Notices

Contents of this section:

[Note. An asterisk denotes a reference to a previously published or recurrent entry.]

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GOLDSMITHS' PROFESSORSHIP OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

HERMIONE LEE, BA, B.PHIL., Professor of English Literature, University of York, has been appointed to the professorship with effect from 1 October 1998.

Professor Lee will be a fellow of New College.

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REUTERS PROFESSORSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW

DAVID VAVER (BA, LL.B. Auckland, JD Chicago), Professor of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada, has been appointed to the professorship with effect from 1 July 1998.

Professor Vaver will be a fellow of St Peter's College.

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WEIDENFELD VISITING PROFESSORSHIP IN EUROPEAN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

ROBERTO CALASSO, author and publisher, Adelphi Edizioni, Milan, has been appointed to the professorship for the academic year 1999--2000.

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CONFERMENT OF THE TITLE OF VISITING PROFESSOR

On the recommendation of the Board of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, the General Board has conferred the title of Visiting Professor in Zoology on D.C.S. WHITE, MA, D.PHIL., Director of Science and Technology at BBSRC, for a period of three years with immediate effect.

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DIRECTORSHIP OF THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

KEITH STEWART THOMSON (B.SC. Birmingham, AM, PH.D. Harvard), University Distinguished Scientist-in-Residence, New School for Social Research, New York, and Adjunct Professor of Geology, University of Pennsylvania, has been appointed to the directorship with effect from 1 July 1998.

Professor Thomson will be a fellow of Kellogg College.

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PITT RIVERS MUSEUM

On the recommendation of the Committee for the Pitt Rivers Museum, the General Board has appointed C. GOSDEN, MA, Fellow of St Cross, Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum and University Lecturer in Prehistory, Acting Director of the Pitt Rivers Museum for the period until 13 April 1998.

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VIOLETTE AND SAMUEL GLASSTONE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS IN SCIENCE 1997

Fellowships have been awarded to DR SILVIA ZANE (Sub-department of Astrophysics), and DR ZHILIANG YUAN (Sub-department of Condensed Matter Physics).

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PATRICK MALLAM MEMORIAL PRIZE IN CLINICAL MEDICINE 1997

The Prize has been awarded jointly to DERRALYNN ARLENE HUGHES, Green College, and SIMON NICHOLAS MADGE, Magdalen College.

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SAID BUSINESS SCHOOL: OUTLINE PLANNING APPLICATION

After complex negotiations, the University is about to exchange contracts with Railtrack to buy the station forecourt site for the Said Business School. Railtrack are now to start the construction of the new station car park on the land between Becket Street and the railway. This will take about 500 cars and access from it to the station will be over a new footbridge alongside the Botley Road bridge. As soon as the new car park is ready, Thames Trains, which manages the car parking and the station will transfer all commuter car parking to the new site and Railtrack will then use the existing car park as a temporary forecourt area for the buses and taxis while the present forecourt is rebuilt. When this is ready, Railtrack will be able to grant possession of the site to the University which in turn will lease the majority of it to the Business School Foundation for the construction of the new buildings. The area not needed for the latter is being sold on to the Foundation and reserved for future expansion. This area includes part of the foundations of Rewley Abbey, recorded as providing the first communal accommodation for students in Oxford.

An outline planning application has been submitted to Oxford City Council seeking approval to construct 22,000 square metres of floor space on the site for academic use. The application is supported by some illustrative drawings showing how the new School might look from Park End Street. The design is however at a very early stage and has not been approved by University and the Foundation. The purpose of the application is to seek agreement to the change of use of the site from the offices and a hotel included in the local plan to academic use and to form the basis for discussions with the City over the appearance of the building, traffic, and other planning matters. The design is being overseen by the Foundation's Building Committee with the Vice-Chancellor and the President of Magdalen College as the University's representatives. A full planning application is to be submitted in April and it is hoped that construction can start in September 1998.

The design assumes that the proposed new junction in front of the Royal Oxford Hotel goes ahead and that the University will be required to dedicate some of the land on the Park End Street side for highway use. This will require the former LMS station, a Grade 2* listed building, to be moved. After taking advice from consultants specialising in heritage buildings, the University has concluded that the best way of preserving the station would be to re-erect it at a heritage railway society site where it would be brought back to its original use and accessible to the public. A study of possible sites is under way. Fortunately the building was designed to be demountable and can be moved without much damage. It was erected in 1851 by the same contractors who built the Crystal Palace and its cast-iron columns and girders are almost identical and thought to have come from the same moulds as the components for the Crystal Palace structure.

