Principal's Column

Continuity and Change

My first year as Principal has passed very quickly and any notion that academic life is punctuated by long hot summers has been dispelled. It wasn't very long or very hot and I was conscious of intense activity across the whole University. However, I hope that there has been some recharging of batteries, opportunities to relax with family and friends and to write that elusive paper.

The year ahead holds three key challenges:

• enabling learning through expert teaching
• fostering world class research and
• contributing to the economic, social and cultural life of the city and country - both of which will face some hard economic choices in the next few years.

people in our community and contribute to the expansion of knowledge. But we also have to change and develop if we are to meet changing circumstances. This means:

• implementing the recommendations of the financial sustainability group - reducing permanent staff numbers and providing the financial headroom we need to develop new
• courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level and to support excellence in research.
• ensuring that the new Centre for Learning and Teaching delivers real change, that the merger with Northern College is successful and that we establish new education and learning technologies - like our new virtual learning and environment and the e-learning projects in the Centre for Medical Education - as an engine for change.
• stimulating new commercial ventures in biotechnology, microelectronics and the creative industries as a means of supporting the further expansion of our research and contributing to the knowledge economy in Dundee.
• ensuring that capital expenditure - likely to be in excess of £20m over the next three or four years - results in state of the art facilities which "lift" the campus and connect it to the heart of the city.
• streamlining the administration, central services and the University decision making processes to provide better support for staff and students; David Duncan and I will be bringing forward specific proposals for change towards the end of the Autumn term.

There is a growing consensus that positive change in these five areas will contribute to the medium and long term success of the University and I will certainly strive to manage this programme in a transparent, inclusive and accountable manner, working closely with the Deans and the many other people across the University who are committed to positive change.

I look forward to 2001/2 with confidence and enthusiasm and wish all staff continued success in the year ahead.

Next Page
Return to October 2001 Contact