Oxford needs inspiration

Three days ago I demitted the presidency of Trinity College to which I had been elected exactly 30 years after ceasing to be a short-term college lecturer there. Oxford then, Oxford now? Tempora mutantur, but plus c’est la même chose.

Oxford University is an association of independent colleges with a distinctive tutorial system or it is nothing special; but the college community and tutorial system are both under strain. The dons of yesteryear, who lived not only in but for the college, are all but extinct. College offices are no longer shared out among the Fellowship, but have become the province of professionals. The younger Fellows are forced to prioritise research above teaching when their own job security and their departments’ research assessment exercise (RAE) depend on their paper output. Sabbaticals and buyouts, experiments with new methods of teaching — all mean that the one-on-one tutorial is increasingly rare.

Despite the douceur de vivre and the matchless architectural settings, tutors are justifiably restive about their pay. Some fret at the college salaries paid to an accountant or chef, which far exceed those of junior Fellows. All marvel at the starting incomes of graduates, who but yesterday were being conscientiously steered to a middling degree in PPE or Engineering, but today are embryo merchant bankers, management consultants or City lawyers. Imminent laws against age discrimination will stir up fresh turbulence in these areas.

On the surface informality reigns. Gowns and ties are worn only sporadically. Subfusc is under challenge (what incidentally is fusc?). There are more ‘bops’ or even ‘events’ than commemoration balls. But beneath the surface, regulations have replaced convention. No longer can the dean deal out summary judgment to junior members who accept a fair cop when they see one. Time-consuming procedures are required to satisfy the rules of natural justice.