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King's College London newsletter"
WE LIVE IN CHANGING TIMES An interview with the Principal Designate, Professor John Beynon. Since his appointment as Principal was formally announced, Professor Beynon has paid several visits to King's to talk informally with staff and thereby get to know the College; this is a process he intends to continue - as time permits - over the coming months. Comment recently went to the University of Surrey, where he is Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor, to find out a little more about him.
In such a demanding period for universities why have you chosen to take on such a key role? I believe very much in the value of education and I think universities have a key role to play in the country's educational framework. I happen to have found myself occupying positions of increasing responsibility within educational establishments and I have enjoyed each of them. Having reached the point of being, in effect, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Surrey, the post of Vice-Chancellor at a university or as Principal of a large College was, logically, the obvious next step; but you have to bear in mind that the opportunities for taking that step are really very small and it is therefore not one which follows automatically - far from it. I must say that I am delighted to have been appointed Principal of King's.
changes which have been imposed upon universities - especially in the last eight years - more change has yet to come; if anything, the pace of change is going to accelerate. I don't want to imply that all change is necessarily for the better but it seems to me that we can approach the future in one of two ways. We can do everything possible to maintain our present position and to resist all further change; or we can look to see how some of the changes that are being forced upon us might be used to our advantage -we might even steal a march on the competition!
I think it's human nature to prefer the status quo but when you think about it, academics ought to be in the vanguard of change: we are supposed to be people who are constantly challenging earlier beliefs or understanding in our own disciplines and seeking 'the truth'. The last thing we should do, or persuade our students to do, is to accept what already is as what will be. We are ready to challenge within our own disciplines, but I fear that we don't always adopt the same critical approach to higher education generally - to how and to whom we teach, Continued on page 8
HOUSE OF COMMONS LAUNCH FOR THAMESIDE CAMPUS
Have you identified any particular challenge in front of you? I think the biggest task that I face is to persuade people that we are living in changing times and that, despite the
The pavilion at the House of Commons was the venue for a celebration, hosted by Sir Ilugh Rossi, MP, to officially launch the Thameside campus. See back page report.
STAFF NEWS AWARDS Professor Averil Cameron has been offered a British Academy Research Readership for two years from October 1990.
FRENCH HONOUR FOR VICE-PRINCIPAL Professor Norma Rinsler of the French Department has been nominated by the French Government `Officier dans I'Ordre des Palmes Academiques' for her services to French culture.
Professor Cox's main responsibilities lie in two areas of the external relations of the College. The first area is that of the College's relations with Europe (apart from the research programmes within the Framework Programme of the European Community, with which Ken Groves of KCL Research Enterprises will continue to liaise). Many Departments, Divisions and Schools have already developed links of one kind or another with individual institutions in Europe, but these efforts are fragmented and would all benefit if the knowledge and experience gained could be integrated and exchanged centrally. Barry Cox feels that 'the aim is to be able to help by knowing what is going on in general, and being able to pass on that experience to those taking new initiatives - and to know the European scene well enough to advise of new opportunities. It is not to add a new layer of bureaucracy, delay and Eurospeak.' His other main responsibility is to oversee the College's efforts to widen its catchment of undergraduate students. One method of attaining this is by providing Access courses for students who would come (often from overseas) with patterns of education different from that of the standard A/AS/Higher qualifications of the UK. Another method is to facilitate the entry of mature 'post-experience' students who might wish to enter university after commencing a career - and there is a growing demand for this 'Continuing Education' from mature students of all ages.
1912), who was, for much of the period 1912-25, Rector of the University. Professor Jowitt's association with the Department goes back to 1%3 and has centred around his interests in the physical properties of foods. Professor J David Schofield Department of Food Science
OBITUARY ERIC HOULDIN We learned with regret of the sudden death on 13 November of Eric Houldin, Professor Emeritus of Chelsea College. The funeral service took place on Friday 17 November, at 1.30 pm at Guildford Crematorium.
KING'S COLLEGE WOMEN'S NETWORK - SPRING TERM Meetings planned for the Spring term: Jan 15th Jean Mayhew (Chairman of the College Working Party on nursery provision) will be glad to discuss with anyone who is interested in the practicalities, and especially the financing of such a facility (12.30 pm). Please contact Averil Cameron for details on 873 2330. Jan 29th College is interested in increased access - how might this affect women?
PROFESSOR RONALD JOWITT HONOURED Professor Barry Cox
NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - PROFESSOR BARRY COX Barry Cox originally joined the Zoology Department of the College in 1956, and was later in turn Head of that Department and of the new merged Department of Biology at Kensington. Having returned from a year's sabbatical research leave at Stanford University in California, he has now been appointed an Assistant Principal.
