New Dundee University principal Professor Shane O’Neill has spoken publicly about the crisis-hit institution’s future for the first time.
In an interview with The Courier, the interim university chief set out what he thought led to a £30 million deficit, with far-reaching consequences.
It follows months of criticism of the university’s remaining leadership team from inside the university and questions about their management from politicians.
Mr O’Neill stepped up to become interim principal after his predecessor, Professor Iain Gillespie, quit suddenly last year.
His exit took many by surprise, and his successor admits he hadn’t imagined he’d be in this position.
But he insists he is here to stay.
“I am ready to be here to see this recovery plan through and to see it implemented, and to see us on to a very bright future,” he said.
The crisis at the University of Dundee – on which I will answer questions at 12 noon today in the comments section of this article – has thrust Mr O’Neill into the local and national spotlight.
Our interview reveals:
- His confidence the university will survive
- What the remaining management team says went wrong
- Plans to commission an external probe into the financial crisis
- His commitment to being a “different principal” to his predecessor after revelations of 5-star hotel stays
Mr O’Neill was asked what he had discovered had gone wrong to cause the deficit in the nearly two months since he took over.
As well as outside factors, such as the downturn in international student recruitment and Scottish student funding, there were management problems.
Asked about errors, he said: “We do know already that the quality of the reporting, and the full understanding at executive and governance levels of the actual position, wasn’t what it should have been.
Regrets
“In terms of the management of our overall cash position, that’s one of the elements that wasn’t sufficiently scrutinised.”
But given he was deputy principal at the time, does Mr O’Neill regret not identifying these errors sooner?
“I don’t think I was in the kind of role that I had the primary responsibility around that,” he said.
“Certainly the executive as a group are ready to say there were things that we weren’t aware of or advised about that we should have been.”
Mr O’Neill says the university will ask an external investigator to look closely at these issues once the recovery plan is in place.
The interim principal was also asked about comments made by the director of estates, who told staff in November that the university could close in just two years without significant cuts.
‘This university is going to be here for a long time’
“I am not just confident, I know this university is going to be here for a long time,” he told The Courier on Thursday, just hours before university staff backed strike action over the threat of compulsory redundancies.
“We will come through this. We will develop a recovery plan which will allow this university continue to do the excellent things it’s been doing for many years.”
Mr O’Neill also committed to being a “different principal” to his predecessor, who faced criticism for his “largesse”.
We revealed how Mr Gillespie enjoyed business class flights on trips abroad as well as a stay in a 5-star hotel on a trip to Hong Kong.
Asked if he understood why Mr Gillespie’s exit had “rocked” confidence, Mr O’Neill said: “The previous principal made a decision to resign.
“That was his decision.
“I would say that the staff can see there are differences in terms of the executive team now.
“I think we have that executive team in place that’s working really well together.”
Asked if he understood his staff’s criticism of this “largesse” while they are told their jobs are at risk, Mr O’Neill said: “I can’t speak for my predecessors.
“You know, it wasn’t my decision. I certainly haven’t spent anything since I’ve been in this role, literally nothing.”
Setting out his vision for the university’s future, Mr O’Neill said it would continue to play a critical role in the future of Dundee.
He said: “The relationship with the city and the university here is the strongest of any university I’ve worked in in the past.
“And that’s partly because we are such an engine for innovation and development in the city and I think that’s fully understood, which is why we are critically important to the future of the region.”
The Courier’s Alasdair Clark – the journalist at the heart of our coverage of the Dundee University crisis – is answering YOUR questions today between 12 noon and 1pm.
What do you want to know?
Post your question in our comments section below for Alasdair.
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