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Malcolm Grant

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For other people named Malcolm Grant, see Malcolm Grant (disambiguation).

Sir Malcolm Grant
CBE FAcSS
Chairman of NHS England
In office
19 October 2011 – 30 October 2018
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byLord Prior of Brampton
Chancellor of the University of York
Incumbent
Assumed office
27 October 2015
Preceded byGreg Dyke
President and Provost of University College London
In office
1 August 2003 – 1 September 2013
Preceded bySir Derek Roberts
Succeeded byMichael Arthur
Personal details
Born (1947-11-29) 29 November 1947 (age 76)
Oamaru, New Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Otago

Sir Malcolm John Grant, CBE, FAcSS (born 29 November 1947)[1] was the Chairman of NHS England, formerly known as the NHS Commissioning Board. Born in New Zealand, he is also a barrister and academic lawyer.[2][3]

Grant was appointed as chair of the newly formed NHS Commissioning Board in 2011 by the Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley. He was previously the ninth President and Provost of University College London – the head as well as principal academic and administrative officer of the university – for over a decade from 2003 until 2013. He is the current Chancellor of the University of York.[4]

Early life, education and previous work

Grant was born and raised in Oamaru, New Zealand. He attended the state-run Waitaki Boys' High School and went on to study at the University of Otago, where he respectively gained an LL.B. (1970), LL.M. (1973) and LL.D. degree (1986). He became a Lecturer in Law at Southampton University (1972–1986). He was then a Professor of Law and Vice-Dean, from 1986 until 1991, of the University College London Law Faculty.

Grant was appointed Professor of Land Economy and a Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge. He then served as Head of the Department of Land Economy at Cambridge from 1993 until 2001 and was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university from 2002 until 2003. Whilst there he led attempts to reform the university.[5] He was succeeded as Pro-Vice-Chancellor by Tony Minson.[6] Grant was elected an Academician of the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences in 2000 and in 2004 he was elected a Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.

President and Provost of UCL

In August 2003, Grant left the University of Cambridge to become Provost and President of University College London.[7]

In 2004, Grant launched "The Campaign for UCL", with the aim of generating £300 million for the university, to expand facilities and provide for new research initiatives.[8] The appeal will[needs update] also fund an ear institute, a spinal-repair unit and an institute for women's health. Fifty million pounds of the targeted funds will provide support for students, in the form of bursaries, scholarships, and post-doctoral fellowships. It was the biggest ever fundraising target set by a university in the United Kingdom,[9] until Cambridge set a £1 billion target for its 800-year anniversary followed by the highest ever £3 billion target set by University of Oxford through the Oxford thinking campaign.[10] Grant said of the "Campaign":

I have heard it suggested that the concept of philanthropy is somehow alien to the national psyche, and that asking for money is not the British thing to do. This is, frankly, nonsense. Most of our leading universities owe their origins to philanthropy. Without the generosity of our founding fathers, UCL would never have seen the light of day back in 1826. This campaign will enable UCL, a real British success story, to enjoy the kind of resources to enable us to compete with the world's very best academic institutions

— Interview with BBC News, 2004[9]

In 2005, on an invitation from The Cheese Grater, he agreed to shave off his moustache if UCL students raised £1500 for Comic Relief, on Red Nose Day. Unfortunately for his moustache — of 33 years — students and staff duly donated over £2,000.[11] However, it has since regrown.

In 2006 he spoke out against the Israel university boycotts by the Association of University Lecturers (now the Universities Colleges Union).[12] In 2006 Grant also controversially stated that European students had better English skills than many British students.[13][14]

In 2007 Grant said the achievement and academic gap between male and female students was widening.[15] Since 1998, 313,259 more women than men have made university applications. Malcolm Grant said, "the trend indicated a big fall in the number of university-educated men".[16]

In January 2007 he argued that the entire nationwide university approach to funding needed to change.[17] In regard to UCL's need for additional funding, he stated the reasons in an interview with the BBC:

To provide world-class research – through discovery, invention and creativity – and to convey the excitement of it to able young minds.

— Interview with BBC News, 2007[18]

In June 2007, in response to legal threats from Alan Lakin, husband of a purveyor of herbal remedies, Grant required Professor David Colquhoun to remove his website, "Improbable Science"[19] from university computers. An outcry from the scientific community ensued, and Grant reconsidered, inviting Dr. Colquhoun to bring the site back to UCL once it had been edited on counsel's advice.[20]

In December 2011, Grant became the first UCL Provost to be challenged by "a vote of No Confidence" by UCL Union, the representative body of UCL students, following his appointment as chair of the NHS Commissioning Board.[21] However this was deemed[by whom?] unconstitutional.[citation needed] As a result, the matter was passed to a referendum in which the students of UCL voted in confidence of Grant by 1699 votes to 1185, with 391 abstentions.[22]

Awards and other positions

Grant is an Honorary Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (1993–) and an Honorary Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (1995–). He is also a Barrister of Middle Temple (1998–); and Honorary Life Member of the New Zealand Resource Management Law Association (1999). He was elected a Bencher of Middle Temple in 2004.[23]

In 2003, Grant was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to planning law and local government.[24] He was Chair of the Agriculture & Environment Biotechnology Commission (2000–2005). Grant was also Chair of the UK Independent Steering Board for the Public Debate on Genetically modified foods from 2002–2003).[25] He urged that the public have a voice in discussing GM foods.[26][27]

From 2006–2009, he was chair of the Russell Group of UK research universities.[28] He was also Chair of the Standards Committee of the Greater London Authority, and has been Chair of the Association of London Government’s Independent Panel on the Remuneration of Councillors in London (1998–2005). He served two terms of appointment as Chair of the Local Government Commission for England (1996–2001), having been originally appointed a member of the commission from 1992.[23] Whilst there he helped organise the new plans for electing members of London's local government.[29] Grant served as a Member of Council of the Royal Institution from 2007–2009. He was appointed a British Business Ambassador by the Prime Minister in 2008, and he serves on the boards of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Hong Kong University Grants Committee.

