gair rhydd Monday March 12 2012 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 973
Leonardo da VC
gair rhydd investigates why the University is spending £18,000 on a painting Matt Jones News Editor
T
he Vice-Chancellor of the University is currently sitting for a £18,000 portrait to commemorate his time at Cardiff. Dr David Grant, who has been ViceChancellor since October 2001, will spend a reported 16 days posing for an artist. The painting will mark the end of his tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University, following his decision to take retirement in August 2012. It will join the portraits of past Vice-Chancellors on the wall of the Council Chamber in the Main Building. Portraits are traditionally taken of Vice-Chancellors on leaving the University as a means of commemorating their incumbency. However, the decision to continue this practice at a time when many of the schools at the university are facing serious funding shortages might come as a surprise. Asked whether the University felt this was an appropriate investment to be making in the current climate, a spokesperson said: “Yes. It is a long established University tradition to commission and invest in a portrait of the outgoing ViceChancellor, marking their contribu-
tion to the University.” This also follows the recent discovery that the University is in the process of purchasing a new house for the incoming Vice-Chancellor, Colin Riordan. gair rhydd reported in February (Issue 970) on the decision to spend a reported £675,000 on buying a new property, which would serve as both a residence for Professor Riordan and a location for entertaining “national and international partners.” Some students have expressed frustration at the amount that the painting will cost, especially when also taking into consideration the Vice-Chancellor’s wage. In the year 2010-2011, University accounts show that Dr Grant was paid £246,000 as well as pension contributions of £39,000, meaning that the University in total pays him roughly £780 per day. If the painting were to take sixteen days then this would equate to the University paying Dr Grant around £12,500 to pose for the portrait. Ryan Shippey, second year Ancient History student, said: “I was extremely shocked and annoyed to hear that [the University] can afford to spend £18,000 on a vain self portrait, when I can’t even get printed hand-outs from my tutors anymore because of the cut backs in my department [School of History, Archaeology and Religion]. I
can’t believe they’re going to pay him to sit there for his last days at the University, instead of doing something a bit more useful.” Another student, Laurence Astill Wright, second year Medic, suggested that it was absurd that such a large amount of money was being spent on keeping up the portrait tra-
dition at a time of austerity. “In this day and age of cameras and Photoshop, do they really need a painter when they can just do a digital portrait? But I suppose photography doesn’t lie…” A spokesperson from the Students’ Union said: “We sympathise with our students and we don’t be-
lieve that this level of investment follows the University’s mission to enhance the student experience. Therefore this should not be a priority for the University.” The painting is due to be completed in July.
#LeonardodaVC
SVC success with Cardiff Jailbreak Laura Evans News Editor As part of Volunteering Week 2012, SVC joined forces with RAG to host Cardiff University’s first ever Jailbreak. For the week’s grand finale, volunteers had just 48 hours from Friday March 2 to get as far away from Cardiff Students’ Union and back in time, without spending a penny on transport. Wearing fancy dress and Jailbreak 2012 t-shirts, students taking part, had to put their persuasion powers to the test in order to travel as far away from Cardiff as possible. Within hours of leaving the Union, many Jailbreakers managed to make it down South and onto ferries across the channel, or were travelling on pre-arranged but donated flights and buses.
Back in Cardiff, HQ were logging and tracking the progress of all 29 teams and this continued throughout the night. Teams that failed to return within the 48-hour period were disqualified and their points were not counted. Out of the many teams taking part, some reached countries such as France and Germany with the winning team managing to travel to a ski resort in Switzerland. Along the way, students collected donations and sponsorships from bystanders and completed challenges such as standing naked in front of a landmark, creating a giant conga and riding an animal. Points and prizes were awarded to teams who impressed Headquarters by documenting the weird and wonderful sites they experienced along the way.
Maggie Gaston, Public Relations Officer for SVC told gair rhydd: “Jailbreak provided an opportunity for volunteers to do something truly different and memorable with their weekends and will hopefully encourage them to volunteer in the future! The event was an absolute triumph, raising at least £3000 in sponsorship and donations for SVC, so that their local community projects can continue. We are currently waiting on a final figure. It is thought that Jailbreak will become an annual event so we have high hopes for next year.”
Head to page four to find out what the teams got up to ...