Comment 007 July 1985

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King's College London (KQC) newsletter

AUGUST 1st

WARDS

A Note from the Principal On August 1 of this year, King's, Chelsea and Queen Elizabeth Colleges will embark on a new period in their individual histories: they will join together to form a single School of the University of London; a diverse multi-disciplinary School, one of the largest in the University, one of the five designated Centres of Excellence in university teaching and research in London. The process of merger is disruptive and demanding and every member of staff throughout the three Colleges will have had to take on a burden of extra work and extra worries over past months in order to get the College in a state where it is ready to take this next, very important step. It has been a time when we have had to reflect upon and re-order priorities against a national background of declining financial resources and bleak forecasts for higher education as a whole and, in common with many colleagues in universities up and down the Country, the problems we have had to face have been many.

tors, some within our own competence and some which presuppose the support of the University as a whole, and indeed the Government of the day. The Academic Plan indicates how we have approached the task to date and, more importantly, how we intend to face it in the future and it details the quite exhilarating scope of our teaching and research plans. It also points out that without relief from the strains imposed by the geographical scattering of our sites we should be hard pressed to consolidate the excellence that is easily within our academic range. Academic and physical consolidation is

vital to the realisation of any lasting advantage. Cornwall House is in part available to us now and our use of the building has the support of the Government. We must use this unique opportunity to create a unified campus and all action possible is now being taken to implement occupation of the building. We have, then, the prospect of playing a central role in the development of higher education into the 21st Century. I believe that we have created the conditions for the successful completion of a merger which is without precedent in the university system and that we must continue to devote our energies to our growth and advancement. There will be no fanfares or trumpets on Thursday August 1 1985 but what I hope there will be is a solid feeling of unity and strength for the future. For those staff present in College on the day itself there will be a chance to meet together over a drink and some food on each of the three Campuses - or indeed

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Much up-hill work is now complete. The redrafting of the ACADEMIC PLAN is done; it has been submitted to the Court of the University and will go to the UGC. This plan clearly states that our merger is fundamental to the restructuring of the University as a whole and that the combined College will be in a position to make an outstanding contribution to the federal university provision. We have now to turn our attention to our institutional response to the letter from the UGC, drawing on the essence of the Academic Plan and research statements already prepared to present our ai ms and objectives in to the late 19805. To continue to promote academic excellence in research and teaching and to expand the opportunities we offer to students, in a general climate of contraction, is not an easy goal to aim for but it is vital that this is the goal we choose. The task will be complex and success will depend on a variety of fac-

Princess Anne opens the Lions International Earl Mountbatten Blood Research Laboratory at a ceremony onJ une 14 at the King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry. (see inside article)

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on all of them, for those of you who are particularly energetic! - and I shall hope to see as many of you as possible during the course of the day. More formal celebration of the merger will take place in October, around the time of the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and details will be made known in due course. We have come a long way in our planning - we have a long way to go, but we go forward now in the knowledge that our resources are ordered, directed and reinforced in a fashion that should help shield us from further disruption in the coming years. I should like to wish you all well over the summer vacation and look forward with you to the start of a vigorous new session in October.

Professor Stewart Sutherland This edition of the newsletter contains information on the Academic Plan, the timetable of response to the UGC and the UGC Letter, and details of the arrangements for August 1st.

PERSONNEL NEWS KI NG'S COLLEGE Leaven Miss N. Pod more, Secretarial Assistant, Dept. of Biophysics, 27.06.85 Mrs S.M. (Lee) Cary, Departmental Secretary, Education, 12.07.85 Mrs A. Savage, Departmental Secretary, Dept. of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 26.07.85

Mr A.O. Briggs, Oept. of Pharmacology, 10.06.85 Retirements Mrs E. Walker, Dept. of Physics, 30.06. 85 Mr J. McOonald, Dept. of Pharmacology, 30.06.85 Mr A. Howe, Dept. of Plant" iences, 30.06.85

Mr E.J. Richardson, Dept. of Pharmacology, 31.07.85 Transfer Ms W Everett, Departmental Secretary, Dept. of Geology, to Bepartmental Secretary, Dept. of War Studies, 1.08.85 CHELSEA COLLEGE Leavers Professor A.H. Beckett, Professor, Dept. of Pharmacy, 30.09.85 Miss R. Bhardwaj, Research Assistant (Temp), Dept of Pharmacology, 30.06.85 Miss P. Britchford, PfT Domestic Assistant, Malcolm Gavin Hall, 20.07.85 Or M.N. Bukhari, Research Assistant (Temp), Dept. of Electronics, 24.07.85

Mr G. Woffendin, Analyst (Temp), Drug Control and Teaching Centre, 01.06.85 Mr P.J. Wood, Programmer (Temp), Educational Computing Section, CSME, 01.09.85 QUEEN ELIZABETH COLLEGE Leavers Mrs E. Biddies, Secretary, Dept. of Physics, 28.06.85 Ms L. Cleary, Cook, May 85 Mr P. Jackson, Computer lJlnit, 28.06.85 Ms C. Sayee, Secretary, Dept. of Physiol路 ogy, 28.06.85 New Appointments Ms P. Gray, Cook, 24.06.85 Mr W. Hamilton, Porter/Cleaner, 28.05.85 Mr T. Skinner, Plumber, 20.05.85 Ms C. Sullivan, Secretary, Dept. of Microbiology, 15.07.85 Mr S. Sweet, Porter/Cleaner, 17.06.85

Or L.O. Ellam, Research Assistant (Temp), Dept. of Physiology, 31.08.85

Mr C. Tohill, Library, 01.08.85

Mr M.S. Feldman, Technician (Temp), Drug Control and Teaching Centre, 14. 06.85

KQC APPOINTMENT Mr Richard Kidd, the Buildings Officer at Chelsea College, has been appointed Deputy Estates Officer for KOC with effect from 1st August 1985

Or S.C. Francis, Lecturer (Temp), Dept. of Geology, 01.07.85 Miss J. Garlick, Research Assistant (Temp), Dept of Physiology, 31.07.85 Dr D.M. Hylands, Postdoctoral Research Assistant (Temp), Dept. of Pharmacy, 31.05.85 Mr R.K. Kingdom, Kitchen Porter, Refectory, 05.07.85 Mr N.C. Taylor, Technician, Dept. of Pharmacy, 31.07.85 New Appointments Miss C.A. Barnes, Research Assistant (Temp), Nursing Education Research Unit, 01.07.85

Appointments Miss O. Peart, Secretarial Assistant, Typing Unit, 17.06.85

Mr J.P. Cronin, pfT Night Security Attendant, Malcolm Gavin Hall, 15.06.85

Miss S. Carter, Secretary, Physiotherapy Research Unit, 8.07.85

Mr C. Oee, Plumber/Pipefitter, Buildings Department, 10.06.85

Miss H. Appleton, Secretarial Assistant, Dept. of Anatomy and Human Biology, 15.07.85

Mr O.F. Elcome, PlumberlWorking Foreman, Buildings Department, 17.06.85

Miss J. Rodin, Secretary/Student Records, RGgistry, 29.07.85

Or A.J. Rogers, Chair of Electronics, Dept. of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, 01.09.85

Mr I. Oavies, Night Patrol, 7.07.85

Mr T. Long, Library Assistant, 31.07.85 Miss A. Walker, Library Assistant, 31.07. 85

Mr L.J. Newell, Plumber/Pipefitter, Buildings Department, 10.06.85

Mrs C.M. Goodman, Lecturer in Nursing Research (Temp), Dept. of Nursing Studies, 23.09.85

LEAVE OF ABSENCE Council has granted leave of absence to the following: Mr J R Proudfoot, Reader in English, for the Michaelmas Term 1985 and the Lent Term 1986 Professor G N Stanton (Biblical Studies) for the Lent and Summer Terms 1986 Miss Lesley Whyte (Assistant Librarian) for the session 1985/86 Mr J Woolford, Lecturer i:1 English, for the session 1985/86

FELLOWSHIP OF ENGINEERING Professor C W Turner, Head of the Depart ment of Electronic and Electrical Engin . eeri ng has been elected to the Fellowship of Engineering. The Fellowship was established in 1976 as a national academy of engineering to be a counterpart in technology of the Royal Society in science.

_I ACADEMIC INITIATIVES Professor Beckett honoured Professor Arnold Beckett, FPS, a professor in the Pharmacy Department and Director of the Drug Control and Teaching Centre, was made a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy of Pharmacy at a ceremony in Madrid on May 9.

