Author: Philip Greenish, Chair of Council
This blog provides my informal report to the University community of the November meeting of the University’s Council. Minutes will be posted on the University website after approval at our January meeting.
Council met for a discussion dinner before the day of the meeting. Our guest speaker was Mr Rupert Taylor, Managing Director of Pro4Solutions. His company specialises in supporting organisations seeking to deliver business change, and he has been working with the University Executive Board (UEB) since autumn 2018. He outlined his perceptions on how the University is progressing with the 10-Year Plan and what we now need to do to deliver it successfully. It was a particularly useful discussion ahead of the January Council Awayday.
We spent the morning of the Council meeting visiting the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi and his senior team presented highlights of the outstanding research, teaching and enterprise in the Faculty, and explained their most significant challenges. Given the size of the Faculty, we were only able to visit a small selection of laboratories and other facilities, but this helped Council members to get a better sense of the activity in the Faculty. Council members were interested to learn about the new opportunities open to a Faculty with the breadth created by the 2018 reorganisation, were very impressed by the work they had seen, and were grateful to the FEPS team for a very valuable morning.
We had a particularly full agenda for the Council meeting itself. The first substantive item was the President and Vice Chancellor’s update. The Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of the executive, now provides Council with a monthly report, so we were able to spend more time on issues of particular importance. He noted that he has now had the opportunity to visit many areas of the University, during which he has experienced some very positive engagements and that his first impressions of the University were very favourable.
Emily Harrison, President of the Students’ Union (SUSU), provided a full report from the Sabbatical Officers. She talked us through the Union’s decision, following a vote, to support the University and College Union (UCU) industrial action period. She also highlighted the work SUSU has done to engage students in the upcoming General Election, through encouraging voter registration and holding hustings on campus. She outlined the sustainability petition that they had received and how they were working with the University to meet some of the demands set out in the petition.
The Council was then taken through the financial reports, which had previously been scrutinised in detail by the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee. A tribute was paid to the finance team and the two committees for their hard work and detailed, comprehensive analysis. The accounts and budget were approved.
In our annual review of research, we had the opportunity to look at the emerging trends in the research strategy in terms of applications, the research that has been funded, grants that have been awarded, and the citations and publications produced by the University. As part of this, we examined how the University was tracking against the Research Excellence Framework (REF) benchmark for 2021. Council noted that progress is good, though continuing focus will need to be maintained.
Council has regularly considered our International Strategy, and in particular, the case for continuing investment in the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus (UoSM). After thorough analysis of a proposal received, Council approved the business case for a new direction and for further growth in UoSM.
Council considered and approved the annual academic assurance return following its endorsement by Senate. We were provided with a thorough brief on academic quality and how this is benchmarked, and discussed the University’s work regarding the Race Equality Charter, given the increasingly important focus on equality, diversity and inclusion.
The impact of the UCU strike on our students’ education was also discussed, including the University’s ongoing work to minimise negative impact on student education. It was flagged by the President of SUSU that the communications from the University to the students had been particularly helpful.
The results of the Effectiveness Reviews of both Council and the Chair were discussed. Overall, the feedback was positive, with some advice on how to enhance the effectiveness of both. We accepted both reports and have committed to implement recommended changes as soon as possible.
In the remainder of the meeting, we approved minor changes to the University’s Charter and Ordinances, and we noted changes to the Risk Register, the annual report of the Remuneration Committee, the annual update on PREVENT, progress with staff engagement, the joint University/SUSU report on sexual harassment and its action plan, an update from the Nominations Committee, and some restricted HR matters.
This is a short report of a very full meeting, which I hope colleagues find helpful.
Philip Greenish, Chair of Council
December 2019