You don’t have to be the most insightful journalist to suggest that universities across the world are in a tricky position. You almost wonder how on earth anyone could be compelled to take charge of one of many sinking ships. This fact, however, has not escaped the notice of the candidates vying to be our next Chancellor: their mission statements are all riddled with grimaced phrases such as “challenging times” and “difficult circumstances”.

When read in the context of a long manifesto, however, these words seem gratuitous, bones tossed to students to convince us a candidate is not completely out of touch. Yet the simple fact is that for the University, and fundamentally its students, the times are not just “challenging” but pretty damn tough. The next Chancellor, whoever they are, must rise to this.

“Students and the University have never been so out of tune with each other”

Being the Chancellor is ostensibly ceremonial, but I think we dismiss it too quickly as an office without weight or significance. They’re a figurehead: elected by alumni, not appointed by bureaucrats. So when candidates talk vaguely about their values, it matters, because their principles are the ones the University will hold as its own for years to come. I (almost) feel sympathy for the incoming Chancellor, as they will arrive at a time when the question of exactly ‘what’ the University values has become murky.

This is, obviously, an unhelpful state of affairs. Particularly when it seems to me that the students and the University have never been so disconnected, never so out of tune with each other. If the success of a university lies in the harmony between its students and its management, then clearly, Cambridge is not on top form. The marriage is on the rocks, and the Chancellor must be the last-ditch relationship counsellor, bridging an ever-growing gap between the University and its students.

If this clarification occurs, if the new Chancellor does their duty and reconciles this volatile and strained relationship, then what follows could be massively consequential. I started by stating the obvious, that Universities across the country are in dire straits. Yet this still doesn’t do the situation justice. A survey conducted by Universities UK found that a quarter of universities have had to make compulsory redundancies, whilst almost half said they will have to consider reducing student hardship and bursary funding in the next three years.

“The lifeblood of the University remains its students”

Cambridge is wealthy enough to keep the wolf from the door, for now. So the next Chancellor will be blessed with a position of power, to reaffirm what the heart of any academic institution should be – its people, not its profits. While being a shrewd businessperson, able to wine and dine with corporate heavyweights in pursuit of an extra grand in donations, will be an element of the job, it’s shortsighted to suggest that this is the skill the role most demands. Despite what many college accountants may think, the lifeblood of the University remains its students. A vast and increasingly diverse body of individuals, that ought to be recognised as such, not as ‘human capital’ – a frankly ridiculous term at the best of times.

So what should any wannabe Chancellor do about all this? The answer, to me, seems obvious. Where international students are made unwelcome, fearing for their safety in institutions across the Atlantic, the Chancellor must simply welcome them to Cambridge. Where profit and yet greater endowments are pursued at the expense of student welfare and experience, a Chancellor who says nothing, does nothing, is not one worthy of our respect. Get this right, however, stand up for what most of the student body values, and the new Chancellor won’t just lead Cambridge in the right direction, but the world.

Perhaps on taking office, then, these candidates might need to readdress their priorities. Some of them may be great at fundraising, some of them may have George Clooney’s phone number, but if they don’t think about the 24,000 students who call Cambridge home, what good are they?

The next Chancellor has a tough gig; I certainly don’t envy them. They’re taking charge of a global academic institution when global academic institutions are in “difficult circumstances”. I might be a doe-eyed (even naive) optimist when I say this, but perhaps if they remind themselves to put students at the centre, everything else might fall into place.