The following proposals for academic initiative awards have been put forward by the College to the Court of the Univ· ersity. Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency £19,500

Lecturer in Social Gerontology £20,556 Language Centre £28,500 The Antenatal Treatment of Genetic Diseases £48,993 Lectureship in Immunogenetics £14,000

PROFESSOR H J V TYRRELL, VICE·PRINCIPAL DESIGNATE Phr.rmacognosy Lecturer to visit Africa Or P.J. Hylands, a lecturer in Pharmacognosy at the Chelsea Campus, has been invited by the Commonwealth Science Council to Namibia and Zim· babwe. He will hold seminars on medic· inal plants of Africa at the University of Harare and study the potentially useful economic plant, nora, which has been the staple food of Kalahari bushmen for 8,000 years.

FROM BODY TO SOUL Or Maureen Palmer, former Lecturer in the Department of Physiology at OEC from 1966 - 83 was ordained Deaconess at Hereford Cathedral on Sunday 30th June 1985 to serve in St Paul's, Tupsley, Here· ford.

RELOCATION OF STAFF FOLLOWING CLOSURE OF THE STRAND POSTGRADUATE OFFICE - Room 16BB From I July the following staff will be located as follows: S P Harrow

Room 27B/Main Building Ext 2689

Secretary to S P Harrow

Room 2B/Main Building Ext. 2291/2753 Fiona Cameron Room 2B/Main Building Ext. 2291/2753 Fiona Macl.eod Room 2B/Main Building Ext 2291/2753

NB as from I August Fiona MacLeod will be located in Room 5B/Main Building. Exts 2689/2307 Until further notice, postgraduate enquiries (except Admissions' matters) may be referred to the above staff.

OBITUARY Julian Sandys, an undergraduate student in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, was tragically killed in a road accident on 23 June 1985 He was due to enter his final year this coming October.

As we announced in the last issue of COMMENT, Professor H.J.V. Tyrrell is to be appointed Vice-Principal of the College for one year from August 1st. At present Principal of Chelsea College, Professor Tyrrell began his career in industry before joining the Chemistry Department of the University of Shef· field five years after graduating. He came to Chelsea College in 1965 as Professor of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry and served as Head of Department from 1972-1982. In 1976 he became Vice-Principal, and was appointed Principal in 1984 in succession to Or Charles Phelps. Professor Tyrrell was due to retire this summer, but accepted the job of vice· principal because of his thorough com· mitment to the new College. He professes to feeling honoured to have been chosen to help to steer the College through its first year; having been involved in every stage of the merger, Professor Tyrrell has gained an awareness of the problems and worries that members of staff have faced as well as the confidence which they can now feel in the College. And he hopes that his appoint·

ment will help to reinforce that confid· ence. He sees the main priority as trying to forge a new, corporate identity over the next few years. To do that, he thinks it essential that the College should eventually operate from a single site, a requirement that would be realised with the partial acquisition of Cornwall House. This identity could stem from the 'enormous access of strength' which the College now commands, and the academic qualities which will emerge as people work more closely together. Throughout the College, Prof· essor Tyrrell said, departments and faculties are being strengthened, with a cross·fertilisation of ideas, and a wider range of academic interests. Professor Tyrrell is looking forward to working with Professor Sutherland, and feels confident about the future of the College. Now, whether speaking to indiv· idual members of staff or sitting on committees he can detect a new spi rit; where once people were concerned with their own position in the merger, they are now concerned with what is good for the new College, and a KOC view prevails.

THE ACADEMIC PLAN Proposals to the Court of the University of London and the University Grants Committee, June 1985 , The merger of King's College, Queen Elizabeth College and Chelsea College is the most important development in the sphere of higher education today and it must succeed.' Lord Scarman Chairman of the Court of the University on the occasion of the Court Dialogue with the merging Colleges 25 October 1984 This statement prefaces a 112 pp document stating the aims and objectives of the merged College and detailing the status and future strengths of each individual Department. To attempt to precis such a document would be unrealistic. A list of the Contents headings will give you an idea of the documents scope and copies are available for consultation in the Libraries of each campus, the Strand Senior Common Room and the Information Office. SPACE REQUIREMENTS AND DEVELTHE PLAN FOR THE MERGER OPMENT OPTIONS - Aims and Objectives - Space Requirements - The Context - Restructured Multi-Site Option - The Academic Plan - Single Campus Operation - The Means of Achievement - Other Options - The Proposal and its Justification - Timing - Residential Property FACULTY AND DEPARTMENTAL PROFILES FINANCIAL APPRAISAL - Arts and Music - Introduction - King's College School of Medicine and - Background Information Dentistry - Options Considered - Faculty of Education - Investment Appraisal - Faculty of Engineering - Capital Cost and Recurrent and Equip- Faculty of Laws ment Expenditure Savings Summary Facu Ity of Life Sciences - Conclusion - Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences CORNWALL HOUSE - Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies NEW FACTORS

PRINCIPAL WRITES TO SECRETARY OF STATE Professor Sutherland has written a personal letter to Sir Keith Joseph pointing out how the current developments within the University of London are already working towards adapting higher education to the needs of the nation. The letter goes on to outline how we are coping with our particular merger; what its benefits will be and what issues will effect us - Cornwall House is mentioned in this context. The Principal sums up by saying: 'My purpose in writing has had three points of focus: (I) To point out that the restructuring of the University of London is of such an order that it might provide a bed-rock of experience on which other Universities may wish, or even have need to draw; (2) The current merging process upon

which King's alld its partners (the King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Elizabeth College and Chelsea College) are engaged, is of an order quite unprecedented in the University system, but one which demonstrates that high quality and reviewed expenditure patterns are quite compatible; (3) Nonetheless restructuring of such dimensions involving the closure of institutions, cannot be achieved without the closure of some sites and the extension or re-structuring of others. This means in our case short-term injections of capital to allow not simply survival but a costeffective and vigorous long-term future. We hope that our positive responses to the effects of the policies of our elected government will be given the opportunity to show that there is still a place

TIMETABLE OF RESPONSE TO THE UGC The University outlines the structure of London's response to the UGC letter PLANNING FOR THE LATE 1980 s. The UGC were initially concerned only with the selective funding of research; the goal is now a total review of university operations. The University therefore proposes to conduct two parallel exercises - a research review and the development of institutional profiles - the two studies to be drawn together for presentation to the UGC. RESEARCH REVIEW The Joint Planning Committee of the University has set up a sub-group to consider the overall approach to research plans and will be particularly concerned with inter-disciplinary and inter-collegiate projects. King's has to produce a list of intercollegiate research in which it is involved by July 31, covering the nature and aims of the work, its organisation and control and the associated cost and income. The major research statement for the College will have to be submitted to the University by September 16. INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE The College has until October 31 to present a profile of its overall academic policies and objectives, including information on student numbers and financial position. The University has stressed the need to take realistic account of the financial position that institutes face and have asked that, due to the constraints of the timetable of response, submissions be made before the October deadline if possible. FINAL UNIVERSITY SUBMISSION The UGC have made it clear that they must receive all replies by November 30 and it is vital, therefore, that the whole timetable of response as outlined above is strictly adhered to. School and Institute submissions will be transmitted to the UGC along with the University's federal statements and the documents should be made available throughout the University for consultation. THE LETTER ITSELF The full text of Sir Peter SwinnertonDyer's letter is included in this edition.

for vision in Higher Education. Should you wish, I shall be happy to give further details of how this particular institution is already responding to the effects of Government policy.'

PLANNING FOR THE LATE 1980s: A LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE UGC TO ALL UNIVERSITIES C.rcul.' I• • 17/84 0 19 ov.mber 1984 outllnea the Commin...'s int.n ,on to review e prewnt grant dlwibutloo tn the hg' of un enttli8$' future pl.ns. PJIrtlC" ulady on

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un, .rs ,es ohould tormulat. the" piano (~ra 2-10 , ~I the org,an,sa ,on and NI ure 0 the rev .w (paras 11-181 and 'I>«,f es the mforma .on od1 the Comm, . t need. (paras 19-30 .nd annexes STRATEGIC FRAMEWOR F,nanoe 2 In ,a S rategy Advice last ye.r the Comm, "" urged the Gov.rnment to m.,nUln tnJly Iev. funding tor • ran 0 the deade, and to prov,d. appmpri•• extra resources where the Universities were as Id to fa e on Iddltlona' US L. The Commit· tee has now been told the the recurr.nt granu .mboched ,n the Public Expendltur. Wlut. P.per (Cmnd 94281 publllhed ,n J.nuary wer•.

