,\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  or\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 coerced into collaborating with a top-down agenda increasingly driven by non-practitioners. That this poisonous combination has not \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
proved to be a total disaster is due in no small part to the intelligence, experience, commitment and passion of the staff (at all levels) who actually make the system work, often in the teeth of determined efforts to frustrate them.
\par }\pard \sa200\sl360\slmult1\widctlpar\tx2410\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 This could so easily b\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
ecome anecdotal, so let me pause here and ask a more difficult question: W\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
hat, if anything, is to be done? There is, unfortunately, no quick fix. I suspect that things will get much worse before those who rule us see how counterproductive their policies ar\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 e. The current
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  (if perhaps only temporary)\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  collapse of market capitalism should offer an opportunity to challenge prevailing models \endash 
 though that might best be done through political parties not currently in power, who might have some incentive for explori\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
ng alternatives. It is ironic that such a tactic might seem to imply an approach to the Tories, the party of capital, to persuade them to adopt a more constructive approach to university governance. This is not as paradoxical as it appears, for Cameron is
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
not Thatcher, and there is an obvious advantage to them in opening up some distance between themselves and the Leitch-driven skills-based business-facing failure that is the current Labour policy on post-school education. \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
Never underestimate \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 the kind of in\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 vestment Tory voters have in \lquote proper\rquote  universities! \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 ¹ÏÉñÍø\rquote 
s political liaison department, and officials in HEC, have a continuing brief to lobby both politicians and their civil servants on all matters to do with the sector, and it seems to me that one of th\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 e outcomes of today
\rquote s event might be to provide direction and specificity to their work.
\par \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 But there is a role also for \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 lay members like yourselves, many of whom have experience of courts and governing bodies, and whose branches and local associations are pe
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
rhaps best placed to argue the case locally. I suspect there is no one-size-fits-all remedy, and this is confirmed anecdotally. Manchester, after the merger with UMIST, made attempts to reduce the democratic representation 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 on court \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 which were successfully \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
resisted through local pressure. Ulster, on the other hand, proved more resistant to local arguments, and ended up with a fudge in which four staff members (five if, as they do, you cheekily count the VC as a member of staff) are elected but only after ha
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 v\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
ing been vetted for their suitability! Much of this sounds like a return to Victorian values, where the great and the good are trusted to run everything and the rest of us gratefully accept their superior knowledge and tug whatever forelocks we have left.
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 There is no quick fix for this, and we must recognize that once lost, rights to representation are extraordinarily difficult to recover.\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 One firm proposal I would have is the setting up of a network of employee or union reps on courts and boards with a vie\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
w to sharing best practice, combined with an active branch-level campaign to highlight the worst offenders and to encourage the development of real democracy. Perhaps JNCs or JCCs might be one way to pursue this agenda.
\par }\pard \sa200\sl360\slmult1\widctlpar\tx2410\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 However, even where there are repres\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
entatives, their scope for action is often limited. They will rarely have access to key committees \endash  finance being the most obvious \endash 
 and may only have a marginal voice in the appointment of vcs, and none in the appointment of lay members. It is here, I t\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 h\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
ink, that there might be scope for the expression of public concern: courts are in effect self-perpetuating clubs with little, if any, public accountability regarding how vacancies are filled. I believe that student bodies, such as NUS, might have a real 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 i\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 nterest in shared action \endash  when redundancies or voluntary severance programmes are proposed, their members \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 will\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  be 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 amongst \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 the first to suffer. \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 The short-term nature of student office tends to work against the construction of effective long-term action, bu
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 t their voice needs to be heard, and in some regards carries more weight than that of staff.
\par }\pard \sa200\sl360\slmult1\widctlpar\tx2410\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
To work effectively we need a set of achievable goals: realistic proposals for the size of courts, workable numbers of staff and student representation, proper gui\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
delines for their election, and guidelines as to what they can do, can have access to, and can share with their constituencies. This last is particularly important, for it is in the papers of governing bodies that early warning signals can be spotted of d
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 e\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
velopments we might wish to question: restructuring; financial problems; deals with INTO, Kaplan and the like; and hints about future strategic directions. Staff representatives need confidence about what they can share and with whom, lest they find thems
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 e\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 lves accused of breach of confidentiality.
\par }\pard \sa200\sl360\slmult1\widctlpar\tx2410\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 I have said nothing yet about the other arm of governance \endash 
 the Senate or Academic Board. There may be Freudian reasons for my silence on these, for they have been systematically and on a widespread basis stripped\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 of their powers and generally reduced to talking shops over the last three decades. I recall, when I was first on Senate in Glasgow, how a group of prominent, well-informed, and rumbustious professors could hijack the agenda and reduced even the VC to qu
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 i\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 vering ineffectiveness. Later, when I served for four years as Dean of my faculty, much had changed. Votes still needed to be won, but the voice of dissent was largely silent. 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 The wider picture in the sector as a whole suggests \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 that now even the appearance\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  of debate has gone\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 , 
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 and \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 that\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  Court\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 s and their equivalents routinely \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 dispose of
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  matters rightly of academic concern as though Senate\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 s\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 have\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
 no role to play. Is this a true\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  }{\i\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 trahison des clerc\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 s}{\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
, a selling of the pass by an academic establishment too alienated\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  from politics to care or too worried about their careers to take a risk? Or is it the }{\i\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 death by a hundred cuts}{
\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  which has crept up on us when we weren\rquote t looking? It hardly matters, for the result is the same: the hollow appearance of power right at the hear\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
t of what the University stands for, masking the reality of power in the hands of those whose interests are driven not by the pursuit of knowledge but the pursuit of wealth, and whose qualifications are not the PhD or the MA, but the Bachelor of B
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 larney\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  fr\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 om the University of Life.
\par }\pard \sa200\sl360\slmult1\widctlpar\tx2410\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 
Colleagues, forgive me if I have occasionally crossed the line between sober analysis and rhetoric, but I feel strongly that there is a crisis in the governance of our universities, and an urgent need to do what we can to call to
\hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  account those who have led us to this dangerous pass. I welcome this conference, and look forward to its outcome as a starting point in a much-needed campaign.
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\par }\pard \widctlpar\tx2410\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 Alastair G Hunter
\par \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 VP HE
\par }\pard \widctlpar\tx2410\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0 {\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 5}{\fs28\super \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291 th}{\fs28 \hich\af291\dbch\af291\loch\f291  March 2009
\par }}