UCL Regulations Relating to University of London Regulation 3 (Professors and
Readers)
1. Establishment, disestablishment and modification of Chairs and Readerships
1.1 University of London (UoL) Regulation 3 authorises colleges to establish UoL Chairs and Readerships tenable at that college, and to disestablish, rename or otherwise modify Chairs and Readerships, subject to the terms of any relevant trust deeds.
1.2 The UCL procedure for establishment, disestablishment, renaming or other modification of a UoL Chair or Readership according to the provisions of UoL Regulation
3 is as follows.
1.3 Where a Chair or Readership is based, or to be based, in more than one Faculty, the following references to ‘Faculty' and ‘Dean' should be understood as referring to the plural number.
1.4 A proposal for the establishment of a Chair or Readership, setting out the academic grounds therefor, shall be submitted in the first instance to the Director of Academic
Services. The Director of Academic Services shall first invite the relevant School
Finance Director to confirm that the financial arrangements relating to the proposed
Chair or Readership are acceptable. The Director of Academic Services shall then submit the proposal (with the comments, if any, of the School Finance Director) to the
Dean of the Faculty in which the proposed Chair or Readership is to be based, for consideration by the relevant Faculty. The Dean may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the Faculty to endorse the proposal. The Director of Academic Services shall then submit the proposal to the Academic Board for approval. The President and
Provost ('the Provost' hereafter) may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the
Academic Board to approve the proposal.
1.5 A proposal for the disestablishment of a Chair or Readership, setting out the academic grounds therefor, shall be submitted in the first instance to the Director of
Academic Services. The Director of Academic Services shall first submit the proposal to the Dean of the Faculty in which the Chair or Readership is based, for consideration by the relevant Faculty. The Dean may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the
Faculty to endorse the proposal. The Director of Academic Services shall then submit the proposal to the Academic Board for approval. The Provost may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the Academic Board to approve the proposal.
1.6 A proposal for the renaming or transfer from one academic department to another or other modification of a Chair or Readership, setting out the academic grounds therefor, shall be submitted in the first instance to the Director of Academic Services. The Director of Academic Services shall first submit the proposal to the Dean of the Faculty in which the Chair or Readership is based or to be based, for consideration by the relevant
Faculty. The Dean may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the Faculty to endorse the proposal. The Director of Academic Services shall then submit the proposal to the
Academic Board for approval. The Provost may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the Academic Board to approve the proposal.

1.7 The Director of Academic Services shall be responsible for informing the appropriate
UCL bodies and officers of the establishment, disestablishment, renaming or other modification of Chairs and Readerships of the UoL tenable at UCL.
1.8 The Director of Academic Services shall maintain current records of all established
Chairs and Readerships of the UoL tenable at UCL.
1.9 Proposals for the establishment, disestablishment, renaming or other modification of
Chairs and Readerships based in the School of Slavonic and East European Studies
(SSEES) shall be referred by the Director of Academic Services to the Vice-Provost
(Academic and International), who will confer with the appropriate Dean of Faculty.
Subject to the endorsement of the Vice-Provost (Academic and International), the proposal will then be submitted to the Academic Board for approval 1 .
2. Appointment to established Chairs and Readerships
2.1 UoL Regulation 3 sets out the minimum requirements for college procedures for appointing persons to established Chairs and Readerships of the UoL following competitive application and interview.
2.2 The UCL procedure for appointing persons to established Chairs and Readerships according to the provisions of UoL Regulation 3 is as follows.
2.3 Where a Chair or Readership is based in more than one Faculty or Department, the following references to 'Faculty', 'Dean', 'Department' and 'Head of Department' should be understood as referring to the plural number.
2.4 The UCL body responsible for such appointments shall be a Working Group of the
Academic Board, set up to consider an appointment to a particular Chair or Readership.
2.5 The minimum constitution of such a Working Group of the Academic Board shall normally be as follows:
Ex officio
• Provost (Chair)
• Dean of Faculty in which Chair/Readership is based
• Head of Department in which Chair/Readership is based
Nominated by the Provost – an appropriate academic Vice-Provost
Appointed by Academic Board on the recommendation of the Dean of Faculty concerned, following consultation with the Head of Department concerned
• At least one member of non-professorial academic staff of Department in which
Chair/Readership is based
• At least one other member of academic staff, normally but not necessarily a Professor, of Department in which Chair/Readership is based
• At least two other members of academic staff, normally but not necessarily Professors, of one or more UCL Departments interactive with that in which Chair/Readership is
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based
• At least two persons external to UCL, expert in the discipline concerned and of appropriate seniority and familiar with the criteria for professorships and readerships of research-based universities in the UK.