FY 1985/86 £12BO.4m

FY/1986/87 £1315.1m

FYI1987/88 £1348.8m

These figures Includ. provision for the final y••r (AY 1985/861 ot the new blood .nd IT progr.mmes. Th.y exclude the £31m of new mon.y for the £43m programme ov.r 3 years which was .nnounced on 19 M.rc tor add't,on.1 places ,n .Iectronic .nglneenng and r.l. ed subjects hhe 'shift'); they do of course Includ. the £12m which the UGC Itselt IS contributing out ot recurrent grant tow.rds the progr.mme.

3 The figures given above provide for increases in universities' costs that are on ev.rage 1.5 per cent below the Go .mm.nt's own assumptions about gener.1 infl.tlon ov.r the three years (5,0 per cent, 4.5 per cent .nd 3.5 per cem respectiv.ly). They also reflect the tact that m 1984 the Gov.mm.nt r.moved £14m from the previou.ly planned provISion for FY 1985/86 .nd £22m trom FY 1986/87 on the basis th.t universiti.. would be .xpected to operate With increas.d economy. (Now that the J.rrln Commlnee has reported, the Committee's preliminary view IS that its recommend.tions will not I.ad to substanti.1 economies.) 4

It is cl.ar th.retore that, so tar at I.ast. the Goyernment has not -.:epted the caM for truly lev.1 funding. The Committee d.plor.. thi••nd will continu. to press the case. It r.meins to be seen whether the Government'. Green Paper on the development of h,gher education, which i. expected to be published lat.r this month. di., closes a diHerent prospect. M•• nwhil••1I univ.rsitie. must prepare for support from public funds 0. necurrent gr.nt and home tuit'on tees) to decline in re.1 terms y•• r by y.ar: univ.rsities which suHer less th.n the av.rage an only do .0 at the expen•• of other unIversities.. 5 For the purpose ot IU review the Committ•• has decided on a worlUng hypothati. of an .w". annual decline in the recurrent grant for .ach inJ1i1ution at 2 per cant in re.1 tarms uken her. to mean .n annu.1 increase ot about 2 per cent below the general rat. ot inflation (see Annex 3), This is a steeper d.cline than the figures tor total recurr.nt gr.nt might suggest: the Comminee may need to withhold pert of the total, for ex.mple, to support restructuring Student numbo .. 6 The Goy.rnment·s public expenditure plans .ssume that the number of home and EC .tud.nts m higher education will remein at about the present lev.1 tor the rest ot the decad•. The di.position ot these numbers between the univ.rsities and the public sector has not y.t been discussed with the Gov.rnmen 7 Meanwhile the Comm,ttee has dec,ded to t.ke as the baseline tor the neview its pr..ent stUdent number targets (see Annex 2) including the place. associated With the third and tin.1 y••r ot the IT programme (1985186) but .xcluding the extra stUdenu tor whom additional granu are being provided und.r the ·.hift', (These Ian. which are ,n cours. of being senled with the uniYersiti.. concerned, will be tak.n into account by the Comminee in the course of the review and .hould not be included in the figures for 1989/90 that uniYersitl" .ubmit in rflPOnse to thi. Iener,) The Commin"" IS also a.king for infonnation .bout ectual numbers in 1984/85 to compI.ment the Intormation rel.ting to planned numbers. Whatever deci5l0n on total numbers by th. end of the 1980. results from the discussions r.t.rred to in para 6, the Comminee is not sen,ng out with the expect.tion ot changing the ~.rn ot dIStribution bet'Neen Institutions to any significant extent. 8 Th. pl.nning numbers which the Commlnee .v.ntually d.termines tor each univ.rSlty w,1I be .xpressed in terms ot the full·tlme equiyal.nt of full-time and parttime dogr....nd d,plom. stUd.nts - see para 24. Th.y will be the basIS for calculating the t.aching comppnent ot recurr.nt grant. They will .Iso be used in calculating the stud.nt-rel.ted compon.nts of equipm.nt grant and caplul·ir>-recurrent grant.

10 I s for .ach ,mt'tu on 0 conSider how 0 react 0 .s. W, In • broed subject .r... here may be scope tor shifts 0 subjects of partia.l.r vocatlon.1 relev.nce wh'ch do not n 01 • subs an .1 nedlJUlbu Ion of resources. ShIfts from hl.m to • SCII ob'tloud ra,se much rea er resource problems.. ORGANISATlO

A 0 NATURE OF THE REVIE

The t1mlr\9 and CM'~nisaoon of the tI'fteW 1 TM re-/leYlo W 11 cover recurre" granu or. four·yeat period starting In the' ~mtC year 1986 87 .nd wil nvotv!: a Incl"easlng se eetl e distribution of the research c.ompone." of the The: Comm pJa'l5 to announce the gt.n s or AY 1986 87 n M. 1986 and gr.nu tor the allOWing roe acad.m,c y••rs I1 .r In 1986

g....

12Th. granu tor AY 1986'87 Will be ,rm (SUblec to he usual prOVIso about Parltamen '. voting the necess.ry funds for the tour months from Aprtl 1987) The granu or the remaining thrM' years will be proYlslonal for a varie y of reasons One: IS tha he cash .yall.ble for recurr.n grant for the r.. of the public .xpenditure planning pertod (ro FY 1988189) w,lI stili be .ubj.ct to cont,rmatlon by the Governmen Ano her IS that.•Ithough the Commlnee believ. . . four-year planning pertod for UnlV!rSl les is desirible, It can only provide figures fol" the remaining 16 months by extrapolatron tram the publtc expendltur. tlgures. In add,tron the Commrn"" WlI, WISh durtng the .econd halt of 1986 to conSld.r turther the allocatiOns for r.... rctfor 1987/88 - 1989/90. I will also discuss w .ome institutiOns most affected by the 1986/87 dlStnbut,on how they .hould adap to further neductlons. Because of the practical d,fflcuhlf!s created for a UniversitY when resources afe reduced It shon notice tne Comminee has declC:ied to limit the real terms loss whlc .ny institution might ha\te to bur In 1986/87 no Instlt1.Jtlon will suHer a reduction In fts total grant that 11 worse by more than 1.5 per cent than the .v.rage loss tor .11 institutIons. The .ubsequent rate of loss wilt d.pend on the outcome of the discussions ret.rred to above.

13 In ord.r to be .ble to announce the grants In May 1986 the Committ"" hopes that univerSities will r..pond to this letter as .000 a. possible this autumn. It recognises the dem.nds which the tlm.table imposes but it will need to have all r..ponses n01 latar than 30 No.. mber. For the Comminee the revi.w will take precedence oyer .11 oth.r commitments from the autumn onw.rd•. Its programme at meetings will be arranged to ensure that there is time to give full consideration to universities' submls$Ions. In VIew' of thiS, there will be no Commlnee visits to uni\tersitles dUring the first half of 1986. Aft.r con.iderlng plans for student numbers and research on the basiS at academ,c subjects, the Commrnee will .xamlne the impliatlons tor Indiv,d u.1 ,nstltutions before taking final decisions. It will pay .pecial an.ntlon to the .cope for ratlonali.atlon and to proposals which involy. coll.boration with other imtitut,ons. whether in the university sector or in the public sector and wh.ther in t.achlng or research. The Commrn"" Will be dIscussing with the CVCP how much ,nformatlon univ.rSltles .hould be giy.n about the grounds on which the grant decisions have been uk.n. 14 The COmmitt... •• subj.ct sub-comminees will play a full rol. in .xaminlng UnlV' .rsiti.s' academiC plans. Including plans for research, They are beIng asked to arrange • programme of meetings which enabl.. them to do this. There will be consulut,on with R.... rch Council•. Th. advice ot other bodies will be sought as appropri.te 15 The Comm,n.e's Secnet.rtat must heve the st.H and the technical tacilitl" to enabl. them to provide the .nalys.s ot univers,ti..' wbm,ssions and .11 the other information which the Commin"" will nequ"•. ThIS has been recognised by the Dep.rtment of Education and Science. Po> p.rt of a reorganisation of the Secr.tartat a nlw ppst is being created on the fin.nc,al .ide. The Committ"" hopes that thIS pos , wh'ch will be ot sl>«i.t ,mportance during the period at the r.Yiew. can be filled by the secondment of a university administrator with appropriate experience, but the number of nominations received from Universities hIS been very small. Some uOlve~' ity administrators are however contributing the" experti.e to the developmen of the mod.1 referred to in para 16 below. The computing .nd other fac,litl" evail.ble to the Secr.tariat have been strengthened ov.r the last twely. months. The Commln"" will be conSld.ring whether further provision will be required. R.... rch .lIocation 16 The Committee ..id in IU Strategy AdVice th.t it int.nded to consider changes in Its .pproach to the distribution of resources. It i. now dev.loping a model based essentially on the tollowing comppnents. (.) • leaching rlJSOUrtlI per full'lIme .Quiolal.nt home ...d EC student wary· ing according to departmental con oontr. but not according 11> lns2lttuUon. (bl a rese.rch resource,

