Who will succeed Lord Jenkins as chancellor of Oxford University? It is unlikely to be Lady Thatcher, who has never forgiven the dons for sabotaging her honorary degree and raises funds enthusiastically for Cambridge - but Oxford does expect someone very famous. Jon Snow might be all very well for neighbouring Oxford Brookes or Cherie Booth for Liverpool John Moores but Oxford usually goes for someone grander to fill this curious post with no real job description. The university has had both Archbishop Laud and his arch enemy Oliver Cromwell, for instance.
It was Harold Macmillan (the Earl of Stockton), Lord Jenkins's predecessor as Oxford chancellor, who deftly evaded the question of whether the post is necessary. "You have to have a chancellor because otherwise you could not have a vice-chancellor, and then where would you be?"
Each university goes about picking a chancellor in its own way - in Oxford it is by election by members of Convocation, including all living graduates. Lord Jenkins beat Edward Heath and the historian Lord Blake in 1987 when 8,300 of the 40,000 members voted, the highest turn-out recorded.
Oxford says its chancellor is "usually an eminent public figure" who plays a largely ceremonial role officiating at Encaenia (the annual honorary degree ceremony held each June) and representing the University in the higher education sector. "Roy Jenkins played an important part in national debates on issues concerning the sector - in particular, defending the independence of universities," said a university statement on his death on Sunday.
Other university chancellors are chosen to add a bit of glamour to the institution - Diana Rigg at Stirling, Peter Ustinov at Durham, Ana Ford at Manchester and Lord Brian Rix at the University of East London. Among fellow politicians in post are Lord Owen at Liverpool, Chris Patten at Newcastle, Lord Carrington at Reading, and the former Speaker of the House of Commons Baroness Boothroyd at the Open University. Lord Brittan of Spennithorne is chancellor of Teesside, Tory treasurer Lord Ashcroft at Anglia Polytechnic University, and Lord Ashley of Stoke speaks ceremonially for Staffordshire.
None of them can claim the list of honorary degrees amassed by Lord Jenkins, who did his first degree at Balliol College (in politics, philosophy and economics) - they "include", according to the Oxford press office, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Louvain, Urbino, Michigan, Wales, Reading, Warwick, Trinity College Dublin, Bristol, Georgetown, Kent, West Virginia, Bologna, Sofia, and London.
Sir Colin Lucas, vice-chancellor of the University, said: "Lord Jenkins's death is a great loss to the University. During his 15 years as chancellor, he gave generously of his great knowledge and experience from his long and outstanding career in political life. His wisdom and breadth of vision were invaluable to the University and his love of Oxford was manifest in his commitment to his duties and the pleasure that he took in them to the very end. He was immensely supportive of, and active on behalf of, the University's values and objectives. Lord Jenkins's chancellorship will, I am sure, be remembered as one of the great periods of this office."
The procedure for electing his successor is as follows. All members of Convocation are eligible to vote in the election for a new chancellor of the University of Oxford. At least three weeks' notice has to be given of the election date and nominations have to be received at least 17 days before the election. Any member of Convocation can nominate a candidate. The nomination needs to be supported by at least 50 members of Convocation and must be accompanied by a written statement of consent by the candidate but there are no other restrictions on eligibility to be a candidate. The election must normally take place in Full Term, over two days (one of which must be a Saturday) in the same week. Electors attend in person to cast their vote.
Convocation has had the right to elect the University's chancellor since 1367. The earliest known chancellor of the University of Oxford was Geoffrey de Lucy, who held office before 1216, the best known early chancellor was Robert Grosseteste (about 1224).Until the death of Cardinal Pole in 1558 the chancellor was always an ecclesiastic. Archbishop Sheldon (1667-9) was the last churchman to hold the office. Previous chancellors of the University of Oxford include William Laud (1630-1641), Oliver Cromwell (1650-1657), Gilbert Sheldon (1667-1669), and Harold Macmillan (1960-1986).
Go to the next item in Oxford's Carry on Chancellor romp.
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