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01/12/2003
Queen's success down to recognising 'need to change'
Queen's University’s current place in the top 20 of UK universities for teaching and research resulted from its recognition of the need to change, Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir George Bain has said.
Professor Bain, who was delivering the Association of University Administrators Annual Guest Lecture on the Belfast campus, said that when he took up office in January 1998 the University’s main objective “was to restore its self-respect, to make it once again one of the leading civic universities of the UK”.
Speaking on the theme of 'Leading Universities', the Vice-Chancellor addressed an audience of more than 100 university administrators from universities throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
He said: “At Queen’s, the vision was summarised as ‘Access to Quality’, providing the widest possible access to national and international excellence in teaching and research.
“And we agreed that an important milestone on the road to achieving this goal would be passed when Queen’s was seen in the UK as a top-20 university for both teaching and research.”
Professor Bain said that, as part of the process of change at Queen’s, the University quickly delayered the administrative structure and rationalised the University’s committee system.
He added that “more fundamental” changes need to be made to turn rhetoric into reality and that at Queen’s, the most fundamental was the introduction of a £25 million re-structuring exercise which paved the way for the employment of new academic staff.
The Annual Lecture series was established in 1998 to celebrate the Association’s fifth birthday.
The series aims to provide a visionary and challenging perspective on the future of higher education and to contribute to the national debate on some of the topical and controversial issues facing the sector today.
(MB)
Professor Bain, who was delivering the Association of University Administrators Annual Guest Lecture on the Belfast campus, said that when he took up office in January 1998 the University’s main objective “was to restore its self-respect, to make it once again one of the leading civic universities of the UK”.
Speaking on the theme of 'Leading Universities', the Vice-Chancellor addressed an audience of more than 100 university administrators from universities throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
He said: “At Queen’s, the vision was summarised as ‘Access to Quality’, providing the widest possible access to national and international excellence in teaching and research.
“And we agreed that an important milestone on the road to achieving this goal would be passed when Queen’s was seen in the UK as a top-20 university for both teaching and research.”
Professor Bain said that, as part of the process of change at Queen’s, the University quickly delayered the administrative structure and rationalised the University’s committee system.
He added that “more fundamental” changes need to be made to turn rhetoric into reality and that at Queen’s, the most fundamental was the introduction of a £25 million re-structuring exercise which paved the way for the employment of new academic staff.
The Annual Lecture series was established in 1998 to celebrate the Association’s fifth birthday.
The series aims to provide a visionary and challenging perspective on the future of higher education and to contribute to the national debate on some of the topical and controversial issues facing the sector today.
(MB)
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