Subject t.lanee 9 In July 1981 the Commlttee's plam provided for a shift in the distribution of home and EC students among the three broad subjeex ar.as - am. science and medIcm. - from 50:41:9 in 1979/80 to 48:42: 10 in 1983/84. Thi. has largely been act>I.v.d. Po> un,y.rSlt,.s know. the Secretary ot State for Education and Sci.nce would Ilk. to see a higher proportion of students .tudying subjects of 'vocational relev.nc.'. Although h. 1'1.. noted the UGC'. yi.w in th. Strategy AdVice that • signifiant ir>cr.as. in the number of placet in SCIence and technology depend. on the provision of tha nec..sary resources, ha n.....rthel....xpects the great.st possibl. mift to sci.nce and technology w,thin .xisting resources. H. hopes in partlcul.r that it will be possibl. for int.k.. in these .r.as to be m.int.ined at at I.ast the I.vels planned for 1984 .nd 1985.

(c) prOVISion tor centr.1 costs, (d) .peci.1 factors r.tlectlng unavoidabl. r.Quirement. of c.rtain institutions (London weighting allowance being the most obviOUS .xample) or other justitiabl. adjustments ot the basic model.

Po> a part of the work, univ.rsities will shortly be inYlted to comment on th." 17 dep.rtmental Unit costs, on the ratio between departm.ntal costs .nd c.ntral Unit costs, and on .tudent/.taH r.tlOS In the Yanous d.p.rtmental subject groups. It has been agreed With the CVCP that th.r. should be a group con.isting of members of

both committees to disco.. the gen.r.1 implic.tions for the uniy.rsities of the funding mod. I.

p.rt·time and full·time stud.nts, and will no longer be making the auumpt,ons about part·time fees that were Introduced In Circul.r I.ner 10/81.

SelectiYity in funding of .. seuch 18 The Commm••'s policy to be more selectiye in Its support for r....rch is Int.nded to m.int.in the quality of uniy.rsity res••rch .nd the str.ngth of the du.1 support syst.m as f.r as pou,ble within the r..ources .yailable. The gener.1 objectlye

Continuing education 25 The Comminee WIll contlnu. to assume that courses of continUing edUcatIon should cover their costs, Including the appropri.te level of overheads, without significant subsidy from recurrent grant. The Committee does however recognise tha value of

is to redistribute resources for research between institutions, and to encourage a re--

some grant provision for pump""priming for courses other than extra-mural courses of

distrrbution within Institutions, tow.rds work of speci., strength or promise. The Committee recognoses that there is consider.ble concem in uniyersiti. . .bout the pos' ",ble .ffects of the policy. Some of the issues which h.ye arisen in the three working parties on which repr..entatiy.. of he CVCP and the R....rch Councils have served c.nnot be .nswered in advance of the r.yiew but the Committee has already taken the following decisions:

Ioberal adult education for which support is provided by the Educ.tlon Departm.nts and local authorities. It has therefore decided 0 provide modest support at about the pres.nt level (approximat.,y £150 per FTE student on yocatlonal courses and £75 for non-vocational courses). It is in addition considering introducing a scheme for the support of post·experrence vocationll education that would be highly selective both as to subject and as to institutIon.

(al it will not start With Iny preconceptions lOOUt plrticullr re..lrch Irels to be encouraged selectlyely, and it will tlke full account of III the information and views which it will be receiving, including in particular universities' own choice of priorities as 5hown in their research plans;

(b) it will not identify in IdYlnce a sum to be distributed seleeliyely for research;

(c) globally, it will not transf.r ..search resources between the main sub-

needs or, conver1ely, where proviSion for certain subjects is in danger of being elim-

ject areas - arts, science and medicine - but individual universities are free to do so where they consider it justifi.ble.

inated altogether.

THE SUBMISSION OF UNIVERSITIES' PLANS 19

Rationali ..tion of deplrtmants 26 The Comminee intends to comment shortly on various aspects of how universit· 185 might tackle the rationalisation of departments. ResponSIbility for action must (hen in general rest With universities themselyes, both individu.lly and in cooperation. The Committee may be willing to make grants to help to implement arrangements between Universities end it will be considering what line to follow on this. It mlY rtlJl need to take the init,ative in particullr cas.., for eXRmple where it ~s neces· IIry to ensure that proviSIon in cenain subjects meets but does not exceed national

Universities .re asked to proYlde.

Restructuring cosu 27 The continuing squeeze on resources, or changes that a university pllns to make in the distribution of student numbers. may involve edditional non· recurring

(11

expenditure. e.g. to rationalise accommodation, to facilitate re-training of staff or transfers between institutions. or to provide for the premature retirement of staff in the university's interest. Where this is so. universities are asked to estimate what non-

(b) a r..earch st.tement (Annex 11.

recurring costs, whether capital or revenue, might lrise in edapting to the levels of funding indicated by the working hypothesis, Ind how they would propose to finance such expenditure (see Annex 3).

a short statement of their oyerall objectlYes for the planning period (para 20).

(c) forecasts of student numbers (Annex 2); (d) f,nanci.1 forecasts (Annex 3). 20 The st.tement of oyer.1I objectives should. when re.d with the response to Part 3 of Annex I, cover the university's gener.1 prioritres in teaching .nd rese.rch. If the

Buildings 28 Universities are asked to say what their plans are for the management of ca~ ital resources (proYision, use and disposal of property and financing of building work) which complement their academic and financial plans for the planning period, so that the Committee may be aware of the accommodation implications when it is making decisions on recurrent grant allocations.

university proposes to expand provision in certain subjects or to introduce new ones,

it should indic.te clearly wh.t subjects it will be contracting or withdrawing from in order to accomplISh this. The st.tement should be developed on the b.sis of the working hypothesis (p.ra 5) of a 2 per cent .nnual reduction in the real value of recurrent grant. In preparing the statement .nd the detail asked for in the .nnexes, universIties .re asked to take account of the following par.graphs. Supporting mater· ial should be provided as appendices, where appropriate.

29 The Committee expects universities to take full advantage of the arrangements for retentIon of sales proceeds and certain rents set out in Circular letter 3/85. The resources ayailable for major new capital building are unlikely to amount to more than about £12m a year for medical projects over the period of the review. The programmes are fully allocated up to 1987/88 and there are already many claims on the programmes for succeeding years. As to projects costing less than £1 m, universities should assume for the purpose of the review that the cash resources available through

Student nu mbers 21 Universities are asked to consider what changes they propose to make in the balance of student numbers between, for example:

capital-in-recurrent grant will increase at the same rate as recurrent grant.

30 Universities' plans should show the provision they intend to make for the long term maintenance of their property (see Annex 3, Table 5).

(a) ans and science; OTHER MATTERS (b) 'vocational' and 'non·vocational' courses; (c) full·time and part·tilJle tuition; (d) self·financing and grant·aided courses; (e) undergraduates and postgraduates. 22 The intake of home and EC medical students should be maintained at the 1980 level but the total intake, including overseas students, should not exceed the univers· ity's 'Todd target'. The total of dental students should be at the level notified to the unlYersities concerned on 2 December 1983. In conSIdering possible developments in particular subjects, universities should bear in mind the results of recent enquiries into

proviSIon in pharmacy, oceanography, architecture and agriculture and the propos.d targets for initial teacher training. In considering the balance between vocational and nOfl"yocational courses in the 'arts' subject area, universities should take account of the high demand from good quality applIcants for undergraduate courses in subjects $Uch as business and management studies and accountancy for which there is also a high demand from employers.