2.6 The Provost may request the nominated academic Vice-Provost or the Dean of the
Faculty concerned to take the chair, on behalf of the Provost, of any Academic Board
Working Group.
2.7 UCL’s Corporate Equality Objectives include:
'To improve the gender balance and representation of under-represented groups on UCL boards, working groups and committees.'
In drawing up proposals for membership of Academic Board Working Groups, the Dean and Head of Department concerned should take note of the above Corporate Equality
Objective. The Dean concerned, in submitting to the Director of Academic Services proposals for membership of Academic Board Working Groups, shall confirm that note has been taken of the above Corporate Equality Objective for UCL in drawing up the proposed membership.
2.8 The discipline experts external to UCL who serve on Academic Board Working
Groups are formally designated External Advisers. The External Advisers are full members of the Academic Board Working Group. Where the Working Group is asked to vote on the selection of candidates for short-listing and/or appointment to an established
Chair or Readership, the External Advisers will, like all UCL members of the Working
Group, each be entitled to a vote.
2.9 In cases where the person appointed will also hold Honorary Consultant status in the
National Health Service: the membership of the Academic Board Working Group shall normally include also at least one representative of the National Health Service; the relevant Royal College shall be invited to nominate a representative to attend, in the capacity of observer, interviews conducted by the Academic Board Working Group.
2.10 Additional persons may be appointed to membership of Academic Board Working
Groups in particular cases, as the Academic Board deems appropriate. (For example, where a Chair or Readership is sponsored by an external body, up to two representatives of the sponsoring body will normally be invited to serve as co-opted members of the Academic Board Working Group.)
2.11 Nominations for membership of Academic Board Working Groups shall be made by the Dean of Faculty concerned, in consultation with the Head of the Department in which the Chair or Readership is based, and forwarded to the Director of Academic Services.
2.12 The Director of Academic Services shall submit the nominations for membership to the Academic Board for approval. The Provost may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the Academic Board to approve the nominations for membership.
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2.13 Subject to the provisions of section 4 below, appointments to all established Chairs and Readerships tenable at UCL shall be advertised externally, in accordance with
UCL’s Recruitment and Selection Policy.
2.14 The proceedings of such Academic Board Working Groups shall be strictly confidential to their members.
2.15 The outgoing holder of a Chair or Readership may, on the invitation of the Provost
(or the academic Vice-Provost who is chairing the Academic Board Working Group on behalf of the Provost), attend the first part of the first meeting of the Working Group set up by the Academic Board to consider the appointment of her/his successor, in order to give an introductory statement of her/his views on the future direction of the Chair or
Readership. Having made this statement, the outgoing holder of the Chair or Readership will withdraw and will not play any further part in the Working Group's deliberations.
2.16 All candidates applying for established Chairs shall be required to submit to the
Provost, via the Director of Academic Services, a letter of application, a current curriculum vitae, details of current salary, and the names and addresses of three referees who are leading figures in the relevant subject and at least one of whom shall normally be resident in a country other than that in which the candidate is resident.
2.17 All candidates applying for established Readerships shall be required to submit to the Provost, via the Director of Academic Services, a letter of application, a current curriculum vitae, details of current salary, and the names and addresses of three referees who are leading figures in the relevant subject and at least one of whom shall preferably be resident in a country other than that in which the candidate is resident.
2.18 In conducting the process of selection for appointment to established Chairs and
Readerships, Academic Board Working Groups set up for this purpose shall take account of (i) the UCL Recruitment and Selection Policy and (ii) the criteria applying to such appointments set out in UoL Regulation 3.
2.19 The Director of Academic Services shall be responsible for informing the relevant
UCL and UoL bodies and officers of appointments made by such Academic Board
Working Groups.
2.20 The Director of Academic Services shall maintain current records of all appointments to established Chairs and Readerships of the UoL tenable at UCL.
