New Principal must stop Compulsory Redundancies at Dundee University
Dundee University’s new Principal and Vice Chancellor must reinstate Fair Work principles, stop the cruel compulsory redundancies, and bring fresh thinking to rebuild trust and restore pride in the institution, Scottish Green MSP and university Rector Maggie Chapman has said.
Angela Scott takes up the role today, inheriting a university facing significant financial pressures and deep concern and anxiety among staff and students following devastating staff cuts.
Chapman was elected Rector last year with strong student support for her opposition to cuts. She has urged the new Principal and Vice Chancellor to seize the opportunity to start a new chapter for the crisis-ridden institution, and put the university community at the heart of its future.
Maggie’s call comes as the Scottish Funding Council has withheld a £7 million emergency funding instalment after the university failed to meet the conditions attached to the payment.
More than 800 staff have reportedly left the university since 2024, with a further 154 redundancies now being sought.
Maggie Chapman said:
“I welcome Angela to the role and wish her every success. She is inheriting a tough job and a university that has been thrown into one crisis after another by years of mismanagement, poor governance and a lack of accountable leadership.
“Rebuilding trust with staff and students must be her priority. They have been let down time and again, and they need to see a genuine change in direction. Their voices must be heard and their future at the university taken seriously.
“A good start would be to halt the cruel and unnecessary compulsory redundancies, reverse the cuts to the chaplaincy centre and reinstate support for student disability services.
“The last couple of years have seen university management ride roughshod over Fair Work principles, with campus unions being ignored."When management talks about how many staff it can “cull”, or that compulsory redundancies are a “moral responsibility”, it is clear that there is no interest in proper engagement with the academics and professional services and support staff who actually keep the institution running. That arrogant approach to management must be a thing of the past.
“The new principal must bring fresh thinking and a commitment to change how management operates, in order to draw a line under the mistakes of the past. I hope that we can turn the page, start to undo the damage that has been done and build a university that puts its people first.
“Dundee University is a great institution. Staff have been proud to work here, and students have been proud to study here. That pride has been badly shaken, and it needs to be restored.
“Angela has the opportunity to set a different tone from day one. The university needs openness, accountability and a clear commitment to protecting its future. Staff and students deserve nothing less. As both the Rector and as a local MSP I will work constructively and do all that I can to make that happen.”