University of Nottingham: Graduate Trainee Programme

The first group of four Graduate Trainees are coming to the end of their year-long programme which has been extremely successful. As the advert for the 2009-10 scheme describes it: The University is delighted to announce the Nottingham Graduate Trainee Programme. This innovative programme, aimed exclusively at University of Nottingham graduates from any of the …

Impact of the Budget on higher education

Savings needed? No need to think about it, just cut the administration. John Denham has written to HEFCE on the impact of the Budget. This is a significant letter from the Secretary of State but it doesn't quite say what the Guardian is reporting. The paper's headline states: "Universities told to cut admin costs, not …

A “cheerless science”?

Not quite the dismal science that is economics but not far off it seems. From the obituary of Sir Neil MacCormick, Regius professor of law at Edinburgh: Not content with teaching, writing and research, he enjoyed and excelled in the cheerless science of academic administration, serving over many years as dean of faculty, provost of …

More on Departmental Headship (as or versus Stalinism)

Following up an earlier post on this topic (with thanks to John Dale and the author for the prompt): Nice post in which Mark Harrison draws on substantial knowledge and experience to compare and contrast Stalin's Soviet Union with his reign as Head of Department: The big difference was this: I had no barbed wire. …