President's weekly update
24 October 2019
We welcomed new members of Senate, including those from the Students’ Union Executive. Just before the main meeting we had two informal briefings, one on the results of the latest Staff Survey and resulting action plans and another on how the University manages change, which staff highlighted as an issue in the Survey.
At the main Senate meeting, in addition to normal business, we discussed many topics. These included our draft Strategic Plan, ‘Our Future’ ,which was endorsed by Senate and will now go forward to the Board of Governors for approval, revised policies for intellectual property and for research conduct, and the establishment of Faculty Committees, student satisfaction and attainment and staff offices.
We discussed with Senate the briefing on the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) which some members attended earlier this month with an independent actuary, Paul Hamilton from Barnett Waddingham. Paul gave a similar briefing to our Board of Governors and agreed that this could be recorded; you can watch the video. I would urge everyone with an interest in the USS to watch this as it has important explanations about defined benefit schemes, why deficits in such schemes have grown and the financial assumptions made in assessing the position of schemes like the USS.
We held a meeting of our Global Leadership Board (GLB) which advises and supports the University, particularly in relation to philanthropy. Rory Brooks, who has served as Chair since the GLB was started in 2008, is stepping down as Chair, but will remain a member and is leading a new initiative as Chair of a new University international advisory board. Simon Collins, an alumnus, donor and former head of the accountancy firm KPMG UK, will take over as GLB Chair. I gave an update on external and internal uncertainties and challenges, successes, activities and goals, including our draft Strategic Plan and progress with Innovation District Manchester (ID Manchester), which is attracting a great deal of interest. We also received an external report on potential opportunities for our philanthropic activities. At a dinner for GLB members and guests, I formally thanked Rory for his chairing and both Rory and his wife Elizabeth for their incredible generosity to our University over many years, most notably in our poverty and global development research.
I was delighted to open an event to mark the start of major funding for cardiovascular research, funded by the British Heart Foundation and highlighted our research that spans from laboratory to patients.
At one of my regular meetings with a small group of staff from across the University, they said they felt that we are generally a collegiate and friendly organisation. They raised the importance of cross-disciplinary activities in research and teaching, such as digital and environment, and the need to standardise and simplify processes across Faculties, Schools and Professional Services. They also talked about the importance of staff training and our commitment to social responsibility and concerns about EU staff given the ongoing uncertainty over Brexit. I was surprised when I checked later to discover that we actually have more EU staff now than just before the referendum; we can only hope that this continues in the future.
I attended an event at the Royal Society in London to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the publication of the landmark paper on the isolation and properties of graphene by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov. Kostya spoke about the remarkable properties of graphene and other related two dimensional materials and their numerous applications, some of which are now starting to reach the market. One of the best questions, about the durability of graphene membranes to filter water, was asked by a young boy of about ten years old, who is a keen follower of graphene and who has met Kostya before. Kostya said the question was better than his answer!
I chaired a board meeting of Corridor Manchester which comprises partners around Oxford Road. We heard about the campus plans for Manchester Metropolitan University, and received an update on marketing for the area and the City’s initial plans around student accommodation, which are the subject of consultation. I updated on our Strength in Places Fund bid submitted recently on ‘smart diagnostics’ for common diseases and on ID Manchester.
Several events have been held to mark the retirement of our Finance Director, Steve Dauncey. I spoke about his fantastic achievements and contributions and his continuing role in financial aspects of ID Manchester.
Many of you have asked about Luke Georghiou. He is recovering slowly but is still very unwell and in critical care. We have sent best wishes to him and his family from so many colleagues.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor