| subtext | |
|
|
subtext issue 65 21 October 2010 ***************************************************** 'Truth: lies open to all' ***************************************************** Every fortnight during term-time. All editorial correspondence to: subtext-editors [at] lancaster.ac.uk. Please delete as soon as possible after receipt. Back issues and subscription details can be found at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext. The editors welcome letters, comments, suggestions and opinions from readers. subtext reserves the right to edit submissions. subtext does not publish material that is submitted anonymously, but is willing to consider without obligation requests for publication with the name withheld. For tips to prevent subtext from getting swept up into your 'junk email folder', see http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext/dejunk/. ***************************************************** CONTENTS: editorial, news in brief, departure of the director of marketing and external affairs, SLDC closure, council report, 1966 and all that, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL As has lately been the case, subtext is not short of news to report at the beginning of a new academic year. In recent years, the summer vacation has been the time for all sorts of decisions to be made and often enacted, and this year is no exception. The vacation began with the news that the Student and Learning Development Centre (SLDC) was to be disbanded and its functions dispersed to the faculties. This gave rise not only to redundancies, but also to the loss of a dedicated service that many have found to be invaluable to students, and to overseas students in particular. Then came news of the proposed closure of the campus Nurse Unit, leading to anguished cries from college porters, Deans, Assistant Deans, LUSU and those students who were around to hear the news. At the end of the vacation, Louise Banton, known to many in the University as Head of Publications and Web Marketing, and to others as Principal of Bowland College, and to others still as a member of Council, Court and Senate, lost her internal appeal against having been made redundant. This was the last in a series of redundancies that blighted the last academic year. All in all, the summer was not a happy time for those who value the university as, above all else, an academic community. But in the midst of all the doom and gloom, there appeared to be at least some joyous light on the horizon. At the height of summer, those still on campus to see it would have witnessed what many are convinced was the unprecedented sight of a conga dance forming in University House, and extending itself, in typically snake-like fashion, out into Alexandra Square. Not for many years had the hard toilers of University House looked so happy. What could have been causing such merriment? It soon transpired that the occasion for the joyous outburst was the departure from the building, never to return, of the Director of Marketing and External Affairs – the very man, in fact, who spearheaded some of the summer redundancies. More on this anon. But, as often happens, events at Lancaster looked set to be outdone in the gloom stakes by events at national level. Again, the picture was bleak enough to spoil the research-filled summer idyll of many an academic. For one thing, academic pensions were (and are) under attack. Although the USS pension fund is basically sound, proposals for reform have come forward that are out of all proportion to the relatively minor problems that beset the system. So too, news continued to drip through of the devastating cuts that are likely to be inflicted on the University sector from October onwards. This has been reinforced by news of the Browne Report of fees and funding, which effectively recommends the ending of most university public funding and a shift to a privatised system that is likely to be the most radical ever experienced by a western industrial country. A founding professor of this university once said: 'Life is jolly difficult. It is incumbent on all of us to make the world just a little brighter for our fellow inhabitants.' subtext shares these sentiments, and we too hope to make life just a little brighter for our readers. But in current circumstances, we know that this is something at which we are going to have to work jolly hard. ***************************************************** NEWS IN BRIEF Nigel Whiteley As many readers will be aware, Nigel Whiteley recently passed away, having been suffering for some time from cancer. His funeral, which took place on Thursday 14th October, was packed with colleagues, friends and family. The youngest of five children, he was brought up in Stockport, but moved around many times before reaching Lancaster and the Department of Art and Environment - later Visual Arts, then Art, and now part of LICA. He was awarded a chair in visual arts in 1995, and was head of department for several periods, as well as playing a full part within the university. Gerry Davies led the service of tributes, recalling the career of the man he described as his best friend, and Nigel's son Dan and