Statement to the Cambridge community

Dear colleagues,

I would like to update you on important recent events, and our response to them.

Yesterday, I wrote to concerned staff about the actions which will follow on the case of Jason Arday. You can find that here.

As I set out to colleagues, I fully understand the concerns being raised within the University and well beyond it regarding Jason Arday’s appointment, and I share them. I know there is real anger and anxiety around this damaging and difficult case.

I believe that fairness, meritocracy and the freedom to raise concerns are vital to any organisation. The events of the past few weeks have demonstrated the clear need for improvement at Cambridge.

We will now investigate the circumstances around his appointment by the Faculty of Education back in 2022, and his time here in Cambridge since his appointment nearly four years ago. That investigation must be thorough and transparent, and will be carried out independently by senior academics from within and beyond Cambridge.

The highest standards of academic excellence have been a core principle at Cambridge for many centuries, and this is reflected in the outstanding research and teaching taking place here every day. We are all proud of that, and I am personally committed to maintaining those standards.

I arrived in this role three years ago and inherited a number of complex issues. To deal with these issues, institutional change is required to improve and modernise our structures. I am fully committed to implementing the changes necessary.

As Vice-Chancellor, I lead an extraordinary, self-governing academic community which operates via a highly devolved model in which many decisions are taken within departments, faculties, and institutions. I will continue to work with colleagues and committees, and I will use my leadership role to drive forward the required changes.

Separately, this week an employment tribunal has ruled against the University in favour of a staff member, Professor Wyn Evans, on a number of serious issues. The University needs to look very hard at the judgment, its findings, and what went wrong.

I have therefore taken the step of asking the Deputy Chair of the University Council and the Council’s Audit Committee to establish the terms of an independent review of all relevant University processes, with the outcome to be reported directly to the Council. This will operate independently of, but alongside, the investigation into the circumstances around Jason Arday’s appointment and time at Cambridge. I am also aware of calls from some members of our community for an audit of our HR procedures and practices, which I will ask that this review addresses. I will also stress the importance of this review proceeding at pace and concluding as quickly as is possible.

These issues began before my time, but they have come to a conclusion on my watch. I want to now ensure that they are assessed thoroughly and independently, and that we can learn from them and make the necessary changes.

Our aim must be clear: a Cambridge in which academic excellence, merit, fairness and due process are not simply principles we affirm, but standards that are consistently reflected in how we make decisions and how we treat our people.