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The subject of university governance is high on the agenda. It is clear to me that changes to increase the influence of lay members on governing councils instituted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England are totally misguided in that they have caused vice-chancellors and councils to fall out in several institutions, one of which I served as vice-chancellor for 20 years without contention.

There needs to be a retreat from managerialism in favour of a respect for academic staff and the values they represent, otherwise able scholars will leave in droves. So-called governors need to read the statutes of their universities and understand precisely what their powers are and the functions they should perform.

Raoul Franklin, Vice-chancellor, City University London, 1978-98.