Notices

Calendar

25 June, Wednesday. Scarlet Day. Easter Term ends. Congregation of the Regent House at 2.45 p.m. (Honorary Degrees).

1 July, Tuesday. Discussion by videoconference at 2 p.m. (see below).

2 July, Wednesday. Scarlet Day. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m. (General Admission).

3 July, Thursday. Scarlet Day. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m. (General Admission).

4 July, Friday. Scarlet Day. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m. (General Admission).

5 July, Saturday. Scarlet Day. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m. (General Admission).

Discussions (Tuesdays at 2 p.m.)	Congregations (at 10 a.m. unless otherwise stated)
1 July	25 June, 2.45 p.m. (Honorary Degrees)
15 July	2, 3, 4 and 5 July (General Admission)
	24, 25 and 26 July

Discussion on Tuesday, 1 July 2025

The Vice‑Chancellor invites members of the Regent House, University and College employees, registered students and others qualified under the regulations for Discussions (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 111) to attend a Discussion by videoconference on Tuesday, 1 July 2025 at 2 p.m. The following items will be discussed:

1.Report of the General Board, dated 9 June 2025, on the outcomes of the Academic Career Pathways (Research and Teaching) and (Teaching and Scholarship) 2025 exercises (Reporter, 6788, 2024–25, p. 636).

2.Report of the General Board, dated 9 June 2025, on the introduction of a Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics (Reporter, 6789, 2024–25, p. 657).

Those wishing to join the Discussion by videoconference should email UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from their University email account, providing their CRSid (if a member of the collegiate University), by 10 a.m. on the date of the Discussion to receive joining instructions. Alternatively contributors may email their remarks to contact@proctors.cam.ac.uk, copying ReporterEditor@admin.cam.ac.uk, by no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the Discussion for reading out by the Proctors,1 or may ask someone else who is attending to read the remarks on their behalf.

In accordance with the regulations for Discussions, the Chair of the Board of Scrutiny or any ten members of the Regent House2 may request that the Council arrange for one or more of the items listed for discussion to be discussed in person (usually in the Senate-House). Requests should be made to the Registrary, on paper or by email to UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from addresses within the cam.ac.uk domain, by no later than 9 a.m. on the day of the Discussion. Any changes to the Discussion schedule will be confirmed in the Reporter at the earliest opportunity.

General information on Discussions is provided on the University Governance site at https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/governance/decision-making/discussions/.

Grace 3 of 18 June 2025: Correction

19 June 2025

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice of a correction to Grace 3 of 18 June 2025 (Reporter, 6789, 2024–25, p. 665), made under Regulation 15 of the Ordinance for Graces and Congregations of the Regent House (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 111). The wording of the Grace has been amended to read as follows (revised wording shown in bold):

3. That, on the recommendation of the General Board, a Professorship of Data-intensive Mathematical Physics be established for a single tenure from 1 January 2026, placed in the Schedule to Special Ordinance C (vii) 1, and assigned to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.1

Policy against Bribery and Corruption

18 June 2025

The Council has approved a revised version of the above Policy, which has been renamed the Policy against Bribery, Corruption and Fraud. The Policy has been updated to reflect new legislation, which comes into force on 1 September 2025. A new Failure to Prevent Fraud offence was created as part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The updated Policy is available at: https://www.governanceandcompliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/governance-and-strategy/policy-against-bribery-corruption-and-fraud.

Elections to the Council and the Board of Scrutiny

25 June 2025

This Notice sets out information on elections to fill vacancies on the Council and the Board of Scrutiny, together with the nomination procedure and election timetable that will apply to both elections.

The University is committed to equality, which includes supporting and encouraging all under-represented groups, promoting an inclusive culture, and valuing diversity. Nominations from groups that are under-represented in the memberships are welcomed.

Election to the Council

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that an election is to be held to fill a casual vacancy for a member of the University Council in class (c) (other members of the Regent House) under Statute A IV 2, following the resignation of Ms Milly Bodfish. The person elected will serve from 1 October 2025 until 31 December 2026, the remainder of Ms Bodfish’s term.

The Council is the principal executive and policy-making body of the University. It has general responsibility for the administration of the University, for defining its mission, for the planning of its work, and for the management of its resources. The Council deals with relations between the University and the Colleges, and conducts negotiations with outside bodies on many matters (other than those relating directly to the educational and research programmes of the University, which are dealt with on its behalf by the General Board of the Faculties). It is responsible for the appointment or nomination of certain members of internal and external bodies, and for many student matters (excluding undergraduate admissions, which is a College concern). Further information about the Council is available to members of the University on the Council website (https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/committees/council/). Questions about its work can be addressed to the Registrary by emailing Registrary@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Reasons for serving on the Council

The Council of the University of Cambridge is one of the few principal bodies in the higher education sector with a majority of members elected from internal constituencies; most equivalent bodies are made up predominantly of external members. The Council draws its strength from the expertise, engagement, and scrutiny of its members – those elected in its classes of senior members of the collegiate University as well as its external and student members. It is key to the continuing success of the University that elections to the Council attract strong candidates who are willing to share their knowledge and commit their time for the benefit of the University as a whole.