2.21 In the case of SSEES, references in the foregoing to the Dean of Faculty should be understood to refer to the Vice-Provost (Academic and International) and the minimum constitution of a Working Group of the Academic Board for a Chair or Readership appointment based in SSEES shall normally be as follows:
Ex officio
• Provost
(Chair)
• Vice-Provost (Academic and International)
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Dean of Faculty of Arts and Humanities or Dean of Faculty of Social and Historical
Sciences (as appropriate)
• Director of SSEES
Appointed by Academic Board on the recommendation of the Vice-Provost (Academic and International), following consultation with the Director of SSEES
• At least one member of non-professorial academic staff of the academic unit of SSEES in which the Chair/Readership is based
• At least one other member of academic staff, normally but not necessarily a Professor, of the academic unit of SSEES in which the Chair/Readership is based
• At least two other members of academic staff, normally but not necessarily Professors, of one or more UCL Departments interactive with the academic unit of SSEES in which the Chair/Readership is based
• At least two persons external to UCL, expert in the discipline concerned and of appropriate seniority and familiar with the criteria for professorships and readerships of research-based universities in the UK.
2.22 All newly-appointed holders of established Chairs tenable at UCL should be invited to deliver an inaugural lecture to mark their professorial appointment. The Dean of
Faculty concerned shall be responsible for approving the arrangements for inaugural lectures for departments across the faculty.
3. Appointment as Professor or Reader following internal promotion
3.1 UoL Regulation 3 sets out provisions for colleges to appoint members of their staff as Professor or Reader of the UoL following internal promotion.
3.2 The UCL procedure for appointing members of UCL staff as Professor or Reader according to the provisions of UoL Regulation 3 is as follows.
3.3 Where a candidate for internal promotion to Professor or Reader is a member of more than one Faculty or Department, the following references to ‘Faculty', ‘Dean',
‘Department' and ‘Head of Department’ should be understood as referring to the plural number.
3.4 The UCL body responsible for such appointments shall be the Academic Promotions
Committee, on the recommendation of the relevant Cross-Faculty Promotions Sub-
Committee of the Academic Promotions Committee.
3.5 The constitution of the Academic Promotions Committee shall be as follows:
Ex officio
• Provost ( Chair)
• Deans of Faculty
Appointed by the Academic Staff Appointments and Promotion Committee
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• Two members, including one non-professorial member, from among the members of the Academic Staff Appointments and Promotion Committee
3.6 The Director of Human Resources 2 shall be responsible for the administration of applications for internal promotion to Professor and Reader.
3.7 Applications for internal promotion to Professor or Reader shall be submitted to the
Academic Promotions Committee by the Dean of Faculty concerned, via the Director of
Human Resources.
3.8 All candidates for promotion to Professor or Reader shall submit to their Head of
Department material in support of their application as detailed in UCL’s Scheme for the review, selection and approval of candidates for promotion to Professor, Reader and
Senior Lecturer (see UCL Academic Manual - Part E).
3.9 The Head of Department, if he or she wishes to support an application for promotion to Professor or Reader, shall forward to the Dean material as detailed in UCL’s Scheme for the review, selection and approval of candidates for promotion to Professor, Reader and Senior Lecturer (see UCL Academic Manual - Part E).
3.10 Every member of the academic staff of UCL shall have the right to propose himself or herself for promotion. All members of academic staff shall receive notification at the same time as Heads of Department of the start of the annual promotions exercise, including appropriate instructions for preparing a self-proposal. The procedure for a selfproposal shall be in all respects the same as that for a candidate proposed by his/her
Department, except that the self-proposed candidate shall deal directly with the Dean of
Faculty. The latter shall, however, inform the Head of Department concerned that the self-proposal has been made.
3.11 All self-proposals for internal promotion to Professor and Reader submitted to the
Academic Promotions Committee shall be accompanied by the appropriate material (see paragraphs 3.8 and 3.9 above), except for the statement by the Head of Department in support of the proposed promotion.
3.12 The Director of Human Resources shall seek external and internal references for each candidate on behalf of whom a case for internal promotion has been received in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs.
3.13 The Academic Promotions Committee shall meet to consider each candidate on behalf of whom a case for internal promotion has been received in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs and for whom external and internal references have been received.
3.14 The consideration of applications for internal promotion to Professor or Reader shall be strictly confidential to members of the Academic Promotions Committee.
3.15 In considering applications for internal promotion to Professor and Reader, the
Academic Promotions Committee shall take account of the criteria applying to such appointments set out in UoL Regulation 3. In considering such applications, the
Academic Promotions Committee shall also take into account a candidate’s contribution
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to scholarship in the areas of research, teaching and enabling, in accordance with criteria prescribed in UCL’s Scheme for the review, selection and approval of candidates for promotion to Professor, Reader and Senior Lecturer (see UCL Academic Manual –
Part E).
3.16 The Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for informing the relevant
UCL and UoL bodies and officers of internal promotions to Professor and Reader.