Equipment grant 31 By providing an additional £18m oyer three years for seleeliYe distribution tt's Secretary of State has already made some acknowledgement of the case set out in the Strategy Advice that the present equipment grant is seriously inadequate. The Committee awaits a full response in the Green Paper. Meanwhile, the planning figures, in cash terms, available to the Committee are as follows: FY 1985/86 £95.Qm

FY 1986/B7 £99.7m

FY 1987/88 £102Om

to strengthen research in a limited number of research groups. During the summer the Committee will be reviewong the method used to distribute the first £4m; it expects to invite applications from universities for grants from the remaining £14m. 32 The Committee expects to announce the distribution of equipment grant for AY 1986/87 at about the same time as it announces recurrent grant for that year. Before it does so it intends to review some aspects of the method of calcullting grant in the light of its decision to be more seleeliye in the distribution of resources for research.

Student qUllifications on entry 23 In its Strategy AdVice the Committee recommended that higher education courses should be ayailable to all who Ire able to benefit from them and wish to do so. Nevertheless from time to time the Committee is asked whether universities suffer financially if they admit students without the customary academic qualifications. The answer is that the proportion of students edmitted without' A' level qualifications or SCE 'H' grades has not been (and will not be) a factor in Committee decisions about the distribution of grant. The analyses of 'A' level scores and SCE 'H' grades that are presented to the Committee ere based on the number of entrants aged 20 or le.. who have such qualifiCAtions. Part·time and diploma students 24 The Committee has decided that the grant for the full·time equivalent of part· time degree and diploma students should be the same as for full-time and sandwich students. This Will allow virement within a planning figure that will be expressed in terms of full·time equivalents of full·tlme and part·tlme students. It represents a "!/' nificant improvement over the funding prOVIded in 1981 for part·time students. The Committee will not however compensate for any difference between fee levels for

Performance indicators

33 Universities will Increasingly be expected to be able to demonstrate that they are using their resources effectively and ,efficiently. To this end, it will be necessary for the UGC and Universities to develop and use appropriate indicators of performance for teachong, research and for the prOVISion of academic services. The Commit· tee intends to discuss this with the CVCP in the light of the Jarratt Report. CONCLUSION 34

Universities must continue to take excellence as their prime objectilJe in teach·

ing and research. It should be possible for every university to be strong in some subjects both in teaching and research, but the extent to which excellence can be preserved in all subjects and in all universities depends on the resources evailable. It IS to be expected that there will be increasing differences among universities in the range of subjects they cover, In the nature of the rese.ch they do, and in teaching Slyles. With the prospect of contInuing flnancia' stringency, all universities will be faced with hard choices. The Committee endorses what is said in the Jarratt report, that forward planning IS all the more necesslry when the future is uncertain.

KCLA NEWS THREE NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COLLEGE

NEW INSTITUTE TO BE FORMED An Institute of Gerontology is to be established at King's in collaboration with the charity organisation Age Concern. During 1984/85 discussions have been taking place between faculty members of the newly enlarged King's College and the Age Concern Research Unit about the possibilities of collaborative research and teaching. It has been found within the College that there is a wide range of existing interests in the processes of ageing and in the circumstances and care of the elderly. These include well established research in the biology of ageing, in demographic, migration and housing topics, in nursing studies, primary health care, community dental health, health education and in ethical and legal issues concerning the elderly. The Age Concern Research Unit was established in 1975 and has developed a programme of funded research totalling c£300,OOO per annum. It is supported by £30,000 p. a. from Age Concern for the core staff. Their strengths complement the ageing research of KQC and focus on applied social and health administration studies, with major projects in the evaluation of innovative community mental health care, the study of the elderly among ethnic minorities and a national reputation for social survey research. It is directed by Jonathan Barke', who, with his colleagues, have a proven record of securing and successfully completing major grant-funded research projects. The range of interests in ageing with ACRU and King's College constitute an exceptionally promising opportunity for the establishment of the first UK multifaculty centre fO!" gerontological research and teaching. There is agreement and a shared enthusiasm among the Principal, the Director of Age Concern and the Dean of the Medical School and many members of KQC departments itor its The Minister of State for Heasuccess. Ith, The Rt. Hon. Kenneth Clarke, QC, MP, was guest of honour at a recent dinner at King's to mark the proposed collaboration and has expressed his interest in the project. Anyone who would like further inform·

ation on the Institute should contact Dr Tony Warnes of the Department of Geography, who is acting as its Secretary and Development Officer.

NEW RESEARCH PROJECT The Leverhulme Trust has recently awarded a grant of £35,000 to King's College for research on Accelerated Christian Education Schools. There are currently 23 A.C.E. schools within the educational system in Britain today. A non-denominational protestant based system of teaching, the Accelerated Christian Education approach emphasises the right of Christian parents to decide on the appropriate education for their children and calls for a distinctive Christian approach to all aspects of school life; an emphasis on Bible-centred faith - the teaching of science will not contradict basic biblical truths; sponsorship of A.C.E. schools by a local church; parental sympathy with the aims of the school, although membership of the sponsoring church is not necessary. The proposed research, which will be directed by Dr Bernadette O'Keeffe of the Faculty of Education, aims to examine the emergence and growth of these schools and explore their aims and objectives. Comparison will be made with Church of England and County schools and will look at such issues as whether the ~'hurch of England, through its schools. is failing in its efforts to provide what parents see as a Christian education. The research will also establish a link between the sociology of religion and the sociology of education, introducing the sociology of religion as an important source of insights on change in the field of education.'

A NEW LECTURESHIP FOR THE COLLEGE King's has been awarded a Defence Lectureship by the Ministry of Defence. The new appointment will specialise in the area of technology and military affairs and be based in the Department of War Studies. The appointment will enable the Department of War Studies to build on its existing strengths and develop further as a leading centre for war studies in the United Kingdom.

A well-attended AG of the Association was held in Room 8B on Friday 10 May 1985. Among those present were the Principal and Professor B Gough, VicePresident of the Friends of King's College in Canada. It was reported that Mr I P Shaw had tendered his resignation as Chairman of the KCLA Council and Dr B E Dawson had decided not to stand for re-election as Honorary Secretary since he would be retiring from the Faculty of Education as from 1 October 1985. Very sincere and grateful thanks were expressed to both for all the work, help and advice they had so willingly given over the years; this can be illustrated by the fact that over the past 10 years or so membership has risen from about 3,000 to nearly 12,000, with overseas branches now established in Hong Kong, Canada, USA and Cyprus and the formation of further branches both at home and abroad now under consider· ation. The principal officers elected for 1985/86 were: Patron

Sir Richard Way KCB CBE

President

Mr A P J Edwards

Chairman

Professor E H Grant

Honorary Secretary

Mr B E Salter

Honorary Treasurer

Dr A S- T Lue MBE

The meeting agreed that QECA should become a branch of KCLA, provided the Council were satisfied with the proposed constitution. Members were also informed that, in view of large increases in membership in recent years and the formation of the enlarged College as from 1 August 1985, the Counci I were to carry out an examination of the future development of the Association. The reports from branches contained in the 1985 Newsletter were supplemented from members present; in particular Professor Gough outlined the financial support which the Friends of KCL in Canada had already made to the College and various other schemes which were under consideration. The Principal and the President then received some 250 members at a Reception in the Great Hall. Mr E H Warrell provided a concert in the Chapel, an exhibit· ion of material from the Adam archive (Arts members had made a contribution towards its acquisition) was on view, and the Physics Department, as part of its Open Day, was open to illustrate the scope and variety of its work. It would

be encouraging to KCLA if more members of the academic staff were to attend the Annual Reception since former students welcome the opportunity of meeting their former teachers and supervisors. It was without doubt a most enjoyable evening and the Association expresses its thanks to all those who made it such a success. Lastly, the demand for information about the Annual Dinner'in College on Friday 29 November 1985 is already about equal to the number who can be seated. Anyone interested in attending is therefore advised to contact the Academic Registrar, as Honorary Secretary, as soon as possible.

HELP FOR THE RNLI PROFESSOR T J WllLlAMS RETIRES Tom Williams came to King's College in 1956 as Reader in Mechanical Engineering, having previously been on the staff of University College, Swansea. Since then he has devoted himself unstintingly to the interests of the interests of the Department and the College, carrying a generous share of the teaching load, supervising an active programme of research and cheerfully involving himself in the administration of the Department. For ten years he was Director of Studies of the MSc course in Internal Combustion Engineering. His main research interests have been in the fields of unsteady gas dynamics, internal combustion engines and noise, and his work has received substantial financial support from industrial and government sources. His considerable volume of published papers led to the award of the DSc (Eng) degree of London University in 1976. In addition to these activities he has given freely of his time to numerous committees, both in the College and in the University; here his commonsense and his ability to concentrate attention on the essential points of the discussion have been especially valued. He has been an active member of the Universities Internal Combustion Engine Group since its inception. He was appointed to a titular Chair in Mechanical Engineering in 1977. Professor WilJiams' reputation outside London has produced a continual demand for his services as external examiner from many institutions in this country and overseas. Despite his many commitments, however, he has always been generous with his time to individual students -- continued on next page

In response to an article in the January issue of COMMENT, Evelyn Conrad of the Physiology Department sent some stamps to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In return she received a card stressing just how much any such contribution is appreciated, and wanted to pass the message on to other readers of COMMENT.