Duties and responsibilities of Council members

The University is both an exempt charity,1 and a corporation established by common law. Council members are therefore both charity trustees of the University and, effectively, its corporate directors. They have associated legal responsibilities and duties, including the promotion of the interests of the University and acting with integrity, care, and prudence. Under regulatory guidance, Council members must be ‘fit and proper persons’.2 It is important for candidates to recognise and accept the obligations that Council membership would confer upon them.

The Handbook for Members of the Council sets out the Council’s primary responsibilities and provides advice and guidance to members of Council on their legal and other responsibilities. Members of the Council are expected to attend all meetings of the Council. Members will not normally be able to take more than one term of leave during their period on the Council and may instead carry forward their leave entitlement. Potential nominees might wish to familiarise themselves with the key aspects of the University’s Statutes and Ordinances (https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/), and the most recent Budget Reports, Annual Reports and Financial Statements.3

Further useful information is provided by the Office for Students (https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-providers/regulatory-resources/regulatory-notices-and-advice/) and the Charity Commission (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-essential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-cc3). This information includes details of the extent of a charity trustee’s personal liability. Instances of personal liability are rare and unlikely to occur, providing trustees act honestly, prudently, in good faith, in the best interests of the University, and in compliance with legislation and the University’s governing documents.

Elections to the Board of Scrutiny

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice of elections to fill vacancies on the Board of Scrutiny under Statute A VII as follows:

•one vacancy in class (c)(i) (a member of the Regent House who has been a member of the Regent House for not more than ten years on 1 October 2025); and

•three vacancies in class (c)(ii) (members of the Regent House).

Those elected will serve for four years from 1 October 2025.

The Board of Scrutiny consists of:

(a)the Proctors;

(b)the two Pro-Proctors nominated by the Colleges;

(c)eight members of the Regent House elected by the Regent House.

Under the provisions of Statute A VII 4, no person may be a member of the Board of Scrutiny who is a member of the Council, the General Board, or the Finance Committee of the Council, or who holds any of the University offices of Chancellor, Vice‑Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University Advocate, Deputy University Advocate, Registrary, Assistant Registrary, or Secretary of a School. The Statute further prohibits from membership holders of offices with primarily administrative duties designated by Ordinance: Directors and Deputy Directors in the Unified Administrative Service and Assistant Treasurers have been designated as such prohibited offices. A retiring member of the Board who has served for four or more consecutive years is not eligible to serve again as a member in class (c) until one year has elapsed after the end of their previous period of service.

If no nominations are received in accordance with the timetable below, the Council shall be asked whether it wishes to appoint a member to the vacant place or for another election to be held, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the regulations for the election of members of the Board (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 120).

Further information about the Board of Scrutiny can be found in the Statutes and Ordinances as noted above, on the Board’s website (https://www.scrutiny.cam.ac.uk/about), and obtained from Mr Rob Hopwood (email: rob.hopwood@murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk), Chair of the Board.

Nomination procedure and election timetable

In order to be eligible, candidates for election are asked to send their nominations to the Vice-Chancellor, to be received not later than 12 noon on Monday, 14 July 2025. The Vice-Chancellor asks candidates to address their nominations to the Registrary by email including electronic signatures to Registrary@admin.cam.ac.uk. The nomination (which can be made on a form available on the governance site)4 should include (a) a statement signed by two members of the Regent House, nominating the candidate for election and specifying the class in which the candidate is nominated, and (b) a statement signed by the candidate confirming consent to be nominated. The candidate is also required to provide a personal statement by the same date (see below). Two periods of four years should normally be regarded as the maximum length of continuous service for elected members of the Council.

In accordance with the regulations governing the election (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 118), those standing for election should send to the Registrary, by 12 noon on Monday, 14 July 2025, a statement in support of their nomination, which will be provided to voters. Each statement should be no more than 500 words in length and should cover the following points:

•the candidate’s present position in the University;

•previous posts held, whether in Cambridge or in other universities or outside the university system, with dates;

•the candidate’s reasons for standing for election, and the experience and skills they would bring to the role;

•a note of the candidate’s particular interests within the field of University business.

The complete list of nominations will be published on the Reporter website.

If the election is contested, it will be conducted by ballot under the Single Transferable Vote regulations. Online voting will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, 25 July and close at 5 p.m. on Monday, 4 August 2025. Hardcopy voting papers and supporting materials will be distributed not later than Wednesday, 25 July to those who opted in November 2024 to vote on paper; the last date for the return of voting papers is 5 p.m. on Monday, 4 August 2025.