Posts Tagged ‘Malcolm Grant’

The head of University College London (UCL) yesterday (January 25th) announced the first details of an independent review into Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s time at the university.

Provost Malcolm Grant first said that an internal review would take place on December 31st 2009, after former UCL student Abdulmutallab was arrested in the USA during an alleged attempt to blow up a place to Detroit on Christmas day.

UCL said that the review was set to examine “all aspects of Mr Abdulmutallab’s time at UCL, including his period as President of the student Islamic Society, and explore how far there were at that time – and/or today – conditions at UCL that might contribute to the radicalisation of students.  It will examine the extent to which UCL has properly discharged its legal obligations to provide a platform for visiting speakers so as to secure freedom of speech on campus within the law.”

The review is to be chaired by Dame Fiona Caldicott, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Principal of Somerville College, Oxford. Other members of the review panel have not yet been announced but UCL said that the first meeting would take place in February.

Professor Grant – who is himself chairing a separate working group for Universities UK looking at how universities can protect academic freedom but also prevent violent extremism – said that British universities had a legal obligation to “guarantee freedom of speech on campus within the law.”

“Campuses are and should be safe homes for controversy, argument and debate. This clearly does not include incitement that could lead to terrorism and murder. I am delighted that Dame Fiona has agreed to lead this important independent inquiry.”

He added: “The full facts of the matter are still under exhaustive inquiry by the police and the security services, including the question as to whether the radicalisation of Mr Abdulmutallab occurred during or as a consequence of his experience at UCL.”

Grant also told the Evening Standard yesterday that it was not the job of universities to act as “policemen” and suggested that the presentation of universities as hotbeds of extremism following the incident was “a long way from reality”.

He went on to criticise the “hyperbole and hysteria” of the British media’s treatment of the issue.

Caldicott, whose background is in psychiatry, said: “I am pleased to be able to lead the independent inquiry that has been set up to look into events at UCL during the period of study there of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. I hope very much that through chairing this inquiry I can help to produce a report that will have credibility and utility both within UCL and beyond.”

A date for when the panel’s report would be published has not yet been set.

University College (UCL) are the best university in London, the second best university in the UK, and the fourth best in the world, according to the 2009 Times Higher Education-QS (THE-QS) World university rankings.

The THE-QS world rankings are updated yearly and list the top 200 universities in the world.

This year saw UCL climb the ladder to 4th, having been placed seventh last year.

Professor Malcolm Grant, UCL President and Provost, said: “League tables can never measure all a university’s qualities. They capture a few key aspects of a complex organism. Yet we are pleased by UCL’s spectacular progression up the tables in recent years, because it does reflect the truly outstanding quality of UCL’s community of academics, and of our students from around the world.”

The ranking places UCL ahead of Oxford, who finished equal fifth with Imperial College, and also ahead of six of the eight American ‘Ivy League’ institutions.

Harvard was declared the best institution globally, ahead of Cambridge in second place and Yale in third.

Other London institutions to feature in the top 200 were Kings College, who finished 23rd, the London School of Economics, who finished 67th, and Queen Mary, who finished 164th.

To see the rankings in full, visit: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/Rankings2009-Top200.html

An impromptu debate took place in UCL’s main quad on Thursday between UCL’s Provost Malcolm Grant and campaigners, when he was confronted by protestors calling for the reinstatement of sacked cleaner Juan Carlos Piedra Benitez.

Organisers from the ‘Hands Off My Workmate Conference’ gave London Student a transcript and a recording of a meeting that took place between Benitez and his managers at Office and General (O&G) cleaning company – which they also promised to send to Grant.

It contains statements which suggest that O&G, who have a contract to clean UCL’s buildings, were unhappy that Benitez was telling other cleaners about the trade union and their rights at work. Campaigners believe Benitez was made redundant because he is an organiser for Justice for Cleaners.

Protestors approached Grant and asked him if he intended to write to O&G.

George Binette, of Camden Trades Council said to Grant “You are in a position where you can exercise third party pressure. I assume that’s a concept with which you’re familiar. This man has committed no disciplinary offence.”

“We’re asking you to write to O&G saying ‘we’re extremely concerned to hear that a member of a trade union has been summarily dismissed’…this looks like a straight forward case of victimisation” he continued.

Grant initially stated “I haven’t seen a transcript” and asked for clarification of who the contract was with.

He also said “As a lawyer when you use words like ‘proof positive’ you don’t mean that. There is a mechanism to test these ‘proofs’, it’s called an employment tribunal.

Grant continued “You have taken this to an employment tribunal which is the appropriate channel”.

Employment tribunals have the power to award compensation and to order reinstatement, but not to enforce it. Campaigners told the Provost his intervention would be decisive.

Grant was introduced to Benitez, the sacked cleaner, who told him “The important thing is I work and have rights like everybody. We are workers, we contribute to this country.”

The Provost responded “Do you know something you’re absolutely right…it seems to me the campaign is right and democratically justifiable…can you understand I’ve been as open as I possibly can and I’m happy to have this conversation…I’m saying that you have a right to do what you are doing”.

After over twenty minutes of dialogue, he agreed to “look at the evidence” but would not be drawn on whether he would act, if the evidence supported campaigners’ accusations.

In the recording, made while Benitez worked at Harbour Exchange, O&G manager Guy Travers can be heard telling Benitez that his “attitude” is problematic but that “there is not really enough grounds to give you a final written warning or to dismiss you.”

Instead Benitez was transferred to work at UCL on 24 August. He had been working there for less than three weeks when he was told that there was no longer a position available for him.

A second O&G manager, Hector Alzate, said to Benitez in the meeting “What is the organisation you are with? You are in some sort of organisation, you keep telling every single one about it.”

He later continues “You could be in whatever organisation, which is fine…There’s no point if you keep telling everyone…it’s like you’re looking for trouble.”

Benitez, a member of the Unite union and a campaigner in the Justice for Cleaners organisation is also told by Travers that a previous “run in” with the Justice for Cleaners’ organisation, had resulted in the sacking of their UCL representative.

Benitez has since been offered part-time work by O&G, and subsequently a contract of 40 hours a week.

A spokeswoman for O&G told London Student “He only ever on a temporary contract at UCL while someone else was on long term sick leave. They returned earlier than expected and so we could no longer employ him [Benitez].”

“We have been able to offer him a new job because we have had a vacancy come up. I have not heard from him if he has accepted this work.”

The Hands Off My Work Mate campaign and the Bloomsbury Living Wage campaign say they want him reinstated at the UCL site.

Spokesperson Ellen Heffernan said “Him losing 20% of his pay is not acceptable. We will campaign until he gets the 50 hours a week he originally had, earning the money he needs to get by.”

“They [O&G] described the new offer as a ‘gesture of good will’ but really they know we’re right. How could his job at UCL have been temporary when they [the mangers] talked [at the meeting] about him getting promoted and becoming a manager himself?”

London Student understands that the Provost has been sent a transcript by UCU rep Jesse Oldershaw. Before the crowd that had gathered in the quad dispersed, Grant said he would respond in “a matter of days not years”.