Vice-Chancellor’s Council Update: 17 March meeting

• The Medical Sciences Division’s annual report was shared with Council, detailing the division’s outstanding research activities.
• Council reviewed the 2023–24 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) report, expected to be published next month.
• Discussions also covered the Health and Safety Dashboard, which provides information on our health and safety risks across the University.

Council agendas are usually very full, and its meeting on 17 March was no exception. We discussed a range of topics, from the annual Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Report to the new Health and Safety Dashboard, and had our annual update from Professor Gavin Screaton on the Medical Sciences Division.

Turning first to the annual report from the Medical Sciences Division, we heard about the fantastic work that goes on across its 16 departments. Oxford has led the Times Higher Education world rankings for medicine for the last 14 years. The division carries out research in over 40 countries and brings in the highest amount of research income of any UK university at over £500m a year; 81 companies have been spun out so far by its academics. A few recent examples of news from Medical Sciences include the deployment of the malaria vaccine in 17 countries in Africa, and 2 new Medical Research Council Centres of Research Excellence being established here to develop cutting-edge gene therapies for currently untreatable diseases. 2 new buildings housing Experimental Psychology and Global Health are due to open in the next academic year, with the Life and Mind Building due to open in Michaelmas and the Global Health Building due for completion in Trinity term 2026.

The annual Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) report is published as part of our Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act. Council reviewed the 2023–24 report, which provides an update on progress towards our equality objectives and highlights some of the achievements from the last academic year. Key highlights include the development of a collegiate University EDI Strategic Plan, and delivery of an in-depth review of the gender pay gap resulting in a set of recommendations to address the gap, which have been approved by People Committee. The report will be published in the next month.

The first Health and Safety Dashboard was then considered, which provides information on our health and safety risks across the University, and how we are managing them. There is certainly more to do in terms of improving the safety of our working environment, but I would encourage everyone to engage in training opportunities and to report any safety issues in your departments. See our Everyday Safe webpage for further information.

Council also approved funding for the GLAM Collections Storage Facility, an extension of the existing Bodleian Collections Storage Facility in Swindon. This new facility will provide preservation storage and enable greater access to millions of objects and specimens from our museum collections, alongside growth for the Bodleian’s collections, in support of the University’s core research and learning mission.

I hope that this blog helps to demystify Council and its discussions. Please let us know if you found it useful or have any feedback: you can submit feedback via vice-chancellor@admin.ox.ac.uk.

Council information, including minutes, is published on the website.

Information on the Committees of Council can also be found online.

We encourage all staff to consider putting themselves forward for committees and other governance groups: our current elections page provides relevant information.