field of study relevant to Ireland. Candidates for the senior fellowship, which is in the salary range £7,521 £9,390 with USS if appropriate and tenable for one year only, should be established scholars of several years standing. Candidates for the junior fellowship, which are worth £3,438 per annum plus fees and tenable for one year with possible renewal for a second, should normally hold a good honours degree and must have research experience. In addition, up to £300 is aVailable for expenses for visiting scholars. Application forms and further particulars from: Academic Council Office, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BD 1NN
NOTES ON THE MERGER Peter Gilbert, Assistant Secretary (Coordination) at King's provides for Comment a short resume of the 'story so far'. In April 1982, King's and Queen Elizabeth Colleges started discussions towards a merger and were joined in the autumn of that year by Chelsea College. The Appointed Day which has been set for the merger of the three Colleges is 1 August 1985, just over three years from the start of discussions. In that period a great deal has been achieved in creating a framework for the Combined College. Bill before Parliament The legal basis for the merger will be provided by the Bill which has now been laid before Parliament. This will extinguish the Charters of Queen Elizabeth and Chelsea Colleges and transfer their assets and liabilities to King's. It is important to note that King's will take over all the staff of the other two Colleges with their existing terms and conditions of appointment. The College cannot unilaterally alter any existing staff contracts. Tenure for those who have it will continue after the Appointed Day just as if they continued to be employed by their original College.
It is expected that some relatively minor changes to the King's College Charter and Statutes will be required to make them appropriate for the larger institution. These are still under discussion and since the Privy Council, to whom amendments must be submitted, has a duty to
Or David Owen in conversation with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Randolph Quirk, at an informal reception for students and staff following Or Owen's delivery of the 1984 Commemoration Oration EUROPE AND ITS FUTURE on Monday December 3.
seek advice very widely it is unlikely that the changes will be approved before the Appointed Day for the merger. The Bill contains provisions for a Transitional Council and Academic Board representative of the three Colleges. Other changes can be dealt with in the interim period by amendment of Regulations. Some developments to date KQC has published a handsome undergraduate prospectus and a very attractive range of departmental prospectuses. An academic plan has been worked out with the approval of all three Colleges setting target student numbers within the low fee targets laid down by the University Court and estimates of high fee numbers. * Because KQC has had to accept a substantial cut in its low fee numbers, the Academic Affairs Planning Group has had an extremely difficult task in allocating targets to departments, and inevitably some departments have had to accept targets lower than they would have liked. It has also been necessary to work out target staff numbers for each department using agreed staff/student ratios of 10.5 for Science and 12.5 for Arts. Naturally some departments are above their staff targets and some are below. Departments with too many staff will not immediately lose the excess but it is expected that over a period of years by means of retirements and resignations they will be brought back to the required level. There may be occasions when a department loses a key member of staff, without whom the teaching programme would be jeopardised. In such cases permission will be given to fill the vacancy even in a department which is overstaffed.
A number of departments are already operating as single units. All Physics teaching is now centred at the Strand, and Chemistry and Mathematics are already on the way to full integration. Physics and Biochemistry at Chelsea and Queen Elizabeth are joining forces at Campden Hill Road. Further departmental moves will take place as accommodation becomes available. KQC cannot hope to be a single site by August 1985, but the aim is to rationalise the use of sites as much as possible to minimise travelling. Sites The question of sites is the biggest problem facing KQC. At the present time it is spread over nine teaching sites ranging in size from the main King's College campus to some very small outstations and extending from the Strand in the East to King's Road Chelsea in the West. This is not something which can change overnight and we will be entering on the merger faced with the problem of operating a single College which is spread over a wide area. This means carefu I planning and co-operation by all concerned. The ultimate aim is a single site for the whole College, since only in this way will the full benefits of the merger become apparent. To this end negotiations are in progress with the relevant Government departments to lease the East and possibly also the West Wings of Somerset House and to acquire Cornwall House, a large building belonging to the Government at the south end of Waterloo Bridge. These two buildings, together with the main King's site would provide enough space for the whole