President’s Weekly Update
5 February 2015
At Senate this week we considered the results of REF and likely funding implications, student applications for 2015 entry which look strong in almost all areas, the annual report on student appeals, complaints and discipline cases and our Community Engagement Strategy.
I also reported on the initiation of a review into the effectiveness and sustainability of current structures and possible alternative structures for the organisation of Life Sciences and cognate disciplines, particularly in light of the disparity in size compared to the other three Faculties. This disparity has led to pressures on FLS, which will be compounded by likely reductions of funding following REF. The review, which has been initiated with the full support of the Senior Leadership Team, will be led by Professor Keith Brown, Vice-President and Dean for the Faculty of Humanities, and is expected to report back by the summer. It will include consultation with staff and students including members of Senate. It will also engage with other stakeholders and will consider a full range of options. The statement can be found at:
It was a great pleasure to welcome Dr Gerald Chan and his colleague Dr Issac Cheng to the University. Dr Chan has many companies and charities with a particular interest in health and biotechnology. We hosted a dinner at our John Rylands Library where John Hodgson (Manuscripts and Archives Manager) gave us a fascinating insight into a number of ‘treasures’ from our vast collection, including exhibits of Chinese art, medical advances, our very famous Gutenberg Bible and an early piece of the St John’s gospel (believed to be the oldest in the world). The next day Gerald was joined by Nick Seddon, the Prime Minister’s special advisor on health to hear about our research and recent discoveries.
I hosted a lunch for Lord David Alliance, particularly to thank him for his remarkably generous donation to our Business School. He was accompanied by Lord Peter Mandelson so we discussed a number of regional issues, devolution of powers to Greater Manchester and current and potential future funding for universities.
Together with many colleagues I have spent a great deal of time over the last week preparing documents to submit in support of the proposal to Innovate UK to locate the precision medicine Catapult in the North, with its headquarters at Alderley Park in Cheshire. We will hear the outcome in a few weeks.
I gave a welcome for new staff from across the University when I gave a short summary of the University its strengths and distinctive features. I then answered questions on my own career, the REF and what it means for us, likely future research funding, the level of undergraduate fees and what change might mean for universities, distance and on-line learning and ‘Moocs’ and what a Vice-Chancellor needs to know to run a university (not enough time to answer that one in full!)
I was filmed sending a message to 'cssa-man' (Chinese Students and Scholars Association), the largest Chinese student organisation in the North West, who are celebrating Chinese New Year, and on the same day I was also filmed urging students to register to vote so that they can do so in the forthcoming general election.
I spent several days in London at AstraZeneca, the Science and Technology Honours Committee and the Royal Society Council meeting. For the latter I managed to travel to London and back last Thursday in the snow storms with both trains arriving spot on time. I know that some of you had much more significant difficulties as a result of the weather.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
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