Five minutes with… Martin Butcher, Chair of the Convocation Trust Committee of Management, talks about his involvement with the Convocation Trust and explains why it continues to play an important role in supporting the University. You became a Trustee of the Convocation Trust in 2012 and Chair of the Committee of Management in 2016. What inspired you to become a Trustee? I was introduced to the Trust by a colleague who was then Chair of the Committee. I had been involved for many years with a trust at UCL that had similar purposes in the UCL context, and I enjoyed the role of making a positive and palpable contribution to activities and projects, which could not readily attract sufficient funding from the usual College sources. What does your role involve? The Committee of Management is responsible for the financial management of the Trust and the distribution of its funds and meets twice annually. It has a sum of disposable income available at each meeting and receives applications from across the University to support projects, which must be of benefit to the University community. The Committee assesses the bids normally with an amicable interview with the principal bidders. It is very ably assisted by officers of the University. Since 2012, the Committee has made awards which have varied between £500 and £164,000. In the last few years, we have comprehensively reviewed the purposes of the Trust and the criteria and procedures for making awards and have introduced a new application procedure. A major revamp of the Convocation Trust website has also just been completed. As chair of the Committee, I oversee these activities and it is a very pleasurable and rewarding role. Tell us about your connection with the University of London federation. I joined Imperial College in 1977 in the College Secretary’s office and my work there involved frequent contact with Senate House in appointments to Professorships and Readerships, posts that were then under the auspices of the University. I moved to UCL in 1982 as Deputy Registrar and continued to liaise with colleagues at Senate House over these Appointed Teacher posts. Later as Registrar of UCL, I attended regular meetings of the Registrars of the larger colleges with the then Academic Registrar of the University to discuss matters of common concern. For a period of about ten years, I was joint secretary of the London Schools and Colleges Dining Club, an organisation (now defunct) which brought together staff from schools and the University’s colleges who were involved with admissions. For a number of years with other Registrars I ran a committee servicing training course for junior staff of the University. I retired as Registrar of UCL in 2005.
14
Convocation Newsletter Autumn/Winter 2020-21
