Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director Engagement and Advancement
The Vice-Chancellor started the meeting by announcing two senior appointments:
Wendy Appleby, who is currently Registrar and Head of Student and Registry Services & Secretary to Council at University College London, has been appointed as our new Vice-President (Operations). She will assume the responsibilities previously held by the role of Chief Operating Officer and currently being filled on an extended interim basis by Richard Middleton, and will join Southampton on 4 October.
Professor Jonathan Bull has been appointed as interim Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, with effect from 1 August. He will take over from Professor Rachel Mills, who is leaving the University at the end of this month. The recruitment process for a permanent successor is underway and expected to conclude at the end of this calendar year.
Rachel’s additional pan-university responsibilities are also being re-allocated.
- Professor Phillip Wright, Senior Vice-President (Academic), will assume responsibility for delivery of our Estates Strategic Plan, and will chair the Estates Programme Board (EPB). He will also assume responsibility for delivery of the University’s Sustainability Strategic Plan.
- Professor Michael Butler, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, will assume responsibility for the Technician Commitment.
- Professor Mark Spearing, Vice-President (Research and Enterprise), will become the Executive Sponsor for the Southampton Science and Engineering Festival (SOTSEF).
Operating in Gold Command mode for the next part of today’s meeting, UEB discussed several operational and campus issues:
- There was a discussion about the implications of the government’s expected lifting of all mandatory COVID restrictions from Monday 19 July, with the responsibility moving more to individual and employer decisions, to determine the level of measures they feel comfortable in adopting, and which might sensibly need to remain in place. We will provide an update to colleagues once there is further clarity. A sensible, gradual, precautionary approach will make sense as we prepare over the summer to welcome our students and staff back for what we hope will be a near-normal new academic year, and as we all enter a new phase of learning to live with COVID.
- After a recent peak in student COVID cases, linked to off-campus social activity, UEB heard that case numbers have declined, along with those in the wider city, with no new cases reported that morning.
The meeting then reverted to normal UEB mode to discuss several other issues:
- The Vice-Chancellor extended a warm welcome to the British Association of Jewish Studies, whose annual conference, which is being hosted – online – by our Parkes Institute this year, started that morning.
- There was an update from iSolutions on the shutdown of printing across the University network due to an ongoing global critical security vulnerability affecting printing on Windows, which is urgently being addressed by Microsoft.
- UEB strongly supported a proposal for Southampton to start the process for submitting a bid to become a University of Sanctuary. Becoming a University of Sanctuary can bring a wealth of benefits to the University, its students, staff and the local community, and would underline our commitment to providing opportunities for people from all walks of life to reach their potential.
- UEB discussed the quarterly report on progress against our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan, and an update on the Reverse Mentoring pilot in which many members of UEB have participated, and found immensely valuable.
- There was an update to UEB on the latest recruitment and admissions data, and a further update on the ongoing consultation on developing the new University Strategy. Finally, there was the regular review of the University Risk Register.