Professor Jowitt who is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Kensington, recently attended the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. There he was presented with the Jan Zvonicek medal in recognition of his 'contributions to food process engineering, design and construction.' The medal is named in honour of Jan Zvonicek (1865-1925), the founding professor of the Faculty's Department of Process Machinery Design (established in
Feb 13th Issues of gender in the teaching situation. Feb 26th Health issues for working women in King's. March 13th Book/publication report on women's issues. March 28th Informal lunch - small contribution. (NB Change of date) NB All meetings at 1 pm, Strand Campus. Venues will be announced in the next issue of Comment. Please contact Averil Cameron 873 2330 with comments or for information; this is your forum everyone is welcome
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THE TRAINING COLUMN
Congratulations
Eighteen members of staff are continuing their education on day release courses. Most of these are four year BTEC courses leading to a professional qualification. One of our technicians, Jean Seechurn, has been awarded the A Rushton Memorial Prize for his outstanding work in the BTEC higher certificate which he is taking at South Thames College. This annual award bearing the name of Professor A. Rushton, formerly of Imperial College, was presented to Jean by the Mayor of Wandsworth at a special ceremony on November 30.
Course News There has been a very good response to our in-house courses mounted in the latter part of this term. The assertiveness skills, time management, stress management and Microsoft Word for Beginners have all had 'house full' notices posted. The demand has been greater than was anticipated in the training needs survey which was carried out during the summer vacation. Thirty three people attended the Stress Management at Work course led by Guy Claxton. He encouraged the participants to share their experiences and ideas, to discover that stress is a condition which can bear down on anyone and bring about harmful consequences. We learned how to recognise it in ourselves our friends and colleagues as well as ways of coping with and facing up to the symptoms of stress. I believe that Guy provided a training course of great value and am grateful to him for his time and expert leadership. The repeat Handling Discipline at Work course on December 4 was also sold out. Constructive criticism and thoughtful suggestions from delegates to the November course has resulted in the inclusion of fresh approaches to course material for the future. We are planning an advanced workshop for people who will have attended the foundation session. We shall be looking more closely at the various stages in the disciplinary procedure and
practicing problem solving using a range of case models. Nic Beech and 1, who are the joint course leaders, would like to thank the participants on the November Handling Discipline session who by providing helpful comments have made a positive contribution to the training process on this important topic.
KIT (King's In-service Training) Events Care and Maintenance of Micropipetters
January 4 10.00 am - 1.00 pm Gary Strickland from the Biochemistry Department at Kensington will lead the seminar which is part of the London University series specially mounted for technicians. Participants will be shown how to care and maintain micro-pipetters. This will include explanations of methods of calibration. There will be opportunities to practise techniques on various types of pipette.
Telephone and Reception Skills
January 16 9.30 am - 4.45 pm This event is designed to help participants to improve their telephone and face to face interpersonal techniques. People, who in the course of their work receive and make telephone calls or work in reception areas are in many ways in the forefront of college activities. They are the first point of contact of staff, students, college associates and members of the general public. We hope to help such staff to add to their skill in creating good first impressions about our College. The course will be lead by Judith Taylor, the University Federal Training Co-ordinator.
KIT In House Course Selection and Interviewing
January 17 (all day) Geraldine Sayers Cowper from the Industrial Society will lead the course through the various stages of the staff selection and interviewing process. The theme in the morning will include the designing of person specifications which define the qualities required for specified jobs. These are used to great effect in the shortlisting and interviewing process. Interviewing technique will be demonstrated and practiced in the afternoon.
The course is strongly recommended for anyone who plays an active part in staff selection and interviewing.
KIT Training Events in Planning Stage (January-March) Selection and Interviewing Skills. Writing skills (for Secretarial and Administrative staff). Supervisory skills (Senior Technical staff). Seminars for career groups. Staff Induction Course. Handling Discipline at Work. Time Management. Assertiveness Skills. Technicans Seminar-Making up Electrical Leads (March 7). Individual members of staff, career groups and departments are informing me about training needs. This enables me to assemble the KIT in-house training programme.
University Federal and Regional Courses (January-March)
Student Administration (Southern Universities Specialist Meeting). Credential Evaluation February 8 (Administrative Group).
Manual Staff Supervisors Course February 9. Simple Statistics February 20 (Administrative Group)
A Development Course for Secretaries March 15-16. Leadership Skills March 1 (Administrative Group). Speaking in Public (March).
