Oxford college urged to reform after damaging feud

One of the University of Oxford’s wealthiest colleges should consider breaking with tradition and recruiting its head from outside the clergy, a review of its governance structures has recommended.

The proposal to loosen the historic relationship between the Church of England and 500-year-old Christ Church was one of the recommendations in a report commissioned in the wake of an internal dispute with former dean Martyn Percy that lasted almost five years.

The dispute cost the college £6.6mn in legal and public relations fees and highlighted the antiquated way that many colleges at the UK’s top-ranked university are run.

The author of the report, former attorney-general Dominic Grieve KC, said that if accepted his recommendations “would represent the first fundamental changes to [Christ Church’s] governance structure since 1867”.

He recommended the college’s statutes should be amended to allow a dean to be appointed “without that restriction of that person being a clerk in holy orders”.

The dean of Christ Church, which has taught 13 prime ministers and boasts an endowment of nearly £800mn, has been a priest since the college was founded in 1525.

Christ Church has been unique among Oxford’s colleges, in that its dean was also head of the city’s cathedral, located on the same site. That set the stage for tensions between Percy and the academics, who form the majority of the governing body. Those tensions were exacerbated by the statutes, which provided few ways for the academics to remove the dean once they had lost confidence in him.

Grieve said his proposed reforms were also relevant to other Oxford colleges, as they sought to meet regulatory responsibilities and “more generally to become open and welcoming to and inclusive of a much more diverse body” of students and staff.

He also said a dean should serve for a five-year fixed term, with a “suitable salary” and a contract, supported by a smaller and more active governing council.

Grieve said the dispute with Percy had “placed great strain on the existing system of governance” and “caused damage to Christ Church’s reputation”.

Some Christ Church academics had argued that having to select their dean from the Church of England prevented the college from choosing a high-profile head.

Other colleges have been led by former senior diplomats and civil servants, and other public figures. But some eminent heads have become frustrated with their limited formal powers and the difficulty in co-ordinating academics, who prize their autonomy.

Sparked by his request for a higher salary in 2017, the dispute evolved into a complex legal battle after Percy was accused of sexual harassment, which he denies.

Sarah Foot, dean designate of Christ Church, said the report was “meticulous, thoughtful and constructive” and the governing body would now consider the conclusions. “This vital process will lay firm foundations for the future,” she said.

Percy, who stepped down as dean last year, said the report highlighted a “lack of transparency” which had “led to concentrations of unaccountable power” in some area. “I am encouraged by Dominic Grieve’s report recommending clarity, transparency and accountability in governance throughout the foundation,” he added.