Campaign for Chancellorship of Cambridge University

The position of Chancellor of Cambridge University is vacant following the resignation of Lord Sainsbury of Turville. An election will shortly take place.

The role is unpaid and has been seen in recent years as largely ceremonial. However, by Statute A4, the Chancellor has powers ‘to see that all officers of the University duly perform their duties‘. The Chancellor is also a member of Council, which is the principal executive and policy-making body of the University.

The Chancellor is elected by members of the Cambridge Senate. The Senate is, roughly speaking, all holders of degrees from Cambridge University, as well as current and former academic staff. This is an extraordinary and laudable example of academic self-governance, albeit a relic from centuries ago.

The mission of the University of Cambridge is “to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.” Its core values are “freedom of thought and expression and freedom from discrimination“. Inspired by this, I am standing on a twofold platform.

1. A thorough review of current job creation and retention trends against the background of the University’s mission statement. 

• The University urgently needs to create new academic positions to maintain its international standing. Over the last decade, the University has found it much easier to create fresh managerial and administrative positions than academic jobs.
• More than two-thirds of staff at the University are employed on a fixed-term basis. They make a significant contribution to teaching and research, yet their pay, conditions and promotion prospects are often poor. The trend towards increasing casualisation of staff must be reversed.

2. A thorough review of transparency, accountability, accessibility and performance within the management of the University as judged against the background of the University’s core values and mission statement.

• The University needs an Ombudsman with power to investigate serious abuses or mismanagement and hold the mighty to account. For example, the recent staff survey shows high levels of discontent at the handling of bullying and harassment at the University.
• The University needs to stop the waste of money on highly paid, external consultancies. The expertise and knowledge present in our own staff greatly exceeds that of most expensive consultancies.

This is not a stunt. I am in it to win.

This is an open and unpredictable election in which the large and dispersed electorate can (if they wish) choose some from a different background and inclination to all previous Chancellors. Social media now means the electorate can be reached and mobilised much more easily than in the past.

To stand, I will need completed nomination forms (paper or electronic) from at least 50 supporters. If you wish to nominate me, please email me here and I will supply you with the details.

To nominate, you must be (i) on the current Roll of the Regent House, which is published annually at the beginning of November or (ii) you have been awarded (in person or in absence) a qualifying degree (see also Degrees conferred under Statute B II 2) from the University of Cambridge at a degree ceremony. The nomination forms will need to be signed and returned to me (in person or electronically). You may nominate more than one person. You do not need to be registered to vote to nominate me. You do not need to be intending to vote for me to nominate me — you may, for example, be keen that a wide diversity of candidates is available.

I will need to submit the nomination forms, along with my application form, to the university on 2 May 2025.

Once the nomination hurdle has been overcome, I will assemble a campaign team to win this election.

Together, we can change Cambridge University for the better.

(Prof) Wyn Evans (Institute of Astronomy)