daughter Ella paid moving tributes to a father whom they clearly treasured. Nigel's sustained fascination for Frank Lloyd Wright, especially 'Falling Water', his love of outdoors, of travel and music, and of family and friends, added up to a rounded picture of an exceptional colleague. ****** The Browne Report This long feared report has finally appeared. Many of its recommendations had long been anticipated, but others of them are even more radical than many had expected. The suggested lifting of the cap on fees came as no surprise, but the effective ending of the state funding of university teaching (with a token exception for the STEM subjects) was less widely anticipated. If implemented, the shake-up would be so radical that few have yet felt able to predict with any confidence what the full range of ramifications will be. Certainly, there are no precedents in the worldwide university sector for such a rapid and full-scale shift from a national to a private system of funding. As with the Mandelson report, the latest one from Browne seems to have built-in biases in favour of vocational subjects and against the arts, humanities and social sciences. What the implications for Lancaster will be (whose Arts and Humanities departments overwhelmingly out-performed the rest of the university in a recent league table) is far from certain. We hope to return with a more detailed analysis in the next issue when it can be viewed in the context of the similarly feared announcement of national budgetary cuts, announced yesterday. ****** Lancaster Ranked 124th university in the world Lancaster is ranked 124 in the THES world university rankings http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/. Looking at the breakdown of the score, Lancaster's position was boosted by the number of citations received by papers produced by Lancaster academics, and by the relatively high proportion of international staff and students at the university. Scores for 'industry income', 'research', and 'teaching' brought the overall rating down. Of these ratings, 'industry income' is based, as seems reasonable, on income per academic. The 'research' score depends largely on a survey of reputation (i.e. respondents are asked how highly they rate Lancaster as a research institution) and scores for the quantity of papers produced per academic, and research income. Given that the rating for research is made up in large part from ratings of perceived reputation, and the good performance on the citation ratings, Lancaster's comparatively low score on this factor is odd. It looks like the papers of Lancaster academics are cited, but that those who cite them either don't realise they are written by Lancaster staff, or are citing papers only to disagree with them. The 'teaching score' is made up of rating of teaching reputation, staff/student ratios, number of PhD students, ratio of PhD to undergrad students (the reasoning being that a higher proportion of PhDs indirectly benefits undergrads), and institutional funding. While there are many reasons to be concerned about the methodological limitations of league-tables, it is good to see Lancaster doing well in them. ****** Politics, Philosophy and Religion Staff in the newly merged Politics, Philosophy and Religion have moved into their new combined location in County South. In an effort to destroy the last vestiges of 'silo-thinking' (previously known as getting on with one's disciplinary colleagues but recently discovered to be A VERY BAD THING) staff offices have been allocated in alphabetical order. There were some concerns that this might impact on the department's ability to replace any leaving staff members. A person specification stating 'Must have surname starting F-H' might narrow the field of applicants. Luckily the current hiring freeze means that while there may be lots of things to worry about this isn't one of them. ****** Closure of the Nurse Unit Proposals were recently announced to close the campus Nurse Unit. Various reasons are given for this. Apart from the obvious cost saving, most of them relate to increased provision by outside agencies (better GP provision, the availability of NHS direct, and so forth). Whether these will be able to compensate for the loss of facilities provided by the Nurse Unit remains an open question. But what is particularly disturbing is the process that is here underway. It seems that virtually no consultation took place before the proposals were published. Now that they have been published, a process of 'consultation' is to take place, but (don't laugh – this is serious) only after the proposals have been agreed in principle by UMAG. Surely, any schoolchild would be able to point out that this is to get things in the wrong order. Just how genuine the process of 'consultation' is to be was perhaps indirectly indicated by a recent event at Council. When one academic member of Council attempted to ask a question about the Nurse Unit, he was immediately silenced by the Pro-Chancellor (yes, subtext's favourite man, Bryan Gray; see Council Report, below). subtext will be watching the process of consultation with interest, and will report on the outcome in due