Chemical Reaction

Fire! Reflections on a major incident In the evening of Friday September 12 I received a call from our Deputy Head of Security to alert me to a major fire at the University's Jubilee Campus. The building ablaze was the unfinished GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry and, during the hours that followed, it …

From 007 to Registrar

A distinctive new approach to the campus novel Unlikely as it may seem this brief book offers the most exciting representation of a Registrar since Lucky Jim. Set in a real university (York) but with fictional (we hope) characters there is plenty to enjoy here: The present and past lives of James Kerr, university senior manager …

Betting the farm

A very big gamble The Chronicle of Higher Education has an extraordinary piece about how one investment manager gambled away $13.1 Million of her university’s money: Over a series of three contracts, Ms. Prizevoits signed over more than $8-million of the 96-year-old university’s money in 2008 to a Florida-based company called Betts and Gambles Global …

Needed: More Money, Money, Money

Higher Education needs more and better fundraising. And fundraisers A new publication from HEFCE.on developing the HE fundraising workforce: This report was commissioned by HEFCE to address one of the recommendations in 'Review of Philanthropy in UK Higher Education: 2012 status report and challenges for the next decade' (the Pearce report), specifically the future development …

Betting the farm. On a stadium.

How one university is going for broke with a new stadium. Inside Higher Ed has an interesting story about Colorado State University's plan to solve all of its problems with a new stadium. The University is, in common with many other public institutions in the US, in a difficult financial position. But the response at …

Working with Young Carers

New activities to support young and young adult carers. The University of Nottingham's Impact Campaign is supporting a range of activities involving work with young and young adult carers. Britain’s ‘invisible army’ of young carers and young adult carers provide unpaid care to family members. As well as caring for loved ones who are ill, …

Getting off my bike…

A rather challenging ride for a very good cause As previously noted here I faced a major cycling challenge on Sunday as part of Life Cycle 3: During the last two summers a team from the University of Nottingham led by our Vice-Chancellor cycled ridiculously long distances to raise money for good causes. The team …

Getting on my bike…

A shortish ride for a very good cause During the last two summers a team from the University of Nottingham led by our Vice-Chancellor cycled ridiculously long distances to raise money for good causes. The team did not include me and they have sensibly overlooked me again as they cycle round the capital cities of …

‘University of Nike’ in Oregon

A huge investment in university sport.   The New York Times has a report on the opening of a hugely expensive new facility to enhance the University of Oregon's football programme. It comes courtesy of a sizeable donation from one of the founders of Nike. The Football Performance Center, which was unveiled publicly this week, …

Some Vice-Chancellors will do anything for money…

...provided it's for a good cause A bit late in the day but I did want to register how impressive this fundraising effort is from the Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University. The video, which is intended to raise money for LOROS and PROSTaid, features over 1,000 students from DMU too and can be seen here: …

Nottingham Potential – a launch and an opening

Helping young people to reach their true potential I was delighted to be at an excellent event to mark the launch of Nottingham Potential and the formal opening of the IntoUniversity Nottingham West centre. It's a major programme and a central component of the University's widening participation strategy which has the aim of helping young …

Rich celebrations

Two ceremonies to celebrate the achievements of Dr Tony Rich I was privileged to attend two ceremonies in February to celebrate the achievements of Tony Rich, formerly Registrar and Secretary at the University of Essex and a mentor to me for nearly 20 years. The first event was the naming of a new teaching centre …

Advice for prospective students – quantity and quality

High quality advice and guidance is key for delivering access An interesting piece by Tessa Stone in the Times Higher Education on the importance of clear, impartial and high quality advice for potential university students. I'd agree with a lot of what Tessa says: So, the schools that already do this well will continue to …

Nottingham Advantage

Impact Campaign: Nottingham Advantage Another update on the Impact Campaign which has launched this week at the University of Nottingham. This theme, Nottingham Advantage, is one which I think is particularly important. On this site you can see a nice video, fronted by Vicky Mann who heads up the Nottingham Advantage Award, all about how …

Impact : Academic Excellence

The Impact Campaign at the University of Nottingham - Delivering Academic Excellence   A previous post reported on the launch of the Impact Campaign. Now we're into a bit more of the detail about why the campaign is important and how our academic excellence has been constantly enriched by philanthropy. Part of Impact: The Nottingham …