3.17 All newly-promoted professorial staff should be invited to deliver an inaugural lecture to mark their professorial appointment. The Dean of Faculty concerned shall be responsible for approving the arrangements for inaugural lectures for departments across the faculty.
4. Appointment to established Chairs and Readerships of persons already holding equivalent appointments within the University of London
4.1 UoL Regulation 3 sets out provisions for college procedures for appointing persons as Professors or Readers of the UoL not involving competitive application and interview.
4.2 The UCL procedure for appointing persons to established Chairs and Readerships according to the provisions of UoL Regulation 3 is as follows.
4.3 Where a Chair or Readership is based in more than one Faculty or Department, the following references to ‘Faculty', ‘Dean', ‘Department' and ‘Head of Department’ should be understood as referring to the plural number.
4.4 In cases where a person who is currently a Professor at UCL is proposed for appointment to an established Chair, or where a person who is currently a Reader at
UCL is proposed for appointment to an established Readership, the decision to appoint may be taken by the Academic Board or by the Provost, as Chair acting on behalf of
Academic Board, following consideration of a proposal that shall be submitted by the
Dean of Faculty concerned via the Director of Academic Services. Before submitting any such proposal for appointment, the Dean of Faculty concerned shall have consulted with the Head of Department concerned and other professorial staff of the Department concerned as appropriate. The Academic Board or the Provost, as Chair acting on behalf of Academic Board, may approve such appointment without external advertisement of the post in question and without setting up and/or referring the matter to an Academic Board Working Group.
4.5 Similarly, in cases where a person who currently holds an established Chair tenable at UCL is proposed for conferment of the title of Professor at UCL, or where a person who currently holds an established Readership tenable at UCL is proposed for conferment of the title of Reader at UCL, the decision to confer the title may be taken by the Academic Board or by the Provost, as Chair acting on behalf of Academic Board, following consideration of a proposal that shall be submitted by the Dean of Faculty concerned via the Director of Academic Services. Before submitting any such proposal for appointment, the Dean of Faculty concerned shall have consulted with the Head of
Department concerned. The Academic Board or the Provost, as Chair acting on behalf of Academic Board, may approve such appointment without setting up and/or referring the matter to an Academic Board Working Group.
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4.6 In cases where a person who is currently a Professor or Reader of the UoL at a college other than UCL, holding either an established Chair or Readership or the conferred title of Professor or Reader, is proposed for appointment to an established
Chair or Readership tenable at UCL or conferment of the title of Professor or Reader at
UCL, the decision to appoint such a person may, in exceptional circumstances, be taken by the Academic Board or by the Provost, as Chair acting on behalf of Academic Board, following consideration of a proposal that shall be submitted by the Dean of Faculty concerned, via the Director of Academic Services. Before submitting any such proposal for appointment, the Dean of Faculty concerned shall have consulted with the Head of
Department concerned. In submitting such a proposal to the Provost, the Dean of
Faculty concerned shall set out the exceptional grounds which are seen to justify the proposed appointment without external advertisement of the post and/or reference to an
Academic Board Working Group. The Academic Board or the Provost, as Chair acting on behalf of Academic Board, may approve such proposals, on an exceptional basis, without external advertisement of the post to which an appointment is to be made and without setting up and/or referring the matter to an Academic Board Working Group.
4.7 In submitting proposals to the Academic Board in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs 4.4-4.6, the Dean of Faculty concerned shall submit therewith a copy of the current curriculum vitae of the person proposed for appointment.
4.8 The Director of Academic Services shall be responsible for informing the relevant
UCL and UoL bodies and officers of appointments made under the foregoing paragraphs
4.4-4.6.
5.
Conferment of title of Professor on a Consultant in the National Health Service not employed by UCL
5.1 UoL Regulation 3 authorises colleges to confer the title of Professor of the UoLon a
Consultant or person holding equivalent status in the National Health Service who is not employed by UCL and who meets the additional criteria set out in Annex 1 to UoL
Regulation 3.
5.2 The UCL procedure for conferment of the title of Professor according to the provisions of UoL Regulation 3 is substantially similar to the procedure detailed at section 3 above, except that evidence shall also be required by the Academic
Promotions Committee that any candidate for such conferment of title satisfies the additional criteria laid down by the UoL in Annex 1 to UoL Regulation 3.
5.3 The Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for informing the relevant
UCL bodies and officers of all appointments made in accordance with the foregoing provisions.