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UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD STATEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

1 The general provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 which came into force on 1 April 1975 lay a duty on all employers to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of their employees at work by maintaining safe plant, safe systems of work, and safe premises, and also by ensuring adequate instruction, training and supervision. The University is also bound by the Act to ensure the safety, while on its premises, of all other persons, who (though not employees) are working or otherwise using the facilities there.

2 By Decree (1) of 24 September 1981 the University has amended the University's safety organisation by making the Committee on Health and Safety a committee of Council with a duty to advise Council on the establishment and implementation of University safety policy. The decree also provides for a Joint Safety Advisory Committee which includes representatives of the recognised trades unions and which will advise the Council committee.

3 The Act requires every employer to prepare a written statement of his general policy with respect to the health and safety at work of his employees and the organisation and arrangements in force for carrying out that policy, and to bring the statement to the notice of all his employees. Council, therefore, circulates the following statement of safety policy: `It is the policy of the University, and the responsibility of the Hebdomadal Council, to adopt all reasonably practicable measures:

(a) To secure the health, safety and welfare of all employees at places of work under the University's control and elsewhere when performing their duties;

(b) To protect students and other persons who are lawfully on University premises against risk to their health or safety which might arise out of activities in those places;

(c) To maintain safe plant, machinery and equipment and a safe and healthy place of work.'

4 It is also the policy of the University to ensure that all members of the University and its staff are aware of their individual responsibility to exercise care in relation to themselves and those who work with them. To this end individuals are enjoined to:

(a) Familiarise themselves with University Safety Policy and any departmental safety requirements;

(b) Take reasonable care that all procedures used are safely carried out, and seek expert advice in any case of doubt;

(c) Warn of any special or newly identified hazards in present procedures or risks in new procedures about to be introduced;

(d) Report accidents or incidents promptly;

(e) Familiarise themselves with fire and emergency drills (including the location of emergency telephones) and escape routes.

Where self-employed persons, or contractors and their employees, carry out work on University premises, they must comply with standards of safe working contained in any Regulations or Codes of Practice applicable to their operations, and in the University's safety rules.

5. Heads of departments and institutions are responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of all people who are lawfully in the buildings under their charge and are required to bring to the notice of all employees a written statement describing the organisation and arrangements for safety within their departments.

6. Responsibility for implementing University Safety Policy rests with heads of departments and institutions. In order to provide expert advice on matters of health and safety, the Hebdomadal Council has appointed the following officers:

Director of Health and Safety Services;

University Radiation Protection Officer;

University Occupational Health Physician.

The requirements of the University on specific legislative requirements and other matters are issued as University Policy Statements (previously known as University Guidance Notes). Advice on specific hazards and technical items is issued as Memoranda by the University Safety Office and by the University Occupational Health Service.

Heads of departments may also appoint suitable members of their staff as Departmental Safety Officers to advise them and to liaise with the University Officers. Area Safety Officers are appointed in high risk science and clinical departments in order to enhance the Departmental Safety Officer system. Any department using ionising radiation must have a system of radiation protection management based on Departmental Radiation Protection Supervisors, whose task is to ensure compliance with statutory regulations and local rules.

7 To advise on policy the University has established a Committee on Health and Safety consisting of members appointed by the University, while for consultation the University has established a Joint Safety Advisory Committee comprising members appointed by the Committee on Health and Safety and representatives of the recognised trade unions. There is also a Radiation Protection Consultative Committee which acts in a consultative role on all matters arising from the use of radioactive material or other sources of ionizing radiation in the University. A Biological Safety Advisory Group advises the Committee on Health and Safety on matters of biological safety.

8 The Occupational Health Committee is a subcommittee of the Committee on Health and Safety and deals with matters relating to the management of the University's Occupational Health Service. The Working Group on Fire Precautions and Safety considers all matters relating to the programmes of work undertaken on the grounds of safety.

9 This policy supersedes all previous versions of University Safety Policy. It will be reviewed annually by the Committee on Health and Safety.

10 The names of the chairmen of the committees and of the University Officers are given in the Appendix.

(Signed) C.R. Lucas
Vice-Chancellor

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APPENDIX

Committee on Health and Safety

Chairman: Mr D. Wood, St Hugh's College.

Radiation Protection Consultative Committee

Chairman: Professor C.K. Prout, Department of Chemistry.

Joint Safety Advisory Committee

Chairman: Mr D. Wood, St Hugh's College.

Occupational Health Committee

Chairman: Dr R. Mayon-White.

Officers

Director of Health and Safety Services: Dr K.W. Bowker.
University Fire Officer: Mr K.J. Hewitt.
Assistant Safety Officer: Mrs J.M. Stevenson.
Assistant Safety Officer: Mr A.C. Kendall.
University Biological Safety Officer: Dr J. Marshall.
University Radiation Protection Officer: Dr K.V.R. Walker.
University Occupational Health Physician: Vacancy.