course. ****** Wellbeing at Work Survey Staff have been invited to complete the Wellbeing at Work Survey, to check that we are all happy and healthy. LuText tells us that 'the survey will be conducted by Robertson Cooper, independent specialists in workplace wellbeing'. Who are Robertson Cooper? And haven't we heard that 'Cooper' name somewhere before? It turns out that Robertson Cooper is indeed a company founded by the ubiquitous Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health and Pro Vice Chancellor. This raises two questions. First, in what sense is a survey conducted by a company that has the PVC as a director independent? Second, to return to a question subtext has been led to ask before, how does Cary Cooper do so much? As well as having a company, and being PVC, and Professor, and being a media star, and having a blog, and being a member of lots of important committees, and writing OVER 100 books, Cary Cooper manages to get dressed daily and smile in every photo. Is CC just one man or has he been cloned? subtext editors thought they enjoyed fairly reasonable levels of wellbeing at work until they looked at CC's website. Now they feel inadequate and suicidal ... ***************************************************** THE DEPARTURE OF THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS As mentioned in the editorial, the summer witnessed the departure of the Director of Marketing and External Affairs, Anthony Marsella, amidst scenes of much rejoicing. As well as the aforementioned University House conga dance, members of his erstwhile division were also observed buying celebratory cakes, hugging each other joyously and even, it has been said, tap-dancing. Such frenzied scenes (which doubtless would have fascinated Durkheim) were by no means a frivolous side-show. On the contrary, they bore witness to a deep-seated malaise and unhappiness within the division of the man who was its cause. But the manner of his going suggests that it was not only his own staff who held deep-seated reservations. It is widely speculated that the timing of his precipitate departure was not entirely of his own choosing, and that his seniors had become disillusioned with the man and his performance. No doubt the full truth behind his departure and the extent to which it was 'encouraged' or not and, if so, the full range of reasons why, will ultimately elude us. But what cannot be doubted is that his appointment was a mistake, and one for which many of the costs have been borne by others, including his staff. As we all know, mistakes can be made (even ones as expensive as this; the settlement is likely to have involved a significant amount), but the important point is to learn from them. Certainly, we can only hope that those in the University who were directly responsible for his appointment and, presumably, his subsequent confirmation in post, have been learning fast. Some have said bitterly that it just goes to show what happens when you import into the University a businessman with much private sector experience but little or no understanding of higher education. Certainly, there are risks in appointing such a person, but there may also be benefits, particularly if the individual displays some humility, a willingness to learn, works well with others and, above all, recognises that a university is something other than a commercial company. We can only hope that those who are on the committee appointing Marsella's successor have learned from this episode and will not repeat such a disastrous error. *************************************************** SLDC CLOSURE On 1 July Chris Thrush, Director of Human Resources, announced to CELT staff that the Student Learning and Development Centre (SLDC) was to be closed. As part of the closure of this centre, the Director's post, one tutor's post and administrative posts become redundant. The remaining tutors have been reassigned, so that there is one in each of LUMS, FST and FASS. There was statutory consultation with staff immediately involved, but no wider consultation, even though many people across the university will be affected. SLDC has provided valuable support for students at all levels and SLDC staff have made substantial contributions to continuing professional development for staff as well. SLDC ran a variety of courses throughout the academic year under the heading Effective Learning for International Students (ELIS). These were designed to help international students at all levels manage their studies at Lancaster more effectively and to develop English for academic purposes. The loss of this valuable resource will be sorely felt at this time when departments and faculties are being encouraged to recruit more overseas students. Departments throughout the university have referred students with weak English writing skills to SLDC who have provided excellent support for these students; it is not clear that support for these students will be provided in 2010-11, so we are likely to see poorer marks and possibly failing students leading to poorer recruitment and less income from international students. SLDC also ran a variety of effective learning workshops designed for undergraduates. These