Five minutes with Martin Butcher

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.

Martin Butcher, Chair of the Convocation Trust Committee of Management

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.

Why is the support given by former members of Convocation so important?

On the one hand, all the constituent parts of the University have, for some time, been under financial pressure which will have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. On the other, there continues to be a hugely dynamic and creative impulse among the staff and students to realise events, to improve facilities, to support teaching and research, to celebrate the University’s history and achievements, and generally to enhance the university experience. There is never enough money to support all the needs and innovative ideas that the community produces and some of these projects are not eligible for funding from the normal University or college funds.

The Convocation Trust can go some considerable way to meeting that gap. Among many things, it can make a one-off event or exhibition feasible and bring great kudos to the University; it can fund permanent artwork or plaques memorialising significant alumni achievements; it can give financial support for students who would otherwise be unable to undertake their programmes; it can underwrite academic research and initiatives; and it can promote students’ sporting and cultural activities. Grants can be pump-priming, total subsidy or life support. So many hugely worthwhile projects either would be the poorer or simply would not happen without the Trust’s funding.

Since you joined in 2012, the Convocation Trust has awarded 37 grants worth over £1 million to support the University and its Member Institutions. Can you share an example of one of the projects the Convocation Trust has funded in recent years, and the impact it has had?

The Living History of Job Hunting project, later renamed the Great Grad Job Hunt, was awarded some £97,000 in 2016. It was predicated on the fact that job hunting is not a ‘one-size fits all’ activity and innovations in technology have greatly altered it. The project created online content from current students showing how they undertook job searching and how successful their efforts were. The content was then posted on social media platforms and YouTube. Instead of students having to attend meetings and events put on by careers services, the information was taken directly to them. At the time, nothing like this was available anywhere in the UK. The project has provided guidance and experience to thousands of students throughout the University and remains available to this day.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the work of the Convocation Trust?

The effect of the pandemic is still to be fully realised, but immediately it has meant a substantial reduction in the dividend income to the Trust so that there is much less money available for distribution. As a consequence, in 2020 the June meeting of the Trustees was cancelled and the December meeting was postponed until the financial picture is clearer. Obviously, this has meant that in the current academic year project funding has been paused.

What are the future plans of the Trust?

When the Trustees are able to meet we shall surely review the situation and plan how in the short term we can manage the distribution of whatever funds may be available to us. In the longer term, we shall continue to fulfil our mission of applying funds “to support projects which will promote the purposes of the University and provide demonstrable and substantial benefit to the University community as a whole or to members of that community.”

For more information about the work of the Convocation Trust, please visit london.ac.uk/about-us/convocation-trust