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All the above items are part of KIT opportunities. Detailed information about events is sent to the appropriate Head of Department or Manager. Applications should be sent to Ken Bromfield. Ken Bromfield Training Officer non-academic staff
CATERING SERVICES
The River Restaurant, B2 Macadam, Strand Campus Regular customers of this increasingly popular catering outlet will know that occasionally the room is fully booked for Conference and Function Diners. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but can assure customers that during term time such block bookings are only taken if they are part of an 'In house' event. We very much hope that when the Strand Site is redeveloped space will be made available for an additional facility to accommodate the increasing requirement for Conference and Function catering. Congratulations! Marco Di Palma, pictured here on the right, receiving his Adam Prize from Miron Grindea. The presentation took place before the Advanced Musical Studies Colloquium on the 22 November 1989. The award was given to Marco for his outstanding achievement in his final year and final examinations. A prize was also presented to Tony Calum for her highest mark in the performance section of the common core BMus
Happy Christmas Catering Services Management and Staff would like to thank customers for their support throughout 1989, and wish all members of College a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
COLLEGE NURSERY FACILITIES Readers of Comment will know that in July the College Council set up a Working Party under the chairmanship of Lady Mayhew, who is one of its lay members, to look into the question of provision of a College day nursery. Its membership consists of: Lady Mayhew (Chairman) W. Slade (College Secretary) Professor Averil Cameron (Classics) Dr Alison White (Nursing Studies) Derck Law (Librarian) David Stevens (Student Welfare Officer) The Working Party's terms of reference are: a) that as a matter of principle the College should provide nursery facilities for the children of students and staff as and when circumstances should permit; b) that the future provision of nursery facilities should be examined in relation to the College's overall space planning. The Working Party accepts that child care provision should be an important item on the College's agenda, and hopes to be able to provide the Council (which will make the eventual decision) with a realistic financial proposal which would allow child care to feature in future College plans. A meeting is to take place in January, when it is hoped that more precise information about possible options will be available, especially their costs; the current practice of local organisations is also being explored. The Working Party hopes to able to report to the Council as soon as possible, and at latest by the summer term. At the first meeting, the members of the Working Party felt that readers of Comment should be kept informed about progress on this issue. You are encouraged to send in comments and suggestions, particularly about the financial aspects of setting up such a facility - please address them to Peter Gilbert, 2BC Main Building, Strand Campus.
P J Hoffman College Catering Officer
KING'S COLLEGE LONDON ASSOCIATION ANNUAL DINNER Friday 23 February 1990 Members of staff are invited to attend the KCLA Annual Dinner, to take place in the newly refurbished Great Hall at the Strand on Friday, 23 February 1990. The Guest Speaker will be the Right Reverend Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford. The evening will start with a sherry reception in the Council Room from 6.30 pm onwards. Dinner will be served at 7.00 pm and we expect the proceedings to come to an end at approximately 10.15 pm. The price of ÂŁ22.50 includes sherry, three-course meal, choice of wines or soft drinks and coffee. Fish or vegetarian alternatives to the meat course can be ordered. Please contact Caroline Bartholomew in the Alumnus Office at the Strand (ext S2083) if you would like to attend.
ANOTHER RECORDBREAKER FOR BUAC
What began as a simple idea to fill end of term 'vacuums' has just earned British universities more than ÂŁ60m revenue. The news came at the end of another record-breaking show organised by the British Universities Accommodation Consortium (BUAC). Formed 18 years ago, when a small number of universities decided to jointly market themselves to the commercial sector, BUAC now offer possibly the most comprehensive conference, exhibition and holiday package in the UK. At the show, which coincided with the organisations 18th birthday, BUAC Chairman, Charles Dudley explained that `Today's universities provide a great deal more than pure educational facilities,' and that 'attendance at the show was more than 15% up on our previous best last year - proof that universities have become an integral part of both the educational and business communities they serve.' If anyone would like further information and copies of BUAC's new conference and exhibition brochure, please contact General Secretary, Carole Formon at: British Universities Consortium Ltd, PO Box 579, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD. Tel (0602 504571, fax (0602) 422505 or from the Vacation Bureau, 552 King's Road, Chelsea.
All smiles at the Annual BUAC Show, the most success ful to date, which was held this year at Kensington Town Hall on 24 October 1989. From left to right; Richard Longhurst, King's College Vacation Bureau and a council member of BUAC, Carole Forman, General Secretary of BUAC and Charles Dudley their Chairman.
KMCR works in partnership with client organisations to produce results at 2 levels: achieving superior performance while developing a capability for sustained self renewal. Attention is paid to how issues of strategy, beliefs and relationships interact to influence behaviour and how change can be mobilised through leadership, systems and culture.
KING'S MANAGEMENT
The Management Centre is pleased to announce the setting up of this new self funding group, which is offering consulting and research services in the areas of organisational effectiveness and the management of change. It has appointed Keith Kinsella as Director, and Dr Dennis Bumstead as Deputy Director both of whom have considerable industrial experience at a senior level of corporate and culture change programmes and leadership development.
Keith and Dennis are committed to developing a more ecological process to consulting and are exploring the contribution of systemic and co-operative enquiry approaches; they are also preparing plans for a Masters level programme for experienced people with interests in this area. They would welcome discussions with people in other parts of the College who carry out consulting assignments and who would be interested in collaborative projects. They can be contacted at Kensington on 376 0746.