included time management, referencing, writing (separately by discipline area), getting started on assignments, proof-reading and editing your own work, dissertation writing, critical thinking/writing and workshops to help students prepare for and cope with exams. Procrastination workshops were offered for undergraduates and for postgraduates separately; these were a collaborative effort between the SLDC Director and staff from Counselling. Postgraduates were also supported with writing workshops – where PhD students with trouble writing or getting started engaged in hands-on sessions writing their own material with support from the SLDC Director and staff. Recently, when the university was faced with a crisis of a low ESRC PhD submission rate, the Director of SLDC, at the behest of the Director of the Graduate School, provided one-on-one support for ESRC PhD students approaching submission, and ran extra writing workshops to boost timely submissions. We survived that crisis with a warning that we must maintain better submission rates. It is not clear how the SLDC support will be replaced especially as there will be no more Roberts money for postgraduate support, nor is it clear who the advocate might be, as Senate recently disbanded the Graduate School Committee as well. Furthermore, it is important that Faculty SLDC tutors are not simply treated as new Faculty appointments, to be loaded with extra teaching support duties on top of their existing SLDC activities. Over the summer, subtext editors received countless telephone calls and e-mail messages and engaged in personal conversations with many staff who angered both by the decision and the way it was reached. As many of them pointed out, the closure is not only undesirable in itself, but also seems to fly in the face of the university's own strategy: to focus recruitment on international and postgraduate students. Is this another example of thinking that is anything but joined-up? ***************************************************** COUNCIL REPORT The October meeting of Council got off to an explosive start with one of the Council members walking out in protest at the Chairman's refusal to allow debate and discussion on the subject of the Nurse Unit. The LUSU President had expressed the concern of the student body over the proposed closure of this unit. One of the academic members of Council then volunteered to give some background information but was ruled out of order by the Chair. At this point, and to the consternation of the other members, the said member picked up his papers and marched out of the chamber! This event has highlighted the growing concern amongst some Council members about the lack of opportunity for debate and discussion. The Chairman's stated view is that Council does not manage the University – there are professional people and committees to do that. Council's role is to ensure that these committees are doing their job effectively and that due process is being followed. Fair enough, but that is precisely what seems not to have happened on this occasion, for at what committee was the fate of the Unit properly debated before the proposed closure was announced? There is also a danger that Council (the University's most senior committee) could turn into a 'rubber stamping exercise'. The walking out (and subsequent resignation) of one Council member is an indication of the level of concern. The meeting had opened with a presentation from the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, Professor Mary Smyth, who gave an up-beat talk showing that science and technology at Lancaster are going from strength to strength. Improvement in RAE performance, increasing A-level grades and an excellent national Student Survey result are just some of the indicators. Professor Smyth also described how consolidation of the Geography, Environmental Sciences and part of the Biological Sciences department into the Lancaster Environment Centre and the more recent creation of a School of Computing and Communications has produced larger and more robust departments. The Vice-Chancellor reported that the University had slightly overshot its admissions target but not by enough to incur any financial penalties. The overshot has led to some first-year students living off campus but all students who had made Lancaster their first choice and opted to live on campus had been allocated rooms. The LUSU President reported that an extensive rebranding exercise is underway including a new web site. LUSU is in the final stages of gaining approval for their registration as an independent charity. Concern over the closure of SLDC and the Nurse Unit was minuted. LUSU have also made a bid for a student-based facility to be developed in the old sports centre. The President also reported the success of an International Night which attracted over 500 students. The Vice Chancellor then presented the reports from two working parties, 'Financial Sustainability' and 'Academic Regeneration'. These reports have now been seen by Senate and are generally available. At the moment these are only recommendations but they cover things such as pay and pensions and tuition fees. These