President's Weekly Update
20 February 2014
I attended an event at Manchester Town Hall to celebrate the award of the ‘Freedom of the City’ to our two Nobel Laureates, Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov. It was quite a grand occasion, held in the City Council Chamber and attended by many Councillors and a number of staff from our University. The Lord Mayor spoke first, then the City Solicitor, then the Leader of the Council, Sir Richard Leese. Since 1984 only three individuals have been given the Freedom of the City - Sir Alex Ferguson, Tony Wilson (famous as a broadcaster and music leader) and Sir Bobby Charlton. In an impromptu thank you speech, Andre said how honoured he and Kostya were and how pleased he was that the University and science ranks alongside football and music in Manchester - a real accolade! He then said he looked forward to grazing his sheep in the city and acting in a drunken and disorderly manner in the Council Chamber, both of which are supposedly permitted for a Freeman of the City.
Last week Chris Cox (Director of Development and Alumni) and I visited another ‘Freeman of the City’, Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, who has long been associated with both our University and the City. She is a very well known mathematician, who has been Mayor of Manchester, and was a member of staff in the School of Mathematics. She is doing remarkably well given that she is now 101 years old.
I visited two more Schools this week - Mathematics and Dentistry. In Mathematics I told staff about my meeting with Dame Kathleen. Students really welcomed ‘lecture capture’ and hoped we could find ways of delivering this even when staff used chalk and blackboards to teach. Very impressive cakes for all attendees!
In Dentistry we heard how students really value the Manchester Leadership programme and about some of the remarkable athletes who are students in Dentistry. One is an Olympic rower and the School is currently raising funds for his new boat.
At the Social Responsibility Governance Group (which I chair) this week, we heard how Manchester Business School (MBS) has done a great mapping exercise of Social Responsibility activities which could be applied much more widely.
Professor Clive Agnew (Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students) and I visited Salford Royal Foundation Trust (still known to many as Hope Hospital). We discussed partnerships between the University and the Trust in research and education. About 400 of our medical students are based at Salford Royal for their clinical training. Clive and I met a large group of them to hear their views on the University and their education, then we met a group of staff from the hospital, many of whom hold honorary appointments at the University.
Several senior colleagues and I held a dinner for some of our academic and Professional Support Staff who are leaders in teaching and the student experience. We talked about the visibility and distinctiveness of a University of Manchester education and of our graduates; how we could generate more income to spend on our core activities - and what is the right level of income from student fees; whether we have the balance of teaching and research right - in time and parity of esteem; and do we value and reward teaching sufficiently. We had a very lively discussion with many ideas and thoughts that we will try to take forward.
Alex Poots, artistic director of the Manchester International Festival (MIF) came to visit me. MIF is now an extremely successful event, held every two years in the City and has many international accolades. Alex has some fantastic ideas to engage the University and we particularly discussed projects that span arts and science, in which I will be involving senior colleagues.
Andre Geim, Chris Cox and I attended a dinner hosted by Coutts Bank in the Reading Room of our John Rylands Library on Deansgate. Andre gave fascinating insights into not just graphene and its applications but also more fundamental aspects of the value of discovery and its economic impact.
I visited ‘MyFutureFest’ in the tepee which you may have seen next to University Place. Do call in if you can - it’s very impressive! The tepee feels huge inside, and it was packed when I visited. It’s a fantastic showcase of our Careers Service, Students’ Union, volunteering, University College and much more. Related events are being held across the campus.
We have now produced a Handy Guide to the University’s Financial Regulations and Procedures which is a really useful supplement the more detailed guidelines; this can be downloaded at:
Warm weather and not much snow in Sweden at the weekend. Let’s hope Spring will be here soon.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
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