DEVELOPMENT STUDIES A group of us want to establish a register of those who have an interest in Development Studies within the College (whether this be from a human, biological or physical perspective). When information on people's interests has been gathered, a directory will be put together which will be circulated to interested parties. Should there prove to be a sufficient body of persons with Development Studies interests - whether contemporary or historical - we can explore the possibility and desirability of developing a seminar programme. If you have an interest in this field, please get in touch with me, on extension S2713, and I will send you a short form on which to register your interest.
Keith Hoggart Department of Geography
LIBRARY NEWS FOR SALE Accoustic coupler - 300 Baud, £20.00 Gestetner duplicator, model 1560, plus some supplies, £100.00 3 Ricoh photocopiers, model 4060. A4, A3, reduction and enlargement. Service contract with Eurocopy could be transferred to another King's Department. All ex-Library, battle-scarred, 4 years old and with upwards of 320,000 on the clock. £50.00 each. Offers considered. Contact Ann Knock, Library, Kensington - telephone K498; email UDYL014@KCL.CC .HAZEL. CHRISTMAS VACATION HOURS AND CLOSED PERIOD Sheets detailing the opening hours of the College Libraries are available from all Issue Desks or from the Strand Library Office (room 104, Strand Building, tel S21392140/2141). The Library will close for Christmas at 3.45 pm on Friday, December 22nd 1989 and reopen at 9.30 am on Tuesday, January 2nd 1990, with the exception of Coleridge Library, King's Road, which will open at 10 am. As usual, the Library will be seizing the opportunity during the vacation to do some rearranging of stock with a minimum of disruption to our readers. Between 13 December and the start of the new term on 10 January the Science periodicals stock on the 3rd and 4th levels of the Strand Building Library will be rearranged. The bulk of the work is expected to take place after the Christmas closure; we apologise to anyone using the Library during this period for any inconvenience they may experience. LIBERTAS MARCHES ON Two more sections of stock at the Strand Campus will 'go live' ie be issued on LIBERTAS, from the beginning of next term, 10th January 1990. They are all D classmark books, making the Old Library an all-LIBERTAS, paper voucher-free area, and the BF classified section of Embankment Library, the psychology section. This will mean that all books borrowed from these sections must be brought into the Library for renewal. Readers may be interested to hear that the LIBERTAS system of the University of London Library at Senate House can now be contacted, using the call number 00000550100. It also requires the `username' LIBRARY to be entered. It seems to be a very busy system, as you might expect, so some patience may be required! The 'Contacting LIBERTAS' sheet has been updated to include this number, and is available from all Issue Desks. Some users may be experiencing difficulty in contacting any LIBERTAS system using the numbers given: this may be a communication problem, which can be solved by prefixing the number with an A (ie in the case of the University of London Library, type 'call A000005501000', and so on). If you still cannot get through, contact the Computer Centre for help.
JOURNALISM RETURNS TO KING'S Some of the country's top journalists were visiting lecturers at King's this summer as part of a unique postgraduate course. They included Peter Cole, Editor of the new Sunday newspaper, The Correspondent, Marcelle d'Argy Smith, Features Editor of Cosmopolitan and Media Week founder Tim Brooks, one of the brightest young talents in journalism.
Peter Cole Editor of The Sunday Correspondent presents Alexandra Antoniou with her certificate for Periodical Journalism at King's this summer. 6
The nine week course in periodical journalism, which attracted more than 700 initial applicants, was run by PMA Training, and used both the Strand and Chelsea campuses. The course principal was Philip Marsh, who in the 1930s had gained the London University Diploma of Journalism at King's.
LECTURES MEETINGS AND SEMINARS PUBLIC LECTURES
Thursday 25 January HERO AND CONQUEROR: RACINE AND THE MYTH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT Dr Valerie Worth, King's College London 1.15 pm, Room 6C, Strand campus
CENTRE FOR PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES Distinguished Visitors Programme Monday 22 January ON THE USEFULNESS OF FINAL ENDS Professor Harry Frankfurt 5.30 pm, Room 2C, Strand campus Tuesday 23 January SEMINAR ON RATIONAL GOALS AND BUSINESS Professor Harry Frankfurt 6.00 pm, Room 6C, Strand campus
DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES Wednesday 22 January ENGINEERING ENZYMES FOR FOOD TECHNOLOGY Dr Barry Law, Institute of Food Research, Shinfield, Reading 4.30 pm, Physiology Lecture Theatre, Kensington campus
Ms Vivien Stern, Director of NACRO
1.15 pm - 2.15 pm, New Theatre, Strand campus
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH Thursday 18 January MYTH AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD Professor Barry Ife, King's College
Richard Overy Reader, History Department
I sometimes feel very vulnerable sitting, as I do, at the Reception Desk like an Aunt Sally, a target for the complaints of all and sundry. These complaints are many and varied, justified and unjustified and some that cancel each other out. There are frequent complaints of one particular door being locked and of the same door being left open and of the heating being too high or too low on the same day. The reason for a complaint is often, like beauty, in the eyes of the beholder, but I have found that this is not a view accepted by the majority of the aggrieved.
