Bill Clinton's apparent withdrawal from the race to become Oxford University's next chancellor has left the door open for a woman to hold the post for the first time.
The leader in the race so far is Shirley Williams, a former education secretary, now professor of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a close associate of Lord Jenkins. Lady Williams - who was second favourite to Mr Clinton in a recent poll of Oxford students - has already earned the public backing of Professor Vernon Bogdanor, a historian and the acting master of Brasenose College. He told the Daily Telegraph that she was a superior candidate to Clinton: "In my view, Shirley Williams is stronger. It would be a good thing for Oxford to have its first woman chancellor."
Some Oxford dons backing a female contender revealed their own dissatisfaction with Clinton's candidacy. "We want a woman chancellor, not a womanising chancellor," one fellow told the Daily Telegraph. "Given his past record, I shouldn't think the university's women students will be safe," said Jeremy Catto, a Dean at Oriel College, referring to the former US president's tarnished reputation. Mr Clinton's New York office told the Guardian yesterday that he is "very busy with the work of his foundation", and was not considering entering the election to succeed the late Lord Jenkins.
Cambridge recently appointed its first ever female vice-chancellor, Professor Alison Richard, currently in a senior post at Yale. Pressure towards increasing the number of women post-holders in higher education has been building for some time. Currently women only account for 37% of staff, and a mere 13% of professors, according to figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Eighteen months ago Margaret Hodge, the higher education minister, described the lack of women in senior university positions as "scandalous."
Lady Williams herself has been a fierce critic of government education policy, blaming the governments of Thatcher, Major and Blair for the decline of Britain's elite universities. "A country should think very hard about chucking away all of what it is internationally reputed for - and that is what we have done. The teaching in our universities has also been undermined by meanness. Governments of both colours have to take substantial responsibility for this," she said. The appointment of Lady Williams, a co-founder of the SDP, amid the current furore over higher education policy would undoubtedly step up the pressure on the government to increase spending for universities. Her resolute opposition to tuition fees would also make her a popular choice among the leftwing elements of Oxford's staff and alumni, all of whom will vote in the election.
Nevertheless, although Lady Williams is favoured among some fellows, at 72 she could be too old for the position. She also faces competition from Lord Bingham and the ranks of former Tory MPs. Lord Bingham, a law lord, is now the visiting professor at Balliol, where he is an honorary fellow and is a senior member of the college's fundraising board. He was described by the warden of New College, Dr Alan Ryan, as "vastly distinguished, humane, broadly apolitical, and very personable".
Chris Patten, an EU commissioner and former governor of Hong Kong, was described by one fellow as "the only one I could remotely see doing it". However, last November Mr Patten brushed off speculation about taking the top job at the LSE - saying he intended to continue his EU job until the end of his term. Lord Heseltine, fond of Oxford since his days as union president, has also been touted but, at 69, is only a few years younger than Lady Williams.
Another woman who has been suggested as a potential candidate for chancellor is Lady Susan Greenfield - head of the pharmacology department at Oxford and recently awarded a CBE - though she is regarded as an outsider in the race.
Go to the next item in Oxford's Carry on Chancellor romp.
Click for related items: A Tough Act to Follow by Donald Macleod, 7/1; Position Vacant by Rodrigo Davies, 8/1; Clinton the Wrong Man for Oxford by Catherine Bennett, 9/1; Students back Clinton by Rodrigo Davies, 16/1; Clinton fights shy by Will Woodward and Sarah Hall, 17/1; How to become Chancellor by Will Woodward, 17/1; Chancellorship election rules (plus links for nomination forms etc.) OU Gazette, 23/1; Oxford race wide open The Times Higher (Education Supplement), 31/1.