In fact, members of the College can help the RNLI in two ways - by sending stamps to them direct, or by sending them to the residents of HM Prison Dartmoor. There, a unit consisting of three members of staff and about a dozen residents, raises funds by processing the stamps for resale. Both officers and inmates work in their 'spare' time, and some of the men get very involved in the work. One of the prisoners even learnt Russian to further his expertise in Russian stamp issues, but sadly, as Officer Doug Will explained, 'fell by the wayside' and was removed from the scheme. Setbacks like this, however, are rare; men involved in the scheme range from those on short sentences to those serving over ten years or Life. And as Officer Will stressed, work of this sort seems to 'bring out a lot of the inmates, many of whom before the scheme were very surly and uncooperative... they are doing something which they think is useful and there is close cooperation between the staff and themselves, as we try and give them as much help as we possibly can '. When the stamps are sent in to the prison, they are sorted, firstly into countries and then for quality. Stamps of good quality are removed from envelopes and are mounted on card and placed in transparent envelopes showing the catalogt,Je number and price; any really valuable

stamps are sent to an Auctioneer who sells them for the RN L1, claiming only a small percentage. Finally, the prepared packs of stamps are sorted into £ 100 parcels and are sent to lifeboat stations where they are sold. Although lifeboat stations throughout the South-West area (from Poole to Appledore) are supported by the prrsoners, they have particularly adopted Appledore Station, as it gave them the most encouragement when the scheme was initiated. In June the prison issued a limited edition of first day covers entitled 'Safety at Sea', and by the end of May had received 700 firm orders, each of which is worth £6.00 to Appledore Station and the RNLI. A new lifeboat costs between £6,000 and £20,000 so the equipment made available by this initiative should foreground the valuable work done by the prisoners in the last few years. The covers were carried by Coastguard landrover to Bullpoint Lighthouse and then to Hartland Point. From there they were flown by a helicopter from RAF Chivenor to Appledore lifeboat at sea. The lifeboat then landed the stamps at Appledore and they were driven by Post Office van back to the prison. Each cover has been signed by the Coastguard, lighthouse keeper, Coxswain and Helicopter Pilot. The covers, and other packs of stamps, are avai lable by post from STAMPS, HM PRISON DARTMOOR, PRINCETOWN; YELVERTON, DEVON PL20 6RH. This is also the address to send 'anything remotely collectable' which the prisoners will 'have a go at turning into cash'. During their Rag week, QEC students union raised over £4,000 for the RNLI, and a boat to he named 'Queen Elizabeth College' will be launched next year.

-. continued from previous page

and their regard for him is evidenced by the numbers who have continued to keep in touch with him over the years. He ch06e to take early retirement in 1982 but has continued his teaching part-time over the last three years. Now he retires completely, and we hope that he and Mrs Williams will find more time to relax in their native Wales.

UNIVERSITY NEWS UNIVERSITY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP MEETS AT SENATE HOUSE Lord Flowers and Or Alan Betts (standing in for Sir Randolph Quirk) hosted a meeting of members of the House of Lords and House of Commons who are London alumni on Thursday 27 June. They were welcomed and, as well as hearing an address from Lord Flowers were able to look at a variety of ' displays from throughout the University and were able to discuss the future planning and problems of the University with the Heads of Schools. Our Principal, Professor Sutherland, was amongst those invited. The turn-out of MPs was not as great as hoped, due to an unex-·pected vote in the House that evening, but the event is the first of a proposed regular link with such MPs and, as SUCh, was successful in establishing a framework for the future. The basic text of Lord Flowers' Address is printed below: The formation of the University of London Parliamentary Group - like so many other initiatives over the last four

years - has been energetically supported by Sir Randolph, To him as to all of us it is important to foster our relationships with alumni and with -11 those who care about the values of a university education so that, through them, we can bring home to everyone the changes happening within the University... ... Over the next four years the pace of change will quicken, and our task in managing that change will become more demanding. There is precious little fat left; only real sacrifices remain to be made. We have been peppered with reports, inquiries, scrutinies and policy statements, Within the last few months we have had: the UGC and NAB strategy documents. the Jarratt Report on efficiency studies the Lindop Report on course validation the CVCP guidelines on academic standards the UGC letter of 9 May on selectivity and, of course, the Green Paper of 21 May That is a small sample, but all will have a profound effect on the way we run universities in this country. They herald the increasing pace of change, and - whatever one may think of it - they represent an unprecedented degree of centralism in official and political thinking about higher education. It is difficult to describe the University of London, it is so large and diverse.... ...The scale of our operations is best ,seen in the national context. London has one-eighth of the total number of full-time undergraduates, and one-fifth of the postgraduates; that makes the incidental point that we are exceedingly strong in research. In certain subjedt areas our dominance is even more marked: for example, we have half the nation's postgraduate students in medicine.

cuts in resources and engineering is an expensive dtscipline. It was inevitable that nationally the number of engineering places should have fallen. They have fallen by nearly 12% in the last five years. In London, however, we registered 1144 undergraduates studying engineering in 1979; last year we registered 1150. So despite the cuts we in London have kept engineering numbers constant. Our share of the national engineering intake has therefore gone up, from 9% to 10%%. This has been achieved without sacrifice of quality: against a national average 'A-level' score of 10.5, entrants to London engineering courses are averaging 12.5 and rising. Moreover, we offer a quarter of the nation's masters courses in engineering. I don't think it can be said that London has not been doing its very considerable bit. Second, take income from rese.arch grants and contracts, all of them won in competition with other universities and sometimes with governmental and industrial laboratories. In 1982/3. London earned £71 million this way - more than a quarter of the national university total, and another indication of our strength in research. In 1983/4 we increased this income to £88 million. If the UGC really does pursue its new policy of allocating funds selectively to those whose research is highly valued by the customer then London's success shou Id breed ' further success. Third, a measure which the Chairman of the UGC himself suggests can be used to prove that excellence is not evenly distributed throughout the university system: the number of Fellows of the Royal Society under the age of 65. This year, 11 of the newly elected Fellows, from a total of 40, were London academics compared with 5 from _Cambridge (i~clud­ ing the MRC laboratories there), and 2 from Oxford.

When the report by Sir Alex Jarratt on the efficiency of university management was published early this year, some of us had an acute sense of deja vu. For The sheer size of the University, its London has been putting the principles complexity, and the fact that London enunciated by Jarratt into practice for is relatively expensive all add to the the last four years. We had already challenge; but there is no evidence that established a Joint Planning Committee quality has thereby suffered. Since of the Court and the Senate to under'performance indicators' are much in take long-term planning and to propose vogue I will offer three examples. resource allocations selectively in accordan~e with the plans. It was this body, ~hlch grows in stature every year, that First, take engineering - since it's a subIS able to oversee the complex series of ject in which, it's sometimes said, London manoeuvres which has led to the mergers is not doing enough. Well, what are the of departments and of whole institutions facts? Universities have suffered severe that we have all read so much about

recently. Academically advantageous in their own right, these mergers have been London's principal means of protecting excellence from the effects of swingeing financial cuts. What London has been doing for the past four years, Jarratt is telling the other universities to do tomorrow. Now I'm not trying to say that we're perfect; far from it! Here are a few areas where improvements should be sought: our committee structure needs to be simplified to reduce time on administrative detail administrative duplication must be eliminated between the Federal University and its Schools we must improve and make more widely available our management information services - the activities of the various Schools must be seen to complement rather than compete with each other, and we must learn how to market the university as a whole, as well as its parts

