New Uni vice-chancellor only found out about job losses through Echo (From Daily Echo)

New Uni vice-chancellor only found out about job losses through Echo

10:28am Tuesday 30th September 2008 in

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THE new man taking over at Southampton University only found out hundreds of his future staff could be about to lose their jobs by reading the Daily Echo.

Professor Don Nutbeam logged on to a computer in Australia where he currently has a top job at the University of Sydney.

But he got a shock when he clicked on our website to find out the news in Southampton 10,600 miles away.

The main story on dailyecho.co.uk was our exclusive that up to 400 university administration staff may be cut as part of a cashsaving move.

Yesterday Professor Nutbeam told the Echo: “I actually heard about it first of all by reading your newspaper’s website.”

The Daily Echo understands jobs on the line are among the university’s 1,400 nonacademic, management, specialist and administrative staff.

Professor Nutbeam, who is currently Academic Provost at the University of Sydney, said he was still gathering information about the university’s finances and was unable to comment on what the situation meant for the university’s hundreds of employees.

“I don’t think I can comment sensibly on the finances of the university two to three days in,” he said.

“I do know that Southampton is facing similar problems to universities all round the UK and here in Australia too, in terms of the levels of income and expenditure.

“I don’t suppose the vice-chancellor and senior staff will take these matters very lightly.”

A university spokesman said that Prof Nutbeam was aware of the university’s money-saving review – but not the specifics.

“Following his formal appointment last week, from now until September 2009 when he takes over as vice-chancellor, he will have regular briefings on all the complexities of this major review of our income and expenditure.

“He could not know details of any possible redundancies, since the earliest we might need to consider these will be after our council has met in October to discuss the latest proposals for restructuring.”

The university insists it is too early to say exactly how many jobs will go before the university’s governing body meets on October 23, and that staff will be redeployed where possible.

Bosses want to reduce staff costs from 60 per cent of the university’s total expenditure to 56 per cent by 2011 – a saving in the region of around £13m.

During the last year the university’s salary bill rose by 9.5 per cent from £178.7m to £195.6m.

Highfield return for new VC

WHEN Professor Nutbeam takes over as Southampton University’s vice-chancellor he will be returning to the Highfield campus where he completed his postgraduate education in the 1980s.

The 53-year-old public health expert currently works at the University of Sydney, Australia.

He said: “I feel very privileged to be returning as vice-chancellor to the university where I completed my postgraduate education.

“Southampton is a worldclass university and I admire and respect the successes that the university has enjoyed under the leadership of Bill Wakeham.

“Building on this foundation, I look forward to working with the many highly talented staff and students to achieve continued improvements in the quality, relevance and impact of our teaching and research.”

The married father-of-two was born and raised in Berkshire but holds dual British and Australian nationality.

His career has seen him hold senior positions in universities, government, health services and an independent research institute.

Between 2000 and 2003 he was head of public health in the UK’s Department of Health and he has worked as an advisor and consultant for the World Health Organisation.