The search is fully underway for Cambridge’s next Vice-Chancellor (VC), with Times Higher Education listing the job late last week.

A successful applicant will take the place of current VC Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz at the beginning of the academic year in 2017.

The listing says that the new VC has to be “an inspirational, consensual but determined leader of high academic and intellectual standing who is committed to the mission, principles, and values of the university”.

The upbeat message is accompanied, however, by some less cheerful revelations within the university’s own presentation on the search for the next VC.

During early February, the university held three open meetings at which the role was discussed, where a slideshow presentation was given by Professor Ian White. In it, White, Master of Jesus College and Chair of the group which will select the next VC, outlined several of the major difficulties faced by the university with regards to its investment strategies.

It said that “The university has underinvested in its estate for decades”, highlighting Cambridge’s low spending levels between 2007 and 2012 compared to its “peer group”. During that period, Cambridge spent £58 million excluding residential spending, compared to £88 million spent by Imperial College London, and £92 million by the University of Oxford. Cambridge’s spending figures are also dwarfed by top American universities such Yale and Harvard, which spent £277 million and £320 million respectively during the same period. The presentation says that this investment shortfall can be remedied, but will require expenditure in excess of £100 million a year for the next 20 years.

The presentation further lists three historic sites – the New Museums site, Downing site and Old Press/Mill Lane area – as being “barely fit for purpose”. The Old Press/Mill Lane area, which houses CUSU, the Careers Service and several other Cambridge institutions, has been the site of proposed redevelopment plans for several years, which are yet to come to fruition.

It also notes that there is a “huge demand to modernise and reorganise”, citing the Cavendish Laboratory rebuild, the relocation of Engineering to the West Cambridge site and a “possible Chemistry relocation” as examples of ongoing projects.

The application period will end on 6th May, after which the new VC will be selected by a committee. The university’s guidance says that the next VC “will have a global perspective, understand the competitive environment of the University, embrace change and be courageous in its implementation”. 

In February, Varsity reported that incumbent Borysiewicz earned £325,000 in 2014/15, one of the highest pay packages for the role across the country. The Vice-Chancellor role also carries several other perks, including use of the Vice-Chancellor’s lodge, which was worth £4.52 million according to a valuation from July 2014.