But in reviewing the need for change, we must bear two things in mind. First, e.hange costs money. The Royal Hollo'way and Bedford New College merger would have been impossible without ÂŁ16 million of new buildings. The capital costs of the KQC merger may well be similar. Also, it costs money to reduce the wage bill faster than the rate set by natural wastage. Early retirement and redundancy compensation are so expensive that shedding staff actually increases the wage bill for a couple of years. And a change in subject balance - the desired switch from arts to science and engineering - also costs money, most obviously on equipment, but equally in salary terms because we have to operate in a more competitive market. Doctors are the most expensive to produce, but scientists and engineers cost about twice as much as graduates in the humanities. So to change the subject balance will result either in increased costs or in a disproportionate drop in arts numbers in the ratio of approximately two to one. Of course, I'm assuming that we are still expected to maintain the traditional high quality of which in Britain we are justly proud. Engineers can no more be produced in a sausage machine than historians, or rather they would be about as useful if they were. Second, we must remember that although the stimulus for change may well, as now, come from outside the university, it is

from within that the changes must be managed. It is all very well for the Green Paper to tell us that 'the executive head of each institution is responsible more than anyone else for standards of efficiency and effectiveness'. At the end of the day, university executive heads - they used to be call Vice-chancellors, remember? - have to win a majority when the division bell sounds, and there are no whipped votes in university senates, only the vicechancellor gets whipped. Senate, if it any good, contains a high proportion of the most forthright and independent-minded members of the university, people for whom even more than for you, disputation is a profession and a way of life; and such bodies are disgruntled by external directives which seem to threaten the traditions of university self-governance. Thus we approach the problems of change not as crude imperatives of the latest public expenditure review, but as needing to have an academic logic as their starting point. Our rationale for restructuring the University is not first and foremost to save money; it is to apply our resources so as to improve our primary products. We aim to strengthen those activities which distinguish a university of the highest rank: teaching of outstanding quality, excellence on research and internaticnally recognised scholarship. So in asking you to appreciate our reasons for change, which may sometimes seem to differ from yours, I wish neverthe less to urge you to view this University, of which you are all members, as a sort of collective constituen<ÂĽ in which you can all quite properly take a n interest, and maybe even a little responsibility. I must admit that over the years, universities generally have been appallingly bad at keeping in touch with their friends and alumni, the people who can best explain to a wider audierce what we are all about. Meetings like this are an attempt to put right some twenty years of neglect. It may be little, and it may be late, but I am sure that with your help and understanding it will not be without success.

ery. During his absence, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Or A 0 Betts, will act on his behalf.

NEW RECTOR FOR IMPERIAL COLLEGE The Governing Body of the Imperial College of Science and Technology has appointed Professor Eric Ash, CBE, FRS, FEng, Rector in succession to Lord Flowers, who takes up his appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of London on I September. Professor Ash is currently Pender Professor of Electrical Engineering and Head of Department at University College. He will start work as Rector in October.

UNIVERSlTY TRAINING ADVISER Peter Guildford, currently Senior Personnel Officer with special responsibility for staff training at the Open University, is to join the University of London for a period of three years as University Training adviser.

HONORARY DEGREES AWARDED BY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON The Senate has considered recommendations and agreed that the following degrees should be conferred at the Foundation Day Ceremony on Wednesday 13 November 1985: DSc

Sir Michael Atiyah, FRS

LLD

Or Kingman Brewster

LLD

Professor Laurence Gower, FBA

DSc (Econ)

Professor Frank Hahn, FBA

Dlitt

Mr Howard Hodgkin, CBE

Dlitt

Miss Iris Murdoch, CBE

DSc

Professor Sir William Paton, CBE, FRS

DSc (Econ)

Sir John Sainsbury

DLitt

Professor Reginald Winnington -Ingram, FBA

'DUNCAN'S HORSES' UNVEI LED ACADEMY PRESIDENT The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Randolph QUirk, has been elected President of the British Academy. It is only the second time a London academic has been elepted to this prestigious position. The Vice-Chancellor was recently admitted to hospital for an operation, but is making good progress and, on behalf of King's, we wish a full and speed y recov-

A work by Adrian Jones, the sculptor who also studied at the Royal Veterinary College in the 1850s, has finally been unveiled. 'Duncan's Horses', a depiction of the struggle of the three horses of King Duncan in Macbeth, was bequeathed to the College by the sculptor to be cast in bronze. This has now been done, and the statue was unveiled by Prince Phi lip in June at the College's Hertfordshire campus.

WORLD-BEATING FOCUS ON LIVING CELLS The Physics Department's work on soft X-ray microscopy Fresh insights into the relationships between macromolecular assemblies in living cells are expected when a scanning soft X-ray microscope being developed in the Physics Department becomes operational. Knowledge gained with the aid of this exciting new instrument could help bring

important advances in fields such as cancer research and the treatment of infertility. The most significant benefit to come from the microscope, which is being produced in collaboration with the SERC Laboratory at Daresbury, will

be provided by the relatively high penetration of soft X-rays through living material at a resolving power which lies between that of the optical microscope and the electron microscope. Dividing cells and processes of cell 'replication can, therefore, be observed directly. There are ~qually exciting applications in surface and materials science.

King's Leads the World Two basic elements are required for an X路ray microscope. Firstly, it needs a source of very high intensity X路rays with high brightness. At the moment this is provided by the synchrotron radiation source (SRS) at Daresbury, which is an unique national facility. Secondly it requires a means of focusing the radiation. X-rays are very difficult to focus and it is in the development and construction of the focusing element - the zone plate - that King's College leads the field. Professor Surge, Head of the Department of Physics and his research team believe that they have developed the most efficient focusing element in the world. Suitable zone-plates are made using a scanning electron microscope (see photograph) and comprising concentric absorbing and transmitting rings made to a thickness and separation of the same order of size at the required resolution. The work on zone-plate development and testing is strongly supported by SE RC and the Royal Society Paul Instrument Fund. 拢270,000 For New Research The Department is now exploring the possibility of replacing the synchrotron radiation source by a laboratory source of soft X-rays. A grant of 拢270,000 over the period of 1985-1987 from the Rigaku Corporation of Japan is providing an extremely high power rotating anode X-ray system and assistance with its conversion to a unique source of soft X-rays. In addition, Rigaku is providing the full-time services of a post-doctoral scientist, Or Ogawa, and an experienced engineer, Mr Kuriyama, who will work in the Department for two years on the project.

Fabrication of zone-plates by electron beam with a scanning electron microscope (STEM) in the Physics Department.

The completion of a high-resolution X-ray microscope working with the Daresbury synchotron is scheduled for mid 1986 and it is intended that a laboratory-based instrument, for test and evaluation, will be completed in a simi lar time-scale.

- - - -EWS PRINCESS ANNE OPENS NEW LABORATORIES AT MEDICAL SCHOOL Princess Anne visited King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry on June 14 to open the Lions International Earl Mountbatten Blood Research Laboratory. After unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion, the Princess, who is also Chancellor of the University of London, said that she was particularly pleased that the laboratories should bear Earl Mountbatten's name as he had shown great inter· est in the blood research being carried out at King's. The Chancellor also wished the members of the Medical School many years of successful and life-giving research. The Earl Mountbatten Laboratory is the result of an appeal instigated by Lions International in July 1978. £250,000 has already been raised, but another £150,000 is needed to refurbish a corrid· or and provide essential equipment.

NURSING STUDIES AWARD The Department of Nursing Studies has just been awarded a prestigious Health Education Council Lectureship. The Lectureship is of three years duration, and is worth up to £20,000 annually. The Department gained this award under great competition nationally; they will be advertising for applicants for the post shortlY.

WESTFIELD WORKING GROUP ESTABLISHED A Joint Working Party has been set up consisting of the following membership from each of the two Schod~; the Principal, the Secretary, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, plus three other memo bers. The Joint Working Party will report to their respective Councils with a view to submitting an agreed statement to the October meeting of the University Joint Planning Committee. The Working Party will report on the following matters: (I) The Academic and staffing implications of the formation of a single Faculty of Arts; (2) The financial and administrative im· plications of a single Court grant for King's College (KQC) and Westfield; (3) The implications of the establishment

Or Matthew Forster (College Psychotherapist) and Or Jack Terry (College Doctor) at a farewell party given for them in the Council Room on June 26

of a single administration; (4) Policy on student residences, with particular reference to Berridge House; (5) The use of the vacated science acc· ommodation at Westfield;

re-opens on Tuesday 27 August 19ti5. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience this may cause, but for a number of reasons this annual closure remains, at least for this year, necessary.

(6) The constitutional issCles.

I would like to thank all our customers for their support during the year, and wish all those taking a break this summer a very enjoyable holiday.

When necessary, alternates are to be per' mitted at meetings of the Joint Working Party. Officers of the two Schools will attend meetings as appropriate and additional working parties may be commissioned to examine specific matters and report back.

