Leeds
Met Equals |
Thursday 11 September
| Internal perspectives need to be balanced with learning from the experiences of other universities, so I am at Warwick for the annual conference of Universities UK. Some significance might be seen in the fact that the country’s vice-chancellors did not move for two hours as the coaches taking us to the opening conference dinner were trapped in the mother of all traffic jams. Whether universities have moved much, or at least enough, in two decades is being questioned by the government, the media and some in the wider community. |
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The road-block within many universities is cynicism. Even a few members of staff whingeing about any change can suck in others and then infect student attitudes. So a way through or round is necessary. It is not only when there is the prospect of being stuck on a motorway, however, that it can be refreshing to try an old-fashioned, scenic route to reach your destination. We must remember and use the best of our past. Yet vice-chancellors would not be coming to Warwick if the university had remained static. This conference, for example, is taking place in a beautifully designed, well-equipped, thoroughly modern arts centre. It is good to move forward.
Professor Simon Lee, Vice-Chancellor, vc@leedsmet.ac.uk.