are very contentious issues that will certainly come before Council again. The Chief Operating Officer reported that refurbishment of County South is almost complete, the LICA Building is now occupied, the new Sports Centre is expected to be completed by Easter but the Charles Carter Building is now 9 weeks behind schedule. Congratulations were given to facilities for successfully organising the refurbishment of over 600 bed/study rooms over the summer. The resignation of the Director of MEL, due to personal reasons, was reported. ***************************************************** A meeting of the Senate took place on Wednesday 13th October. We hope to include a report of that meeting in the next issue of subtext. ***************************************************** 1966 AND ALL THAT - CHAPTER EIGHT David O'Dell was amongst the first students to study at the newly-founded University of Lancaster. Here we continue his story - as he remembers it. Year 2, Summer Term 1968: Sex, Scan and Sausage Rolls * Return for the summer term to discover that not only is there is now lino on the stairs at Bailrigg but that shops have opened in Alexandra Square. Only a newsagent, supermarket and bakers so far, but that is a big improvement on just Maxwell's bookshop and coffee shop. All of a sudden, and possibly attracted by the new shops, 600 Methodists appear out of nowhere and swarm over the campus. * One of the many good things about being a College President is the number of invitations you get which include free food or drink or both. I have dinner with the College Principal, a buffet supper with the Professor of Higher Education and lots of drinks with the Senior Tutor. I am also invited to the Lancaster-York boat race and dinner, celebrate the opening of the Bailrigg branch of the District and Martins Bank and, along with other members of the SRC, go to lunch at the Stork with the Pro-Chancellor, Lord Derby, an invitation we naturally return later in the year. Then there are also numerous dinners and receptions held by other Colleges and any number of 21st birthday parties. * On one occasion I have a post-lecture dinner with Harry Rée, wartime member of the SOE and Professor of Education Studies at York at the Portofino (up by the Castle). Rée drives a battered old Hillman and endears himself to students at York by describing student politics as being like a game of rugby, remarks he later has to apologise for. It is a mark of the man that on retiring from HE he chooses to teach languages at a comprehensive in Hackney for six years. * The County JCR Committee is now a finely honed team: Annie (Secretary) can actually take shorthand and is in the office as much as I am, Mike (Treasurer) drifts in and out without any visible sign of doing any treasuring but Bob (Vice President) has not been seen since he was elected. In the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. * The poet, novelist and playwright Adrian Mitchell is 'poet in residence' this year. He and the University Song Workshop devise a number of 'entertainments', the first of which, The Hotpot Saga, is, according to the MD, Greg Stephens, 'a tale of war between good-folk of Lancashire, who are unrelentingly cheerful, funny, colourful and lovable and sing a lot, and the miserable brass-worshipping denizens of Yorkshire'. It is put on to much acclaim at the Palace Theatre, Morecambe, but may not travel well. * Phil Murray, fellow Hockey Club member and editor of Scan, is now censoring all my humorous entries in his boring newsletter. Decide to propose a motion at the next SRC meeting to the effect that the editor should not be allowed to edit College material and start to lobby other SRC members to ensure a successful outcome. I am confident of victory and so it comes as a shock when my proposal is defeated, 8-5. Another example of the establishment sticking together. It's a good job Phil plays on the other wing from me. * After some thought, but far more pique, I decide to strike a blow for free speech and publish a separate weekly newsletter just for members of the County JCR. Unlike Scan, mirth-inducing contributions will not be censored as I will write and edit it myself. An editorial bawd of the great and good - Annie - will assist. The JCR backs me 100%. * Annie and I spend an afternoon trying to think up a name for the new publication. In vain, we raid the College Library (now down to one shelf of the office bookshelf) and casting aside The Perfumed Garden because we have no interest in horticulture, open The Once and Future King at a random page. We reject Candle in the Wind in favour of Pendragon. * Unfortunately this revolution in the world of publishing is overshadowed by revelations in Carolynne of proposals to allow mixed bedrooms in the new Cartmel residences. 