Peter Hoffman Catering Officer

KING'S COLLEGE LIBRARY Summer Vacation

The expansionist plans of the Finance Dept have ground to a halt with the discovery of dry rot in the rooms above the Social Club Bar.

There will be extensive movement of bookstock over the summer vacation. Reading rooms, particularly at the Strand, will be liable to closure. Whereas every attempt will be made to satisfy requests for material not available elsewhere, readers are advised to use other libraries wherever possible. Access to particular reading rooms on a given day may be checked in advance by phoning 01 836 5454 ext. 2140 or 2737.

CATERING SERVICES (STRAND CAMPUS) Summer Closure The Catering Department close~ after business on Friday 9 August 1985 "",d

THE ROT SETS IN ... Trouble in the Finance Dept

The removal of plaster and woodwork between the floors is causing the regulars some concern, although the flying dust has given them an unexpected reason to increase their fluid intake. Although the Members were aware that 'Dry Rot' was a constant source of discussion with the Academic Regions and Higher Echelons of the College, its arrival in Surrey Street in its more virulent form, is not appreciated, and members with wooden legs are advised to stay well clear until the remedial measures are completed. A W Fisher Finance Dept

minutes and seconds Automatic music sensor with memory and repeat functions Microprocessor- controlled feathertouch function buttons. Carefully maintained by hi-fi enthusiast about to up-date ÂŁ70.00 Contact Stephen Harrow in the RC9.istry for details (ext. 2689).

TELEPHONE NUMBERS Please note the following alterations to the telephone directory: Dr D Leake, Pharmacology Ext 2315 Room 34SWB Dr N Evans, Zoology Ext 2588 Room IDH

KING'S PUBLICATIONS PRAISED Two periodicals published by King's College have been praised in 'THES' reviews. The first, 'Religion Today: a journal of contemporary religions' was said to provide 'essential up-to-date information on the very complex and diverse fields of the study of contemporary religions.' The reviewer, Geoffrey Ahern, also commended 'Religion Today' for its commitment to :provide a lively forum for the study of religions... it consists of fairly short articles, but also carries useful summaries of research and book reviews'.

MissJoan Bevis, on the occasion of her retirement party in the Committee Room on June 24. J oan joined King '5 in 1969 and has recently been the Private Secretary to Mr Myles Tempany, the Col/ege Secretary.

GILBART LECTURE SERIES CONTINUES SUCCESSFULLY The 1985 Series of Gilbart Lectures was delivered in May by Professor D T L1ewellyn on the subject THE EVOLUTION OF THE BRITISH FINANCIAL SYSTEM - A Review of the Past and Current Factors Producing Change in the Structure and Operation of the Financial System. These Lectures have been given at King's since 1875, unbroken except for the war years, and are valued

in the banking community as a usefu I part of general training. Thirty-seven people passed the examination following this year's lectures and there were six prize-winners.

FOR SALE SONY TC FX6C CASSETTE DECK (one of a matching pair) including the following features: Dolby B & C noise reduction Timer-activated record and replay Digital tape counter calibrated in

The second journal, 'Portuguese Studies', edited by the Portuguese Department, was said by reviewer Frank Pierce to mark the 'coming of age of Portuguese studies in this country'. Mr Pierce continued, 'Professor Helder Macedo and his colleagues at King's College London are to be congratulated on launching an attractively-produced volume of clear academic quality and commendable aims. Everyone from the broad field of Hispanic studies will wish this new addition to our academic humanism long life and continu ing success.'

SPONSORED CLIMB FOR CHRISTIAN AID Tony Freake - Departmental Superintendent in the Physics Department intends, as part of his holiday, to climb three of Switzerland's highest peaks in the Bernese Oberland as a sponsorship for Christian Aid. Tony, who is also Chairman of Christian Aid in Barnet, hopes to raise a substantial sum to relieve the suffering of people

in Ethiopia and neighbouring countries. Together with his wife and five other col leagues he hopes to climb the onch (13,527 hI. The Jungfrau (13,721 h) and Finsteraarhorn (14,104 hI. the highest in the Bernese Oberland. In 1983, Tony raised over ÂŁ1,250 on a similar climb and hopes people will be as generous again. If you would like to support him please contact him in room 22A or on extension 2792. Sponsorship forms will also be on main notice boards. He leaves for the alps on July 19.

ANCIENT AND MODERN The last edition of 'Comment' noted that the first university to be established in modern China, Tianjin University, was founded in 1985 - an inscrutable statement even by Chinese standards! The date should have read 1895.

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FURTHER NEW APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED The appointment of two ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS has recently been announced, to take effect in the new session. The two people appointed are Professor Peter Gahan and Mr John Muir. Fu rther details will be included in the next session's issue.

AUGUST 1st: CELEBRATIONS ON THE DAY As you will all know, August 1st is the official day on which the merger between the Colleges is formally effected. (The Bill has in fact already received the Royal Assent.) It is not intended that any major events marking the merger should take place on that day, as more formal celebration will centre around the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury on October 24 - more of those arrangements in the next issue. However, any members of College, staff and students, are invited to meet together over a drink and something to eat on each (or all, if you are quick enough!) of the three main campuses. The Principal and senior officers will be attending each event and hope to meet as many members of College as they can. The schedule is as follows: LUNCHTIME

12.30 pm

STRAND CAMPUS

GREAT HALL

TEATIME

3.00 pm

KENSINGTON CAMPUS OLD REFECTORY

HAVE YOU GOT A SPARE SECOND?

EARLY EVENING

5.00 pm

CH ELSEA CAMPUS

Time services around the world put back their clocks and time signals by exactly one second at the end of June. The adjustment was made immediately before midnight on June 30, resulting in a 'leap second'. So instead of the familiar six pips, listeners to the Greenwich Observatory time signal would have been startled by a seventh!

These get-togethers are open to all members of College without reservation but it would greatly help the catering arrangements if those of you who intended to come to any (or all) would fill in the appropriate repl.y slips on the back page of this issue, and send them off as soon as possible. Have a nice day!

Leap seconds were introduced to keep clock time in closer agreement with solar time, which is based on observations of the Earth's slightly uneven rotation. This mean solar time is utilised by navigators and is directly related to astronomical events such as sunrise and sunset; perhaps wisely, no attempt is now made to force clocks to follow this timescale. The leap second facilitates the few millionths of a second per year accuracy which is now available from the modern atomic master c1dcks, and presumably, satisfies those people with expensive digital watches. Small and unpredictable variations in the rotation of the Earth are caused by diverse factors such as wind and ocean currents, and movements hidden deep within the Earth. Because our planet is spinning slightly faster than it was ten years ago, leap seconds are now introduced less regularly than was necessary then. It's still reassuring, however, to know that time isn't catching up with us quite as fast as we sometimes think.

STAN LEY HOUSE (and lawns) 552 King's Road (Assembly Hall, Manresa Road, if wet)

institution but if you can point us in the direction of news and events we will gladly follow-up stories. If you think you know of anything that would be of interest to your colleagues, let us know and feel free to submit any articles, photographs, cartoons or general news on any topic.

A note from the Editor This will be the last edition of COMMENT for this session. The next edition will appear at the opening of the new term. I shou Id like to thank all those contributing since its first appearance in December and to stress how eagerly the Information Office receives such contributions. It is not really possible for us to know all that is going on in such a diverse academic and geographically spread

As the first edition said, 'COMMENT gives you the opportunity to get to know your College better and to benefit from what it can offer. It also gives you the chance to contribute'. We hope you will all have news and ideas to contribute in the new session have a good summer! All material for COMMENT and all enquiries should be sent to the Information Office on the Strand site, where COMMENT is produced. t\'EXT EDITION Copy date: Monday September 23 Publication: Week of September 30

AUGUST 1st STRAND CAMPUS

REPLY SLIPS

LUNCHTIME 12.30 pm

GREAT HALL

I should like to attend the informal gathering at lunchtime on the Strand campus at 12.30 on Thursday August 1st.

NAME DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENTAL ADDRESS

KENSINGTON CAMPUS

return to address overleaf

TEATIME 3.00 pm

OLD REFECTORY

I should like to attend the informal gathering at teatime on the Kensington campus at 3.00 on Thursday August 1st.

NAME DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENTAL ADDRESS

CHELSEA CAMPUS

return to address overleaf

EARLY EVENING 5.00 pm

STANLEY HOUSE 552 KING'S ROAD

I should like to attend the informal gathering in the early evening on the Chelsea campus at 5.00 on Thursday August 1st.

NAME DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENTAL ADDRESS

return to address overleaf

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