Thursday 25 January ETHICS AND COMMUNITY ARCHITECTURE Professor Gareth Matthews 6.00 pm, Room 6C, Strand campus
BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS Tuesday 23 January HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRISONS
So, the tradition still continues on today.
RESEARCH SEMINAR
Thursday 25 January PARTICIPATION IN CENTRE OF MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS SEMINAR ON INFORMED CONSENT AND AUTONOMY Professor Harry Frankfurt 2.00 pm, Committee Room, Strand campus
Philosophy of City and Architecture Thursday 18 January ECONOMIC AND LEGAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE ARCHITECT Mr Michael Edwards 6.00 pm, Room 6C, Strand campus
Past `Harmonites', as they are referred to, include Professor Michael Howard when he was Professor of War Studies at King's and Sir John Hackett who gave his address during his time as Principal of King's.
There are the usual complaints of blown bulbs, lifts out of action, silent telephones, missing keys and unparkable cars and although my role is usually to channel this information to the appropriate authority, I am the recipient of the initial annoyance, frustration and tension.
The Rt Hon Lord Briggs pictured here delivering the Commemoration Oration on Human Resources in the Humanities which took place on Monday 4 December.
HARMON MEMORIAL LECTURE Richard Overy, Reader in the Department of History gave the Harmon Memorial Lecture on 28 November at the United States Air Force Academy. The Subject was 'Air Power, Armies and the War in the West, 1940'.
While thinking of a way to improve my role in the situation I suddenly had a very good idea. But to digress for a while ... Some years ago, before the town of Ibiza became a tourist bedlam, my wife and I had lunch at a small quayside restaurant where we had chosen the fixed price `Menu del dia'. It was a pleasant meal and fairly low-priced. At least, I had thought that it was low-priced until I received the bill. The restauranteur had added several extra charges. The carafe of indifferent wine
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service charges, which had not appeared on the original menu, were enormous. I protested and refused to pay the whole bill and he overacted, in my opinion, by threatening to call the Guarda Civil. We had reached an impasse and for a moment I was at a loss as I did not really want to clash with the Guarda Civil, however justified I felt in my refusal to pay. Then I remembered the 'Complaints Book'. An artist friend of ours who had lived in Ibiza for many years had told us of it, but as he had an extensive stock of tall stories, I had never been sure of its existence. It seemed that, by law, every hotel and restaurant had to have a complaints book and that these books were regularly inspected by the authorities who took very firm action when necessary. Tall story or not, I decided to take a chance, 'before you call the Guarda Civil I would like the Complaints Book please.' He suddenly became ill at ease, 'what is your complaint?' he asked without much conviction. 'When I have written it in the book, you may read it', I said. 'Perhaps before you write in the book, we may be able to settle our small differences?', he suggested. We were able to settle our `small differences' surprisingly quickly and without recourse to either the dreaded book or the Guarda Civil. And there I think I have the solution 'The Atkins Complaints Book.' I am quite sure that it would not lack contributors, but there would then be the need for a volunteer to read the book daily, to take any necessary action and to write comments in the last column. In the past whenever I have requested a book, I have always received one of the soft-back variety with a spiral binding. This time I would like it to be leather bound, gilt embossed and gild edged. A book that will proclaim its importance by its appearance.
Don Atkins Atkins Receptionist, Kensington
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DATES k-OR YOUR DiAR
CHELSEA CHRISTMAS LUNCH The Chelsea Staff Christmas lunch will be held on 15 December at Manresa Road and on the 21 December at 552 King's Road. Booking forms have been circulated and are also available from the Catering Officer at Chelsea on extension C2331.
A DATE FOR YOUR NEW YEAR DIARY! From January 17th 1990 Staff Keep Fit will take place on Wednesdays at 1.00 pm in B2, Strand Campus (next to Reprographics). Wear comfortable clothing and trainers. 45 minute class ÂŁ1.00. Suitable for all levels from ultraslob to ultrafit. Come along and work off those festive excesses! Any queries 52624.
