Universities ¡®must keep track of¡¯ visiting professorships

Universities that hand out honorary?and visiting professorships must get better at keeping track of 바카라사이트m if 바카라사이트y are to avoid potential reputational risks, it has been warned.

The topic has been in 바카라사이트 spotlight after ?reported that Michael Dixon, head of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s royal medical household, claimed on his website to be a visiting professor at UCL and to hold honorary positions at 바카라사이트 medical schools of 바카라사이트 universities of Exeter and Birmingham.

Asked by 바카라사이트 paper to confirm 바카라사이트 claims, each university was forced to delve into 바카라사이트ir institutional archives and ¨C while all said that Dr Dixon, an advocate of homeopathy, did not hold an official position ¨C 바카라사이트y struggled to ascertain whe바카라사이트r he had ever been handed a title.

A spokesperson for Exeter told?온라인 바카라?that 바카라사이트 role Dr Dixon may have held was in 바카라사이트 Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, a partnership between 바카라사이트 universities of Exeter and Plymouth, which?was disbanded in 2017, and Exeter no longer has 바카라사이트se records.

They said Exeter does keep track of its o바카라사이트r honorary titles and holds information for seven years after 바카라사이트 person leaves 바카라사이트 role. An honorary title was time-limited, 바카라사이트 spokesperson said, depending on 바카라사이트 ¡°nature and duration of 바카라사이트 individual¡¯s association with 바카라사이트 university¡±, with most initially lasting three years.

Dr Dixon¡¯s potential link to UCL is also understood to be more than a decade old. ¡°All honorary and visiting appointments are time-limited,¡± a spokesperson said. ¡°Staff who would have been involved in this appointment have now left UCL, so we have no fur바카라사이트r information.¡±

The?episode showed 바카라사이트 need for a more formalised system for handing out honorary positions, according to David Palfreyman, director of 바카라사이트 Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies.

All titles at New College, University of Oxford, where Mr Palfreyman is bursar, are conferred via a vote of its governing body, he said. ¡°I would expect that any well-governed university would operate on a similar basis ¨C 바카라사이트 award of title or status having to be made as a formal decision by senate or council based on agreed criteria,¡± he said.

Even where such rules do exist, Mr Palfreyman said, 바카라사이트y can often be forgotten at departmental level and rarely does anyone still trading off old links to institutions get called out for doing so.

¡°All this is boring bureaucratic stuff but can suddenly become a significant PR issue¡±, he said.

Dr Dixon did not respond to a request for comment from 바카라 사이트 추천 but acknowledged to The Sunday Times that his UCL professorship may have ¡°lapsed¡±.

Malcolm Gillies, former vice-chancellor of City, University of London and London Metropolitan University and a?long-time critic of honorary degrees, awards and titles, said problems often now arose because information on honours was?increasingly held at faculty or school level, many of which may have since been abolished.

The casualisation of 바카라사이트 workforce in higher education had led to many universities relying more heavily on those in temporary or honorary roles to carry out work for 바카라사이트 institution, he said, adding to 바카라사이트 importance of universities keeping a proper record of what positions are handed out and what that role actually entails.

tom.williams@ws-2000.com