30 Years as Chancellor

The hour-long ceremony was the highlight of a busy day in Cambridge for Prince Philip.

In the morning he gave the opening address to welcome delegates from more than 25 East European and Central Asian countries to a three-day Knowledge Economy Forum organised by the World Bank.

He then visited Hughes Hall, the college for mature students which has just received full University college status, 121 years after it was founded.

In the afternoon he unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the Stephen Hawking Building, a new student accommodation and conference centre for Gonville and Caius College, named after its most celebrated fellow who once lived in a house on the site. Professor Hawking was not able to be there himself but sent a video message of thanks.

In the Senate House the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alison Richard, paid tribute to Prince Philip and reflected on the changes in the University since he was installed as Chancellor in 1977.

“Today we have 18,000 students, in 1977 just 11,000. Women made up a little over 20% of the student body in 1977, now they approach a half; graduate students were barely more than a six of the total, now they are about a third and the number of overseas students has tripled.”

She talked of the physical growth of the University estate over the thirty years, the huge increase in research budgets and the emergence of the Cambridge Phenomenon, then paid tribute to the Chancellor's vision and perspicacity:

“That perspicacity surfaces frequently, and often in unexpected and amusing ways. How better could one recount the weighty matter of University governance, for example, than through a remark of the Chancellor's recounted to me by a colleague: ‘I'm not the Chancellor of a biscuit factory, and I'll stop if we move in that direction.'? Chancellor, you needn't stop.”

Professor Tim Clutton-Brock gave his inaugural lecture as the first Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Using the example of the red deer on the island of Rum in Scotland, which Professor Clutton-Brock has studied for many years, he explained the importance of using ecology and evolutionary biology in tandem when studying animal populations.

“Evolution needs ecology,” he said “because all selection pressures are affected by ecological circumstances.”

He also highlighted that this approach is critical to understanding the effects of climate change on animal population and conserving endangered species. “If you want to understand the effects of climate change, we should not only be interested in the immediate effects of the changes in weather but also in how this affects selection of males and females, their capacities, and how the population responds to these changes.”

In response the Chancellor explained that his experience as President of the World Wildlife Fund (as it was then known) convinced him that the management of the planet as a single and very vulnerable organism is the most demanding of all the challenges that face present and future generations.

“I am therefore delighted to welcome Prof Clutton-Brock as the holder of this new chair and to congratulate him in his inaugural address and I wish him every possible success in his new appointment.”

He concluded by saying that he was touched and flattered that the University would want to celebrate his 30 years as Chancellor. The Senate House rose to give him a prolonged standing ovation.

Click the link above right to watch the Vice-Chancellor's and Chancellor's speeches.

The Chancellor returned to the Senate House in the evening to preside over a ceremony of admission into the Guild of Cambridge Benefactors and then went on to host a banquet at St John's College.