SALFORD'S SWITCH As from 4 December the telephone number of the University of Salford will be 061 745 5000 and the University's fax number will change to 061 745 5999. There will be no change in the telex number which will remain 668680.
continued from front page to how support for teaching and research should be organised, and so on. How do you feel your own background has prepared you to tackle the job? I have been an academic almost all my life so I hope I am aware of academia's strengths and its weaknesses. Whether people will agree with the changes that I feel we must introduce remains to be seen; but at least people won't be able to say, 'It's all very well for him to propose this or that, he has no experience of academic life.' As well as having been in
academia for a lung time, Ilia\ e had a fair bit of experience in managing people and things. So in these respects I feel as well prepared as any Vice-Chancellor or Principal can be. But let me stress, an institution does not succeed or fail merely as a result of the 'man at the top'; success depends on all - or at least most - of the players in the team. I don't see myself as having the answers to all King's problems or difficulties, many of which I don't even know yet. I shall need a lot of help from people at all levels. Was it difficult for you to decide to leave a full-time academic career? I don't like the idea that I have abandoned my academic career! I will, of course, now be primarily concerned with managing academic activities, but I think the change - for me at least - is one of degree, rather than a radical change of direction. As a young academic I was part of a Department largely managed by others hut where it was possible to influence that `management' by proposing various changes. As my career progressed I assumed greater managerial responsibility until, for example, when I became Head of Department at Surrey I found myself in charge of about 30 other academics and an even greater number of support staff. Pursuing personal interests had, to a large extent, to become secondary to working for the good of the whole Department, but I must admit I got considerable vicarious pleasure from the success of my colleagues in the Department. As Pro ViceChancellor at Surrey, the same thing has happened on a rather larger scale: I can no longer be personally involved in many of my erstwhile activities but I continue to derive satisfaction from assisting other Departments and people. I see my task at King's as a natural extension of my recent activities. Perhaps I should add, incidentally, that during my time as Pro ViceChancellor here I have continued to teach in my old Department; whether it will be possible for me to do that at King's, on top of everything else, remains to be seen! May I ask if you have any reservations about your decision? It may sound rather arrogant, but absolutely not. It is not that I am overconfident but that I see the move as an evolutionary process and one that I am very much looking forward to.
What is attractive to you about King's? There are lots of things I find very attractive about King's, not least the fact that it has such a wide range of disciplines and, of course, a very high reputation in some of these. I am also pleased to see that the College seems to be capitalising on this breadth of disciplines in that it is already offering a number of broaderbased degrees than the conventional single honours. I think that there is an increasing demand from students for such courses, so I am very encouraged that King's has already begun to move in this direction. I am also impressed by the quality of the undergraduate intake. I think I noted a recent average of just over 11 points, which is good by any measure. I do believe, that although we must strive to increase access, we must continue to attract high-quality students, so the fact that King's is doing as well as it is now is another big plus. I am also attracted by the fact that the roots of the College go back such a long way. Old age doesn't guarantee high quality - and even less does it guarantee future success - but it does tend to give a strength and stability which is difficult to acquire by any other means. I'd also like to mention the Christian tradition of King's. The further particulars for the post of Principal stated that the person appointed would be expected to uphold the Christian traditions upon which the College was founded. Today's multiracial, largely secular, society would have been unthinkable at the time that King's was founded, and we must respect the views of others brought up in a wide variety of traditions. it would be very wrong, therefore - especially at a university - to adopt a narrow parochialism. But I do believe that the principles of Christianity - distorted though they have been by many of its so-called supporters over the centuries - are an excellent template for how we live and interact with other people. I very much hope, therefore, that in being expected to uphold its Christian traditions, the College itself - its staff and students - upholds these traditions in its daily life - in the way members of College go about their work and deal with others. I myself am a Christian and I look forward to lending full support to those
accepted values which are necessary for the health of any community but are not the prerogative of any one religion. Will you miss Surrey's campus environment? There are many advantages to a campus university; most campuses are themselves very pleasant and it is very convenient to have all facilities for work, and indeed pleasure, to hand. But at the same time, a campus university is, in a sense, a denial of what a university should be, which is a part of society. King's - where, if you're not careful you could be knocked down by a No. 13 bus as you leave the Strand site! - couldn't be more different. It is situated in the heart of London, surrounded by every conceivable shade and form of society and activity. There is a richness of culture museums, institutions, theatres, libraries, etc - on the doorstep which could never be experienced by people at a campus university. I don't think it's a case of one being better that the other - they are just very different, and they appeal to different sorts of people. For my own part, having been in a campus university for the last decade I am looking forward very much to a university in central London. Our 'campus' has, as you know, undergone radical change in the last five years and has even greater change planned. How do you feel about presiding over such a large programme of physical restructuring? Well, it certainly doesn't daunt me. For some curious reason I have been involved in physical planning for a very long time. For example, more that 15 years ago I was appointed Assistant Dean of Engineering at Southampton University with particular responsibility for space. The preceding 10 years had, of course, been a time of unprecedented growth and the six Departments within the Faculty had acquired large amounts of space in a very ad hoc fashion. I decided to initiate a major rationalisation of the space in the Faculty which, even in those days, amounted to about 200,000 sq, ft, (or, in King's terminology, about two-thirds the size of Cornwall House!). Now at Surrey I am responsible for academic planning and resource allocation, the latter including the allocation of space!
