Further to our previous update, we'd like to dig into Stephen Rasch's comments on CTCF "welcome[ing] any credible effort to ensure Richmond’s survival" in greater detail. We've so far sent two emails to him and others at AIFS/CTCF with little engagement.
On January 8th we sent Stephen Rasch and Bill Gertz a polite email inviting both to a conference call to offer our support in finding solutions with them which was declined with Bill Gertz wishing us the "best of luck." After no further offers of contact from Bill and/or Stephen, we followed that up with a second email sent yesterday (January 21st). This was sent towards a wider group of CTCF trustees/AIFS executives and went into greater detail in laying out potential liabilities (please note the redacted parts of this email are areas that disclose information, not in the public domain that may be legally sensitive and/or that may harm any partnerships Richmond has been in discussions with - something the University know we do not want to do).
We, of course, remain open to talks with AIFS and CTCF (which as you can now see function as one organization) and for the third time, now publicly we offer Stephen Rasch and Bill Gertz the chance to reach out to us.... our emails are always open.
As you can see from the second email yesterday, we've stressed to AIFS/CTCF that they have more to lose from the closure of Richmond than if a mutually beneficial solution were to be agreed upon, now that information around their role is in the public domain. Richmond should be given the unrestricted support to forge future partnerships that will let it shine, without the interference of AIFS/CTCF, while continuing to benefit from the charitable funding as Sir Cyril intended. Sir Cyril's legacy is in the hands of Stephen Rasch, Bill Gertz, and Debbie Wilson. We urge them to honour that legacy.
As a suggested proposal we've urged that they can do this by CTCF possibly either releasing a multi-year block of liquid funding or (more preferably from the alumni perspective) AIFS directly donating the Queens Road and Kensington real estate to Richmond, as a one-off severance transfer, in place of further CTCF charitable grants (the Hill campus is the heart of the Richmond community as many of you will attest). This should more than fulfill Richmond's place as the primary (though not exclusive) beneficiary of CTCF and allow AIFS/CTCF to go on with their divergent objectives. If Richmond were to possess either of these options, they would be able to satisfy the OfS and forge ahead on new long-term partnerships unencumbered. We're here to support and help any interested institutional partners in that process.
We leave all legal terms up to AIFS/CTCF and the Richmond Board of Trustees to work out. In no way are we attempting to tie the Board's hands, nor do we wish to do so, and they may well ignore our suggestions. We only urge all parties to consider our proposals as part of a wider set of stakeholder considerations. We fully trust the Board with the best interests of the Richmond community.
As an alumni body that only wants to take whatever actions are needed to secure a prosperous future for this inspiring and unique institution, we remain open to all positive dialogues with whoever wants to talk to us.