Minutes of the Sixty third Meeting of the Committee held on 10 October 2001.
Present: 220 members signed the attendance list. Apologies were received from 19 members, including the Vice Chancellor and members of the Department of European Studies who were otherwise engaged with an External Subject Review.
Professor Neil Halliwell, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Research, took the Chair in the Vice Chancellor's absence.
The meeting started by observing one minute’s silence as a mark of respect for a student, Miss Yi Chu, who was killed in a road accident outside the University on Tuesday 9th October.
The Minutes of the sixty-second meeting of the General Assembly held on 21 March 2001 were confirmed as a true record.
There were no matters arising.
The Chair put to those present the option of a secret ballot on the motion in 3(i) brought to the meeting by members of General Assembly. This option was proposed and seconded.
The names of four tellers to handle the ballot were put forward – namely Robert Bowyer and Wendy Clarke from the Academic Registry and David Kerr and Kinsey Dart from the Association of University Teachers. The names were proposed by Fytton Rowland and seconded by Natalie Fenton.
(i) Fytton Rowland spoke to members first on behalf of the Association of University Teachers to propose to the University that members of General Assembly:
(a) Oppose the current proposals for compulsory redundancies in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Loughborough University;
(b) Request that Loughborough University and its Council immediately halt all procedures and meetings concerned with these redundancies and abandon the process forthwith;
(c) Instruct that these motions and the result of the associated vote(s) at this meeting of General Assembly be communicated to the next meetings of Senate and University Council;
(d) Request that Senate also advises Council not to proceed with compulsory redundancies.
Natalie Fenton then spoke on behalf of the National Association of University Teachers to second the Motion.
(ii) The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Ronald McCaffer presented a statement on behalf of the University against the motion.
The floor was opened up for members to hold a discussion on the motion. A number of members spoke in support of the motion, asking the University to re-think its position.
A member proposed that in view of a shortage of time the discussion be curtailed to allow time for a secret ballot to take place. This proposal was seconded, and agreed to by those present with a show of hands.
Before the ballot took place, Fytton Rowland exercised a right of reply and spoke again in support of the Motion.
A secret ballot took place with the result that:
200 members voted in support of the Motion.
11 members voted against the Motion.
There were 4 spoilt papers.
The Motion, as passed by General Assembly, would be brought to the notice of Senate and Council at their next meetings.
There was no other business.
To be confirmed.
Author: W J Clarke
Date: 16 October 2001
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