But resource allocation - even of space is, of course not a purely passive administrative matter: you have to make positive judgements as to which activities should be expanded and which should be run down. King's currently has a marvellous opportunity for physical redevelopment, which is denied almost all other universities: it will be a tremendously exciting phase in the College's history. But we must be sure of taking the right decisions, backing the right academic developments. A College in central London must, inevitably, be an expensive facility to maintain. One can only justify the extra expense if the College is outstanding in its quality - and therefore that is what King's must be. It will be some months before you are `on-site' permanently. Does the lead time have benefits or disadvantages? The advantage of the long lead-in is that, especially as Guildford is relatively close, I will have the opportunity of getting to know people - albeit a limited number before I actually join. I have started to see various senior staff and I am planning to see quite a few more in the coming months. In this way I hope to learn a lot about King's and its way of doing things. By the time I actually join, I hope I'll at least be familiar with the way the place ticks. The danger is that, having met various people once, I may not see them again for ages. It may appear, therefore, as if I started off with an initial flush of enthusiasm which wore off as the months went by; and, of course, I won't have the chance to meet most people even once. I hope staff at King's will bear in mind that I do have a full-time job at Surrey and that job is not going to come to an end until next summer. There is obviously, therefore, a limit to how much time I can sensibly and rightfully devote to King's over the next few months. Are there any obvious college planning activities that you will definitely be involved in? The answer is yes. The biggest thing is the plan we will have to prepare for the UFC by May 1990. We know that they will shortly be writing to all universities asking for fairly detailed institutional
plans 'A 'n1,11 V, ill include bids for funded student numbers for teaching. Professor Sutherland has been very anxious that I should not simply be aware of what is going on at King's but that I will actually have been able to make some contribution to the thinking, to identify with the plan which, of course, I will be expected to carry out. So this is the most important thing - involvement in the formulation of the College's plan for the period 1991/921994/95. When will you actually take up your post? Formally on 1 September, a date fixed in the Crown appointment, but I am planning, in consultation with Professor Sutherland, to start working at the College virtually full-time some weeks before that: certainly I hope to spend much of July and August at the College. During that period I would very much like to meet Heads of Department individually and perhaps even visit their Departments, to meet other staff and to see what is going on. Have you formulated a particular management style? If you are asking am I going to adopt a style for this particular post - that's certainly not what I plan! I think my basic management style is based on the premise that staff have a great deal to do and are working under considerable pressure. Thus, whereas all of us may have views on the colour of the toilet walls, most of us will want to concentrate on those matters where we have unique expertise - the design of a new undergraduate course or the preparation of a research grant proposal and so on. Time is one of our most valuable commodities and I do not believe it should be wasted; people's views in general should be sought only when they are important for their own well-being or that of the College as a whole. A phrase relating to management styles that I heard a little while ago, and which appealed to me, is "participative autocracy'; I think that sums up my view of things because it emphasises my belief in participation but also the fact that at the end of the day someone has to make a decision; and I think there are ways of making decisions other than having endless committees. 10
Do you have any immediate plans for change? I'm not planning on changing any structure in the short term; I very much hope that the system will just carry on working in its present way until I've got to know the place and the people rather better. So I'm certainly not wanting to come in with the view that this committee structure or that job must change. I want to join the institution and sample it working as it is. I'd be surprised - as I expect you would if in due course I didn't want to change some things - but that is for the future. On a more personal note, how will the change of scene affect you and your family? Well, our three children are away from home now. Our daughter is in Australia having a year's break between finishing her studies and taking up a full-time career, and our twin sons are both at university - one at Southampton doing Acoustic Engineering and one at Durham studying Maths and Philosophy. As for my wife and me, we are greatly looking forward to the new world that is presenting itself. Will you move permanently to London?
In essence, yes. But we will keep our house here in Guildford if only because, at least for the next few years, it will be `home' for our sons until they finish their studies. We are also rather attached to it, not least we have put so much of our own effort into it. Of necessity? No, by choice. I rather enjoy DIY, even on a substantial scale. When we first saw the house we liked its location very much, but it needed substantial modernisation. My first summer holiday in Guildford was devoted to knocking down - and rebuilding - several walls, putting in central heating, rewiring, etc. It was incredibly hard work but it was very satisfying. Do you have any other less strenuous `leisure' activities? Music is one of my relaxations; I play the piano and the pipe organ. I have been organist and choirmaster at the United
Reformed Church in Guildford for a number of years and enjoyed that immensely. It was not a post that I ever expected to occupy but, a year or two after moving to Guildford, the organist of the Church which we attended left and I was asked if I would take over. I said that if they were really stuck I would help out for a few weeks; the few weeks turned into six years! I like the theatre and enjoy travelling. My wife and I also like entertaining - and being entertained! Do you have any guiding principles anything that shapes your attitude to life?
