Restructuring At King's College London
In response to actual and further anticipated cuts in public sector funding in 2009/2010, Richard Trainor introduced plans for 'financial and academic sustainability' and 'strategic disinvestment' at King's College London that have provoked letters of protest by prominent scholars both in the UK and abroad.
The University and College Union (UCU) and the British Medical Association (BMA) have also voiced their concerns about the restructuring at King’s College London. The situation at King's has attracted national press coverage.
Trainor has responded by highlighting the pressures facing UK Universities and giving an interview to The Times about the challenges of funding cutsand his belief that further higher education funding cuts would risk serious damage to the sector. The King's College London UCU executive committee have commented on Richard Trainor's responses
Further, his decision to close the Division of Engineering which has the honour of being one of the oldest departments in the world risks charges of reckless academic vandalism.
His cuts were the subject of House of Commons Early Day Motion 1179 in the 2009-2010 Session. 'That this House notes the proposal by the Executive of King's College London as part of its budget review process to abolish the Chair of Palaeography, the only one of its kind in the United Kingdom; further notes the fundamental importance of palaeography to a broad and interdisciplinary scholarly community; considers that without the development of palaeographic skills, millions of documents would be rendered inaccessible, thus depriving the nation of its full historical legacy; and therefore urges King's College London to consider very carefully any proposals in respect to this prestigious and important Chair.'
In January 2012, King’s announced the appointment of Julia Crick as Professor of Palaeography and Manuscript Studies in the School of Arts & Humanities.
Read more about this topic: Rick Trainor
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