{"id":2746,"date":"2025-10-03T16:19:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/21percent.org\/?p=2746"},"modified":"2026-09-29T12:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T11:04:41","slug":"the-despatching-of-a-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/21percent.org\/?p=2746","title":{"rendered":"The Despatching of a President"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The President of Murray Edwards College, Dorothy Byrne<\/a>, has been “stepped down”<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorothy Byrne\u2019s Wikipedia entry records that she served as President of Murray Edwards College from 17 September 2021 and \u201cstepped down<\/em>\u201d on 31 August 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murray Edwards later announced Dr Rachel Polonsky<\/a> as Acting President<\/em> (announcement posted 16 September 2025). That confirms a leadership change after Byrne\u2019s departure, but the College announcement does not give a reason for Byrne stepping down early. The College was also clearly not prepared for the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The single most common reason why College Presidents, Masters or Provost leave early is that they have lost the support of a majority of the Fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This need not necessarily be the fault of the President. College Fellowships are perfectly capable of behaving unreasonably en masse<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Dorothy Byrne had a somewhat abrasive manner and was a vociferous supporter of Lord John Browne in the Cambridge Chancellorship election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“John Browne has Cambridge embedded in his identity like the letters in Blackpool rock. Raised here, educated here and now one of the University’s most significant supporters, he has travelled the world in his stellar career and journeyed through profound personal experiences. He would bring his wisdom to Cambridge, helping students wondering if this is the place that welcomes people of difference and inspiring leaders who want to make a difference.” [Dorothy Byrne]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These words look like spectacularly misjudged hagiography.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The President of Murray Edwards College, Dorothy Byrne, has been “stepped down”. Dorothy Byrne\u2019s Wikipedia entry records that she served as President of Murray Edwards College from 17 September 2021 and \u201cstepped down\u201d on 31 August 2025. Murray Edwards later announced Dr Rachel Polonsky as Acting\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t