Could Oxford University be about to elect its first female chancellor in its 800-year history? | UK News

Oxford is one of the best universities in the world.

The best, according to the current edition of Times Higher Education, or the third best behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Imperial College London, according to the international QS World University Rankings.

In any case, this is the crème de la crème of the British higher education sector, one of the few areas of international competition where this country can claim to be a true 'world champion'.

This means that being the university's figurehead as chancellor is one of the most coveted positions for a senior member of the British establishment, including former prime ministers and political leaders.

A vacancy has now arisen following Lord Chris Patten's decision to retire at the age of 80 after 20 years as chancellor.

The candidates, some of whom are household names, have just one week until Sunday, August 18 at 11:59 p.m. to submit their nominations.

However politely this election is conducted behind the scenes, the battle for office will do more than pit rival “retired” politicians against each other.

The woke will clash with the anti-woke, many would like to see the first female chancellor and there is a strong tendency among academics who work at the university to install one of their own rather than the statesmen who have presided over them since Tudor times.

Image: Lord Chris Patten welcomes former Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the university in 2012. Photo: AP

Technology enables more open competition

The office of Chancellor dates back exactly 800 years. Oliver Cromwell, 1st Duke of Wellington, and Prime Ministers Lord Salisbury and Harold Macmillan are just a few of those who have held the position.

This competition will be more open than ever since for the first time all members of the so-called “convocation”, including more than 250,000 university graduates, will be able to vote online.

Until now, voters had to go to the Sheldonian Theatre, dressed appropriately, to vote in person. Fewer than 6,000 people turned out to vote in the last two elections.

In 1987, Roy Jenkins, a former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary, founder of the Social Democratic Party and President of the European Commission, defeated Sir Edward Heath, a former Conservative Prime Minister.

TV puppet Roland Rat has also set his sights on the competition.

Conservative Party chairman Mr Patten was elected chancellor after Mr Jenkins' death in 2003.

Mr Patten won the 1992 election to John Major but lost his seat before being appointed Hong Kong's last governor. At Oxford, Mr Patten achieved a remarkable double as chairman of the BBC.

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Image: Oliver Cromwell was elected chancellor of the university in 1651. Photo: AP

Prestigious names exclude themselves

Among the well-known names that have been highlighted in the framework this year are former prime ministers Tony Blair, Boris Johnson and Theresa May and former cabinet ministers William Hague, Peter Mandelson and Rory Stewart as well as former Pakistani prime minister and cricket captain Imran Khan.

They all studied at Oxford, although that is not a requirement to become chancellor.

Open campaigning is not the norm. Potential candidates are expected to make their interest known discreetly and then hope that the required 50 members of the assembly will sign their nomination papers.

Former Conservative Party leader William Hague and New Labour master of the dark arts Peter Mandelson have both publicly expressed interest.

Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rory Stewart all withdrew before they even got underway. The vote will be on a transferable list system and it is likely that these candidates would have been either too controversial or poorly rated to beat the other two.

Tony Blair immediately ruled himself out of the running.

There will also be some fringe candidates: the Reverend Matthew Firth, of the so-called Free Church of England, plans to run on an anti-woke ticket.

Image: Roland Rat once hoped to become chancellor of the university. Photo: Steve Meddle/Shutterstock

The same can be said of the Reverend Nigel Biggar, former Regius Professor of Moral Philosophy at the university, whose book Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning has been praised by many traditionalists on the British political right.

Maxim Parr-Reid's main qualification appears to be to represent his college, Trinity Oxford, in the University Challenge.

None of the above political names are favored by the academic establishment.

Earlier this year, university bureaucrats were accused of attempting a “set-up” by setting up a committee to “vet” applicants “with due regard to the principles of equality and diversity”.

This has been interpreted as an attempt to limit the chances of white politicians who have been chancellors so far.

In May, the Times hailed the university's decision to abandon the pre-screening process as “a victory for fairness and common sense.”

Undeterred, many university staff turned to their preferred candidate: Lady Elish Angiolini, a prominent lawyer and former Solicitor General of Scotland.

She is a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) and a Dame of the Order of the Thistle and has led independent investigations for governments, including into the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.

A woman, Scottish, of Irish Catholic origin and a graduate of the University of Strathclyde, she would certainly be different.

Lady Angiolini is also an Oxford insider. She has been Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford since 2012 and Vice-Chancellor of the university.

Image: Lady Elish Angiolini could become the university's first female chancellor. Photo: PA

She is certainly running, although it is unclear how she gets around the rule that “the chancellor cannot be an employee of the university.” It may be acceptable for her to resign if elected, but not as a candidate.

Members of “elected legislative assemblies” are also not allowed to stand for election, so Mr Mandelson and Mr Hague are in the clear.

The same is true of Mr Khan, who is currently in prison and disqualified from holding political office. It is unclear whether not being British would disqualify a candidate, although one fringe candidate, Nigerian Onyeka Nwelue, thinks it probably would.

Oxford academics jealously guard their control over the university. It is well known that the so-called “congregation”, made up of all the professors and lecturers, voted against awarding an honorary doctorate to Margaret Thatcher, despite her being Britain's first female prime minister and a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford.

Given Oxford's high reputation in global academia, many would argue that “if it ain't broke, why fix it?”

But Oxford's great achievements are felt, at the level of its faculty and institutes, almost in spite of the complex and self-regulating governance systems of colleges and universities.

This has resulted in a number of scandals, most recently a successful attempt to oust an outsider as dean of Christ Church, costing the college millions of pounds.

Prominent academics I know rejoice when they leave Oxford.

Image: Imran Khan, former Pakistani Prime Minister. Photo: AP

Oxford's governance is unlike that of most other universities – or even public companies – which have a board of governors made up of executives and non-executives, chaired by a president.

When I suggested that such a system should be applied to colleges and universities, the professor next to whom I was sitting at a high table in Oxford refused to speak to me for the rest of the meal.

The Chancellor of Oxford does not even have the powers of a chairman of the board of governors and is relegated to ceremonial and public relations functions.

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That said, the politicians who have held the chancellorship so far have generally managed the university well. Giving more of a voice to an outsider with a proven track record would be beneficial, even for the best university in the world.

The final candidates will not be known for another week.

The choice will likely be whether the university will remain outward-looking – as it has always been in the past – or whether academics will take back even more control.

The thousands of graduates – most of whom are long past their college years – have the power to decide, provided they know that an election is taking place and register to vote, with the deadline being August 18.

The vote will take place on October 28, with a runoff if, as seems unlikely, there are 10 or more qualified candidates.

The new chancellor will likely serve at least 20 years, unless the university succeeds in limiting the number of terms.

May the best, Oxford or non-Oxford, male or female, win.

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