'Sex Row Splits College' is the low-key headline. Within days all the national papers are carrying details of this 'sex scandal' and questions are asked in the House of Lords. The Daily Express runs an editorial under the heading 'Squalid'. * A week later, and with the controversy still going strong, the SRC meets in emergency session to agree a public statement. I propose an amendment that would delete all but the first four words of the suggested statement and substitute an entirely different one. This is well-received and adopted nem con. Full of self-congratulation, I leave for the Troutbeck Bridge to hear a John Williams guitar recital, along with the man who really wrote the amendment, ex-County Graduate Rep, Greg Stephens. * Through no fault of my own - obviously - I have missed a number of Economics seminars. Arriving 20 minutes late for my first one since February I am met with a barrage of questions starting with, 'does it worry you that you will get zero for your continuous assessment?' Unfortunately I do not recognise the rhetorical nature of these questions and everything goes rapidly downhill from then on. I try to brazen it out, but the natural and logical consequence of my chosen defence - saying 'No' to everything - means that I end up agreeing that I don't care if I do get chucked out of the University. David Travers cheers me up by saying that my latest essay for him was one of the best he had ever seen that didn't answer the question. * In the last week of term, the Song Workshop stage the Neurovision Song Contest in the Alexandra Hotel, Lancaster. County's entry is a five-part barbershop quartet written by Greg. Set at some time in the future when a falling oak leaf reminds the tenor of 'those happy days, so free and gay, in County College, in a bygone day', Underneath the Old Oak Tree is a nostalgic remembrance of times past, but yet to come. To tumultuous applause, The County College Gentlemen's Vocal Ensemble (Len Skerrat, Dave Baish, John Shepherd, Ian Allured and myself) and Greg win first prize and the prize for originality. I collect a golden disc, and a kiss, from the lead singer of Manfred Mann, Paul Jones. ***************************************************** LETTERS Dear subtext, I enjoyed your account of the Marketgate fiasco. However, I think it is only reasonable to point out that some of the terminology used, such as 'an accident-prone council with a lack of clear and well-researched vision for the city' is a tad unfair. Readers who are less well-versed in the niceties of local government than boring political hacks like me may be unaware of the distinction between elected members (councillors) and council officers, who are paid to work for the council. The term 'the council' may imply either or both groups. I would hesitate to comment on how accident-prone and lacking in vision any of our City Council officers may be, but I can certainly say that not all the *elected* members of the City Council are accident-prone and lacking in vision. Indeed, the Green group on the council have often represented the lone voice of sanity in farragoes such as the Indoor Market and the Canal Corridor North site (a.k.a. the Centros disaster which has so far been averted), and they have been deeply involved in trying to encourage exactly the kind of clear and well-researched vision your piece calls for. I freely admit to being a Green councillor myself, but as I don't sit on the City Council I have not been directly involved in any of this decision making; I hope my comments can be taken as reasonably impartial. Good to have you back, Sam Dr Sam Riches Co-ordinator Centre for North-West Regional Studies [and County Councillor for Lancaster East] ****** Dear subtext, As one whose office is on the north spine, I noted earlier this month with interest that several vertebrae were being covered in plywood, and then the perfectly adequate plywood was recovered with lovely life-size pictures of smiling Lancaster graduates. All of this, I was assured according to the sign, was part of the 'Faraday Window Replacement Project.' This raised a number of questions for someone such as myself who has only been at Lancaster for a short time: 1. Were these replacement windows donated by a Mr. Faraday? If so, was he properly awarded a Lancaster degree for his unwavering devotion to the institution? 2. Or was Mr. Faraday a glazier who had been contracted to replace some windows? 3. Or was Mr. Faraday a window designer whose new designs for windows had been chosen by the Estates office? 4. Or were Faraday windows a special type that were being replaced? And, if so, by what? Despite my searchings around the construction site, I could find no further information. Perhaps the subtext staff can be of help in clarifying this matter? Regards, Lawrence Busch [Eds. Like the George Fox Building and several other buildings on campus, the Faraday Building is named in honour of an anti-war hero. In 1853 the physicist and chemist Michael Faraday was asked by the British government to advise on the production of chemical weapons for use in the Crimean War, and refused on ethical grounds. As is well-known, Lancaster University is still fully committed to promoting peace and rejects all links to the military or the arms industry. Sort of.] ***************************************************** The editorial collective of subtext currently consists (in alphabetical order) of: Noel Cass, Rachel Cooper (Philosophy), Catherine Fritz, George Green, Gavin Hyman, Peter Morris, David Smith, Bronislaw Szerszynski and Martin Widden.
|