I have to admit that I have always taken my work seriously and I expect others to do so too; I have little patience with people who don't have a commitment to their job. But taking work seriously doesn't mean that you have to be morose or miserable about it! I really do believe that we are meant to enjoy life - 'enjoy' not in a superficial, self-indulgent way, but in the sense of being fulfilled otherwise, what's the point? Was there any stage in you life when you wanted to change direction - to do something totally different? I think my career has constantly changed there has been a common thread throughout, of course, but no two jobs have been the same; each has added another dimension, particularly in the managerial respects I mentioned earlier.
In some ways I have possibly been a typical academic, although I didn't start in a typical way. For example, having graduated in Physics I followed the route of many graduates and became a research student but really did not enjoy this activity at all. Within 12 months I gave up and decided to convert to Electronics by means of an MSc course. I then joined the Scientific Civil Service and had no plans to re-enter the academic world. After about two years, however, I was approached and offered a lectureship which I accepted without hesitation. Although it had not really crossed my mind previously, I felt very much that this was what I wanted to do. I can truthfully say that I have enjoyed academic life very much since; there have been ups and
downs, of course, but on the whole, for me at least, the ups have predominated. Following a very enjoyable time as Lecturer and subsequently Senior Lecture and then Reader at Southampton, I moved to UWIST, Cardiff to the Chair of Electronics. From there I came to Surrey, initially as Head of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering but more recently, of course, I have been Pro Vice-Chancellor. I can't say that I ever planned that this was how my career should evolve - in fact, planning too far in advance is usually counter-productive and can often lead to disappointment. But that's not to imply that I have been indifferent to the steps that my career has taken. Each of them has presented new opportunities and new challenges. The biggest of these steps is going to be next summer when I move to King's. It is one to which I am looking forward immensely.
Comment will publish a further interview with Professor John Beynon at the end of next term in which he will look at the wider issues facing King's, and the national university system in general, and talk about some of the broader issues of change which we may have to address.
THAMESIDE CAMPUS LAUNCHED AT HOUSE OF COMMONS On November 22 Sir Hugh Rossi, MP hosted a Reception at the House of Commons to mark a major turning point in the history not only of King's College but also of the University of London; our Thameside campus - a redevelopment scheme, unparalleled in UK universities since the 1960s, which will lay the foundations for our future healthy academic growth, particularly in the area of life sciences. Negotiations to secure the lease of Cornwall House have been long and complex and the College has valued greatly the help and advice it has received from government, the civil service, official bodies and notable individuals. Sir Hugh Rossi's Reception gave the Principal, Professor Stewart Sutherland, a chance to say thank you and to bring people up-to-date with the development plans. What was a dream is now a reality and the College was able to celebrate success with the key people who made it possible. Amongst those present were The Rt Hon Earl Jellicoe KBE, DSO, MC; The Rt Hon Lord Flowers FRS and Lady Flowers; The Rt Hon Lord Goff of Chieveley: Baron Rippon of Hexham; Lord Chilver: Lady Jean Mayhew; The Rt Hon John MacGregor MP, Secretary of State for Education and Science; Sir James Spooner, Chairman of the Council of King's College London; Prof Sir Randolph Quirk and Lady Quirk; Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, University Funding
Council; Sir Marcus Fox MP; Sir David Price MP; Sir Geoffrey Johnson-Smith MP; Sir Geoffrey Finsberg MP; Mr Christopher Chope MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, DOE; Mr Gerald Bowden MP; Mr Merlyn Rees MP.
Distinguished guests, pictured here on the right, included (left to right) the Rt Hon John Macgregor, Secretary of State for Education and Science, Lord Flowers, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, and Professor Sir Randolph Quirk, Director of the British Academy.
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Comment is the College's newsletter, issued by the Information Office (ext 2179) three times a term, with special editions if required. Contributions are warmly welcomed from any members of the College. For example profiles of people news of events, views on College matters, photos, cartoons, items for sale, puzzles or quizzes. Comment is sent to all staff and made freely available through the Student Union. Copy dates and publication dates are included at the end of each issue. ,
Dr Andrew Tatham, organiser of the King's exhibition at the House, clarifying our achievement.
The copy date for the next edition is 5 January 1990 for publication in the week of 15 January 1990.
May we wish all our readers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Building work on the Annex has actually begun: the first walls have been knocked down to make way for the new walls of modern laboratories, lecture theatres and teaching rooms and for a full range of academic and social facilities. Departments will begin to move in 1990 and Cornwall House is expected to he fully ready for occupation by 1995.