6. Conferment of title of Professor or Reader on an employee of a Research
Council or similar organisation
6.1 UoL Regulation 3 authorises colleges to confer the title of Professor or Reader of the
UoL on an employee of a Research Council or similar organisation who meets the additional criteria set out in Annex 1 to UoL Regulation 3.
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6.2 The UCL procedure for conferment of the title of Professor according to the provisions of UoL Regulation 3 is substantially similar to the procedure detailed at section 3 above, except that evidence shall also be required by the Academic
Promotions Committee that any candidate for such conferment of title satisfies the additional criteria laid down by the UoL in Annex 1 to UoL Regulation 3.
6.3 The Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for informing the relevant
UCL bodies and officers of all appointments made in accordance with the foregoing provisions.
7. Conferment of title of Professor or Reader on an employee of an appropriate organisation other than a Research Council or similar organisation
7.1 UoL Regulation 3 further provides that, exceptionally, at the discretion of the Vice-
Chancellor and following receipt of a reasoned application from a college, the phrase
‘Research Council or similar organisation’ may be deemed in this context to include an appropriate other organisation not strictly embraced by that description.
7.2 The UCL body responsible for determining whether reasoned applications of the kind indicated in paragraph 7.1 above should be submitted for consideration by the Vice-
Chancellor shall be the Academic Staff Appointments and Promotions Committee.
7.3 Subject to the approval of the Academic Staff Appointments and Promotion
Committee, the Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for submitting such reasoned applications to the UoL for consideration by the Vice-Chancellor.
7.4 The Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for informing the relevant
UCL bodies and officers of all appointments made in accordance with the foregoing provisions.
8. Conferment of title of Professor upon the Provost
8.1 UoL Regulation 3 authorises colleges to prescribe a procedure under which a college may confer the title of Professor of the UoL on the head of the college. The following procedure is made in accordance with UoL Regulation 3.
8.2 The title of Professor may be conferred by the Council of UCL upon the Provost of
UCL when the Provost: a. has previously held a professorial title at a university; b. satisfies the criteria for Professors laid down in UoL Regulation 3; c. plans to continue her or his academic work and has the necessary facilities for research.
8.3 The Secretary to the Council of UCL shall be responsible for informing the Vice-
Chancellor of a decision by the Council to confer the title of Professor upon the Provost.
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9. Conferment of title of Emeritus Professor or Emeritus Reader
9.1 UoL Regulation 3 authorises colleges to confer the title of Emeritus Professor or
Emeritus Reader of the UoL upon a retiring Professor or Reader of the UoL respectively.
9.2 The UCL procedure for conferment of the title of Emeritus Professor or Reader according to the provisions of UoLRegulation 3 is as follows.
9.3 On the retirement of a member of UCL staff who is a Professor or Reader, the
Director of Human Resources will write to her or him, confirming that the title of Emeritus
Professor or Emeritus Reader has been conferred on her/him and copying the letter to the Head of the Department in which the member of staff was a Professor or Reader.
10. Conferment of title of Visiting Professor
10.1 UoL Regulation 3 authorises colleges to confer the title of Visiting Professor or
Visiting Reader on persons judged by the college to be of appropriate distinction and whose connections with the college are appropriate to the Visiting title.
10.2 UCL has chosen not to confer the title of Visiting Reader. The UCL procedure for conferment of the title of Visiting Professor according to the provisions of UoL Regulation
3 is as follows.
10.3 An application for the conferment of title of Visiting Professor shall be submitted by the Head of Department concerned to the Dean of Faculty concerned. The Dean, if he/she feels able to endorse the proposed conferment of title, shall forward the application to the Director of Human Resources, for submission to the Academic Staff
Appointments and Promotion Committee. The Provost may, if he/she sees fit, take action on behalf of the Academic Staff Appointments and Promotion Committee in confirming approval of conferment of the title of Visiting Professor.
10.4 The Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for informing the relevant
UCL bodies and officers of all appointments made in accordance with the foregoing provisions.
10.5 The foregoing procedures shall apply also to Visiting Professor appointments of staff based in SSEES, except that in respect of such appointments, references in the foregoing to the Dean of Faculty should be understood to refer instead to the Vice-
Provost (Academic and International).
November 2010
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1 The same arrangement applies to SSEES (mutatis mutandis) in respect of the processes detailed in sections 3 and 4 of these Regulations – ie proposals are submitted to the Vice-Provost
(Academic and International), who will confer with the appropriate Dean of Faculty. (See also paragraph 2.21.)
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2 References in these Regulations to the Director of Human Resources should be understood to mean the Director of Human Resources or a colleague nominated by the Director of Human
Resources for this purpose.
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