In October 2011, he was appointed as the first chair of the NHS Commissioning Board by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.[30]

Grant was knighted in the 2013 Birthday Honours List for services to higher education.[31][32]

Criticism

In the Telegraph, Grant was criticised for allegedly downplaying Islamist radicalisation and extremism on the UCL campus.[33] Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab – who attempted to explode a bomb on a flight to Detroit in December 2009 – had been the president of the UCL Islamic Society from 2005–06. He was the fourth president of an official Islamic society at a London university to face terrorist charges in three years.[34] In a robust response to the criticisms, Grant stated that he had ordered a review into the issue, and went on to restate the case for freedom of speech on university campuses. He refuted the insinuation that there was a problem with Islamic extremism at UCL, and accused some anonymous below the line contributors to the Telegraph of "Islamophobia".[35] Subsequently, the CSC issued a press briefing listing a number of alleged Islamist extremists who had recently spoken on the UCL campus after being officially invited by UCL's Islamic groups.,[36] later absorbed into the Henry Jackson Society, and one of the CSC committee members Ruth Dudley Edwards criticised Grant's response, writing: "Rather than producing mealy-mouthed defensive statements... Provost Grant should seriously reconsider his position."[37] On the other hand, Professor John Sutherland, writing in the Guardian, defended the university's response of constructive engagement, which recommended "debate with extremists" and the promotion of an Islamic Awareness Week: "My own, partisan, view is that UCL's openness is morally justified.... But there are clear risks".[38]

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Professor Malcolm Grant confirmed as chair of NHS commissioning board". Department of Health. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Who's who – the NHS England board". NHS England. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Professor Sir Malcolm Grant is to be our new Chancellor". University of York. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Management shake-up at Cambridge". BBC News. 7 February 2002.
  6. ^ University of Cambridge: News and Events: New Pro-Vice-Chancellor appointed (16 June 2003) (accessed 9 January 2013)
  7. ^ Grant to lead UCL
  8. ^ The Campaign For UCL
  9. ^ a b "University launches £300m appeal". BBC News. 5 October 2004.
  10. ^ www.campaign.ox.ac.uk
  11. ^ UCL News Archived 23 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Smith, Alexandra (30 May 2006). "Israel (News), Higher education, Education, UK news, International education news, World news, Middle East (News), Lecturers". The Guardian. London.
  13. ^ "European students have better English, says university head". The Daily Telegraph. London. 18 June 2006.
  14. ^ Blair, Alexandra (21 November 2006). "Universities to get extra money for giving places to the poor". The Times. London.
  15. ^ "Student gender gap is even wider". BBC News. 15 February 2007.
  16. ^ Blair, Alexandra (15 February 2007). "Growing gender gap risks turning universities into malefree zones". The Times. London.
  17. ^ Grant, Malcolm (30 January 2007). "Higher education, Tuition fees, Students, Education, UK news". The Guardian. London.
  18. ^ "Looking inside the university". BBC News. 5 October 2004.
  19. ^ DC's Improbable Science
  20. ^ Joint statement by Professor Colquhoun and UCL
  21. ^ "No confidence vote". Times Higher Education. 3 December 2011.
  22. ^ UCLU (26 January 2012). "Results of the UCLU Referenda, January 2012".
  23. ^ a b Public Service Archived 23 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "Higher education, Education, UK news, University administration, Careers in higher education, UCL, Cambridge University". The Guardian. London. 2 April 2003.
  25. ^ "GM debate 'to include crop trials'". BBC News. 5 February 2003.
  26. ^ "Public 'needs voice' on GM issue". BBC News. 3 June 2003.
  27. ^ "News – Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  28. ^ "Malcolm Grant: Is the axe-man a saviour?". The Independent. London. 19 January 2006.[permanent dead link]
  29. ^ "London poll plan unveiled". BBC News. 25 August 1998.
  30. ^ Taylor, Lynne. "Lansley names academic to head NHSCB". Pharma Times. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  31. ^ "No. 60534". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 2013. p. 1.
  32. ^ "Birthday Honours List 2013" (PDF). HM Government. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  33. ^ When will the British people wake up to the enemy in their midst By Con Coughlin Defence Last updated: 30 December 2009, Telegraph
  34. ^ "Airline Bomb Suspect Reportedly Groomed While a Student in London". The Times. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  35. ^ "Freedom of thought is all we foment". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  36. ^ How UCL authorities ignored Islamic extremismCSC
  37. ^ British universities: seats of learning – and loathing By Ruth Dudley Edwards 10:30AM GMT 2 January 2010
  38. ^ UCL, on the frontline of the student extremism debate guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 February 2011 17.00 GMT
Government offices
New office Chairman of NHS England
2011–2018 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of York
2015–present 		Incumbent
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