| Malcolm Grant | |
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| Provost of University College London | |
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| Born | 1947 New Zealand |
| Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/provost/ | |
Malcolm Grant, CBE (1947-) is the Provost and President of University College London. He took up the post – the principal academic and administrative officer and head of UCL – on 1 August 2003.[1] Since then, UCL has developed as one of the world's leading universities and he has tackled critical issues, such as pay reform.[2][3] He is also responsible for initiating UCL's £300 million fundraising scheme.[4]
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Professor Grant was born and raised in Oamuru, New Zealand. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School (a state school) and went on to study at the University of Otago, where he gained an LLB (1970), LLM (1973) and LLD (1986). He became a Lecturer in Law at Southampton University (1972–1986). He was then a Professor of Law and Vice-Dean, from 1986 till 1991, of University College London Law Faculty.
Grant was appointed Professor of Land Economy and a Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge. He then served as Head of the Department of Land Economy at Cambridge from 1993 until 2001 and was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university from 2002 until 2003. Whilst there he led attempts to reform the university.[5] He was elected an Academician of the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences in 2000[1] and in 2004 he was elected a Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.
In August, 2003, Grant left the University of Cambridge and become Provost and President of University College London.[6]
In 2004 Grant launched 'The Campaign for UCL'. The campaign was designed to generate 300 million pounds of extra funding for the university, to expand facilities and provide for new research initiatives.[7] The appeal will also fund an ear institute, a spinal repair unit and an institute for women's health. £50 million of the targeted funds will provide support for students, in the form of bursaries, scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships. It was the biggest ever fundraising target set by a university in the United Kingdom,[8] until Cambridge set a £1bn target for its 800 year anniversary. Grant said of the 'Campaign':
"I have heard it suggested that the concept of philanthropy is somehow alien to the national psyche, and that asking for money is not the British thing to do. This is, frankly, nonsense. Most of our leading universities owe their origins to philanthropy. Without the generosity of our founding fathers, UCL would never have seen the light of day back in 1826. This campaign will enable UCL, a real British success story, to enjoy the kind of resources to enable us to compete with the world's very best academic institutions"
In 2005, on an invitation from The Cheese Grater, he agreed to shave off his moustache if UCL students raised £1500 for Comic Relief, on Red Nose Day. Unfortunately for his moustache — of 33 years — students and staff duly donated over £2,000.[9] However, it has since regrown.
In 2006 he spoke out against the Israel university boycotts by the Association of University Lecturers (now the Universities Colleges Union). [10] In 2006 Grant also controversially stated that European students had better English skills than many British students.[11][12]
In 2007, Professor Grant said the achievement and academic gap between male and female students was widening. [13] Since 1998, 313,259 more women than men have made university applications. Malcolm Grant said, "the trend indicated a big fall in the number of university-educated men".[14]
In January 2007 he argued that the entire nation-wide university approach to funding needed a different approach. [15] In regard to UCL's need for additional funding he stated the reasons in an interview with the BBC:
""To provide world-class research - through discovery, invention and creativity - and to convey the excitement of it to able young minds."
In June 2007, in response to legal threats from Alan Lakin, husband of a purveyor of herbal remedies, Grant required Professor David Colquhoun to remove his website, "Improbable Science" [16] from university computers. An outcry from the scientific community ensued, and Grant reconsidered, inviting Dr. Colquhoun to bring the site back to UCL once it had been edited for libel.[17].
Grant is an Honorary Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (1993–) and an Honorary Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (1995–). He is also a Barrister of Middle Temple (1998–); and Honorary Life Member of the New Zealand Resource Management Law Association (1999). He was elected a Bencher of Middle Temple in 2004.[18]
In 2003 Grant was awarded the CBE for services to planning law and local government.[1][19] He was Chair of the Agriculture & Environment Biotechnology Commission (2000–2005). Grant was also Chair of the UK Independent Steering Board for the Public Debate on Genetically modified foods from 2002–2003).[20] He urged that the public have a voice in discussing GM foods.[21][22]
From 2006-2009 he was chair of the Russell Group of UK research universities.[23] He was also Chair of the Standards Committee of the Greater London Authority, and has been Chair of the Association of London Government’s Independent Panel on the Remuneration of Councillors in London (1998–2005). He served two terms of appointment as Chair of the Local Government Commission for England (1996–2001), having been originally appointed a member of the commission from 1992.[18] Whilst there he helped organise the new plans for electing members of London's local government.[24] Grant served as a Member of Council of the Royal Institution from 2007-2009. He was appointed a British Business Ambassador by the Prime Minister in 2008, and he serves on the boards of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Hong Kong University Grants Committee.
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| Preceded by Derek Roberts |
Provost
of University College
London 2003 – Present |
Succeeded by – |
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