University response to academic structures consultation

Monday, 16 March 2015

Following the all-staff consultation which closed last month, we have published today a comprehensive summary of all the issues raised by staff and our response to them. Thank you to the 30 individuals or groups who responded by email and to those who raised questions at the two consultation meetings, which were attended by over 100 colleagues in total. The detailed content of your email responses has been passed to the Vice-Chancellor and to Dr Richard Messer, Chief Strategy Officer, as chair of the implementation group.

Read the response to the consultation

To deliver our strategy to 2025 and to operate most effectively in a competitive and changing environment, we must keep what we do under review. The principles underpinning this review are the need to be agile, to give the academic body a strong voice within the University, to allocate responsibilities clearly, and to empower colleagues who are close to our core activities.

University Executive Board approved the proposal, with some amendments, on 16 February and it was subsequently approved by Senate on 11 March. The implementation group will therefore begin its work with an initial meeting at the end of March to discuss and agree the group's scope and start to plan how we move to the new structures.

The proposed new academic structure will both broaden and strengthen academic leadership across the institution, enabling a larger group of academic leaders to work directly with UEB.

The membership of the implementation group is as follows:

Chief Strategy Officer and University Secretary (Dr R.J. Messer) (Chair)

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Professor R. Van de Noort)

Chief Operating Officer (Mr D.C.L. Savage)

Dean of Postgraduate Research Studies (Professor D.C. Berry)

Dean of the Henley Business School (Professor J. Board)

Head of the School of Law (Professor S.C. Breau)

Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) (Dr E. McCrum)

Head of Governance (Ms L.V. Sharman)

Head of the School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy (Professor A.C.Williams)

Secretary (Mr K.H. Swanson)

Other staff will be invited to attend meetings of the group as appropriate.

The Group's Terms of Reference are:

1. To identify the operational implications of introducing the new structure for 1 August 2016; and to help find solutions.
2. To make proposals to the University Executive Board as to how to meet each of these implications.
3. To report on progress to the University Executive Board on a regular basis.

The Group will liaise with relevant colleagues to ensure a joined up approach to implementation. It will also consult widely with Schools and Services.

Read about the consultation and our response 

Read about the 2020 research plan