Oxford Dons Vote "No" to Plan to End 900 Years of Academic Self-Rule. (November 30, 2006)

    By a vote of 730 votes to 456 Oxford dons yesterday rejected plans that would have brought academic self-rule to an end and handed decision-making at the university to outside business leaders. However, the final decision may go to a postal ballot of 3,770 members of the university's academic, library and administrative staff.

Members have six days to call for the matter to go to a postal ballot which potentially could reverse the result.

The reforms, proposed by  Oxford's vice-chancellor, John Hood, and supported by the university's Chancellor, Chris Patten, would have given lay members from outside the university a narrow majority on a 15-member governing council consisting of eight outside members including the chairman, who would be Lord Patten for the first five years. Its current membership of 26 includes four laymen.

According to The Guardian, "The council would deal with the £800m-a-year business but an academic board would remain in charge of academic matters. Congregation, the dons' parliament, would retain veto power but opponents of change feared its influence would be severely undermined."

Following the vote Vice-Chancellor Hood said, "We are engaged in a lengthy and complex democratic process which has clearly reached an important stage. That process permits a postal vote, and a decision about that will have to be taken in the next few days. It is for council or 50 members of Congregation to take that decision, which is entirely in keeping with the university's democratic process."