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WIDOWS OF FORMER MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY'S PENSION SCHEMES

From time to time the attention of the University is drawn to individual cases of financial hardship among widows of former members of the Federated Superannuation System for Universities (FSSU) and the University of Oxford Employees Pension Scheme (EPS). Limited resources are available to alleviate proven cases of hardship and any enquiry should be addressed to the Superannuation Officer, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD. All cases are dealt with in the strictest confidence.

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GIBBS PRIZES 1998

Prizes on the foundation of Mr Charles D.D. Gibbs will be offered in 1998 in Modern History, Law, Politics, Geography, Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Zoology. Candidates for prizes other than that in Law must be members of the University who, at the time of taking the public examination on which the prizes are awarded, have not exceeded the twelfth term from their matriculation. Candidates for the prize in Law must be members of the University who, at the beginning of the examination, have not exceeded their twelfth term from matriculation, and are reading for a final Honour School.

In addition the board of management for the Gibbs Prizes has decided that, in 1998, Gibbs Prizes will also be offered in the following subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering Science, English Language and Literature, Materials, Mathematics, Modern Languages, Music, Oriental Studies, Philosophy, Physics, Physiological Sciences, Psychological Studies, and Theology. There will be an additional Gibbs Prize for performance in Politics in the Preliminary Examination in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. Candidates for these prizes must be members of the University who, at the time of taking the examination or submitting the coursework on which the prizes are awarded, have not exceeded the twelfth term from their matriculation.

Further details of all the Gibbs Prizes will be published in the Gazette during Hilary Term.

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BRIAN THOMAS STYLES MEMORIAL PRIZE

The Brian Thomas Styles Memorial Prize is awarded from time to time for an outstanding D.Phil. thesis in the subject area of tropical or subtropical plant taxonomy. No special application is required.

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OXFORD CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES

Arabic classes

Classes in Modern Standard Arabic at levels 1, 2, and 3 are continuing to be held at the centre this term, starting on Monday, 19 January, at 5 p.m.

Further details and registration information are available from the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, George Street (first floor), Oxford OX1 2AR (telephone: Oxford (2)78730).

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Arabic classes for the study of the Qur'an

Classes are continuing to be held for those wishing to improve their Arabic for the Study of the Qur'an, starting on Friday, 23 January, at 5 p.m.

Further details and registration information are available from Dr Basil Mustafa, the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, George Street (first floor), Oxford OX1 2AR (telephone: Oxford (2)78730).

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CONCERT

St John's College and Colin Carr

JOHN GIBBONS (harpsichord) will perform J.S. Bach's Keyboard Exercise Part IV (`The Goldberg Variations'), at 8.30 p.m. on Monday, 2 February, in the Garden Quadrangle Auditorium, St John's College.

Admission is by programme, which will be free and available from the Porters' Lodge from 24 January.

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ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS

The Association of University Teachers is both a professional association and a trade union, committed to the advancement of university education and research. At the national level, the AUT is the recognised union for academic and academic-related staff. Besides its concern for more general questions of university education and research, the AUT negotiates salary levels and conditions of employment with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals.

The Oxford branch of the AUT is open for membership to university and college employees, whether academic or academic-related. It has over 900 members. It is the official body with which the University discusses priorities and problems bearing on education and research, and negotiates solutions to them. Discussions between the Oxford AUT and university officers occur formally once per term at a meeting of a Joint Consultative Committee, but there are many other informal meetings to discuss particular problems, including those affecting the conditions of employment of academic and academic-related staff, such as the `waiver clause' for those employed on contract grants. The local AUT also provides confidential advice on problems relating to terms and conditions of employment.

Application for membership and other enquiries can be made to Mrs Anne Hendry, Administrative Secretary, Oxford AUT, New Barnett House, 28 Little Clarendon Street, Oxford OX1 2HY (telephone and fax: (2)70418, e-mail: aut@ermine.ox.ac.uk) (9.30 a.m.--3 p.m., Monday--Friday).

Enquiries may also be directed to the following: Kit Bailey (Honorary Secretary), Department of Plant Sciences (telephone: (2)75090); Denis O'Driscoll, Department of Biochemistry (telephone: (2)75260); Arthur Marsh (Personal Cases), St Edmund Hall (telephone: (2)74170).

General meetings of the Oxford AUT take place on Tuesday of third week in each term. The Hilary Term meeting will be held on Tuesday, 3 February, 1.15--2.30 p.m., in Blackhall, Queen Elizabeth House, 21 St Giles'. All AUT members and non-members will be welcome.

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