President's Weekly Update
23 April 2015
The names of candidates to be the next Chancellor of the University have been released. They are Sir Mark Elder, CBE, Music Director of the Manchester Hallé Orchestra, The Rt Hon the Lord Peter Mandelson, Labour peer and previous minister in the Labour government, and Lemn Sissay, MBE, the poet, broadcaster and writer from the North West. The role of Chancellor is ceremonial (the Chancellor does not have any role in running the University) but a key element of the role is 'ambassadorial' - promoting the University locally, nationally and internationally. Voting will be open from Tuesday, 26 May to Thursday, 18 June with results being announced on Monday, 22 June. Staff (holding superannuable appointments), members of our General Assembly and alumni who are registered with our Alumni Association are eligible to vote in the election. For more details, visit:
During a visit to the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE) with Professor Clive Agnew, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, the students praised their teachers, their course and the new student hub in the Barnes Wallis Building - but some said they had too much coursework and assessment. Both staff and students raised the new Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) and plans for North Campus after the engineering Schools move into MECD.
Clive and I also visited the School of Computer Science where we discussed significant recent successes in the School in research and teaching. Staff asked why we have so many different policies in the University and how much core activity should be standardised across the University or determined locally. Students asked about moderation of marks, 24 hour access to buildings and international student fees.
Clive and I had one of our regular meetings with Charlie Cook, General Secretary of the Students’ Union. Much of our discussion focussed on the induction for incoming Students’ Union executives which is fast approaching.
Several senior colleagues and I hosted a dinner for new academic and Professional Support Staff to hear what they like and dislike about the University - fairly similar comments to those from new professors last week, some criticisms and suggestions, but also a lot of positives.
A significant part of the last week has been spent in meetings reviewing each of the major budgets in the University to consider the balance of savings and investments in each area and shape of the overall University budget.
At the Board of Governor's Finance Committee meeting we reported on progress with budgets and gave updates on our financial position for the current year, our Campus Masterplan, the performance of our investments, and dealing with the huge complexities of new financial reporting that we have to adhere to.
I had a ‘shadow’ for two days this week - Professor Carolyn Evans, Dean of the Faculty of Law from the University of Melbourne, joined me for most of my meetings. She had heard me lecture at Melbourne last autumn and was keen to learn more about how I tackle my role as President and Vice-Chancellor. It was fascinating for me to hear about the very common challenges faced by the universities of Melbourne and Manchester, but there were also some areas where we do things a little differently.
Carolyn accompanied me on visits to the refurbishment project to transform the Coupland 3 building (in hard hats) and a tour of the Whitworth Art Gallery led by the Director, Maria Balshaw – both Campus Masterplan projects. In both locations, false ceilings and walls have been taken down to reveal spectacular Victorian features - these can already be seen in the Whitworth and will be a feature of Coupland 3 when it is completed in summer 2017.
I gave the opening welcome to a conference on the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences’ Fellowship Academy which has been running for two years and is led by Professor Neil Hanley. The Academy supports staff who are applying for independent fellowships and the objective of the conference (which was very well attended) was to hear about the success of the Academy and about the types of support that are available for applicants and fellowship holders. I began by saying that for me, the single most important factor in the success of my academic career had been winning a fellowship from the Royal Society - many years ago!
I attended the official opening of the beautiful new KPMG building on St Peter’s Square in the city centre, along with several hundred others. The building was opened by Sir Howard Bernstein (Chief Executive of Manchester City Council). There was also a presentation from Simon Collins, Chair of KPMG UK, who is one of our graduates and a member of our Global Leadership Board - he spoke very favourably about the University! There was music from members of the Halle, ‘Manchester food’ (fish and chips, curry and Chinese) and entertainment from Jon Culshaw.
My two first year lectures this week to students in Life Sciences were recorded - I hope. I was very impressed to see Theatre B in University Place almost full for my second lecture at 9am on Monday!
