Malcolm Grant is still applying spin to ballots on Cambridge University governance ("This university has to be led by academics", THES , September 26). He says "academics voted against having outsiders on the council".
The ballot bundled a host of reforms as a single option, including cutting council representation of non-established academics and lecturers in parallel to a proposal to increase the numbers of such staff eligible to vote in elections. I voted against because the reforms would disproportionately reduce representation for a faction of the university.
We were never asked whether we wished to approve external membership on council.
Mike Clark
Senior lecturer
Cambridge University