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
Feedback
Please send comments to president@manchester.ac.uk
President's Weekly Update
23 April 2015
The names of candidates to be the next Chancellor of the University have been released. They are Sir Mark Elder, CBE, Music Director of the Manchester Hallé Orchestra, The Rt Hon the Lord Peter Mandelson, Labour peer and previous minister in the Labour government, and Lemn Sissay, MBE, the poet, broadcaster and writer from the North West. The role of Chancellor is ceremonial (the Chancellor does not have any role in running the University) but a key element of the role is 'ambassadorial' - promoting the University locally, nationally and internationally. Voting will be open from Tuesday, 26 May to Thursday, 18 June with results being announced on Monday, 22 June. Staff (holding superannuable appointments), members of our General Assembly and alumni who are registered with our Alumni Association are eligible to vote in the election. For more details, visit:
During a visit to the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE) with Professor Clive Agnew, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, the students praised their teachers, their course and the new student hub in the Barnes Wallis Building - but some said they had too much coursework and assessment. Both staff and students raised the new Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) and plans for North Campus after the engineering Schools move into MECD.
Clive and I also visited the School of Computer Science where we discussed significant recent successes in the School in research and teaching. Staff asked why we have so many different policies in the University and how much core activity should be standardised across the University or determined locally. Students asked about moderation of marks, 24 hour access to buildings and international student fees.
Clive and I had one of our regular meetings with Charlie Cook, General Secretary of the Students’ Union. Much of our discussion focussed on the induction for incoming Students’ Union executives which is fast approaching.
Several senior colleagues and I hosted a dinner for new academic and Professional Support Staff to hear what they like and dislike about the University - fairly similar comments to those from new professors last week, some criticisms and suggestions, but also a lot of positives.
A significant part of the last week has been spent in meetings reviewing each of the major budgets in the University to consider the balance of savings and investments in each area and shape of the overall University budget.
At the Board of Governor's Finance Committee meeting we reported on progress with budgets and gave updates on our financial position for the current year, our Campus Masterplan, the performance of our investments, and dealing with the huge complexities of new financial reporting that we have to adhere to.
I had a ‘shadow’ for two days this week - Professor Carolyn Evans, Dean of the Faculty of Law from the University of Melbourne, joined me for most of my meetings. She had heard me lecture at Melbourne last autumn and was keen to learn more about how I tackle my role as President and Vice-Chancellor. It was fascinating for me to hear about the very common challenges faced by the universities of Melbourne and Manchester, but there were also some areas where we do things a little differently.
Carolyn accompanied me on visits to the refurbishment project to transform the Coupland 3 building (in hard hats) and a tour of the Whitworth Art Gallery led by the Director, Maria Balshaw – both Campus Masterplan projects. In both locations, false ceilings and walls have been taken down to reveal spectacular Victorian features - these can already be seen in the Whitworth and will be a feature of Coupland 3 when it is completed in summer 2017.
I gave the opening welcome to a conference on the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences’ Fellowship Academy which has been running for two years and is led by Professor Neil Hanley. The Academy supports staff who are applying for independent fellowships and the objective of the conference (which was very well attended) was to hear about the success of the Academy and about the types of support that are available for applicants and fellowship holders. I began by saying that for me, the single most important factor in the success of my academic career had been winning a fellowship from the Royal Society - many years ago!
I attended the official opening of the beautiful new KPMG building on St Peter’s Square in the city centre, along with several hundred others. The building was opened by Sir Howard Bernstein (Chief Executive of Manchester City Council). There was also a presentation from Simon Collins, Chair of KPMG UK, who is one of our graduates and a member of our Global Leadership Board - he spoke very favourably about the University! There was music from members of the Halle, ‘Manchester food’ (fish and chips, curry and Chinese) and entertainment from Jon Culshaw.
My two first year lectures this week to students in Life Sciences were recorded - I hope. I was very impressed to see Theatre B in University Place almost full for my second lecture at 9am on Monday!
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
Feedback
Please send comments to president@manchester.ac.uk