Appointment of new Deputy University Secretary
I was also pleased to announce that following a rigorous recruitment process, Emma Black has been appointed as Deputy University Secretary. Joining us in July,
Emma brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked as a solicitor for over 25 years, much of which has been in the public and charity sectors.
Emma has also operated at executive level, building and leading multi-disciplinary teams including Legal, Corporate Governance, Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance.
Reporting to Ian Callaghan, Chief Resource Officer, she will play a key role in supporting the delivery
of our strategy to 2030, with a focus on governance and assurance. It will also mean some of UEA’s legal requirements can be brought in house, reducing our overall costs, and improving the quality of the work we do.
Committed to keeping you updated on UEA’s finances
As I have stated in earlier messages, UEA is not alone in the financial challenges it faces – the reality is that the outlook for the Higher Education sector is
a tough one, dependent on many factors such as Government policy.
The University is still forecasting a £15m deficit for 2023/24, with the ambition of being at zero deficit
in just over two years' time (end of 2025/26 financial year). I reported that overall, we are on track to reach our financial targets for this year, although there is still some way to go
to reach our target, and
next year’s finance will be heavily dependent on our student
recruitment round for 2024/25.
The accelerated phase of the strategic review programme (ASRP) saved £30m last year. Understandably this
was a difficult period for our community, and it is important that lessons are learned.
A recently finalised ASRP closure report details some of these lessons, including the need for more financial
transparency and commercial awareness, improved communications, and talent and skills development across our staff community.
One of the direct outcomes of the report is that we are already planning to create educational materials
to share with staff, as well as organise regular online drop-in sessions which will give the latest updates and an opportunity for you to ask your questions – more information on this soon.
UEA’s Learning and Teaching Day is back
UEA’s Learning and Teaching Day is making a return on Tuesday 18 June, with the theme this year confirmed as ‘rebuilding our community, reinventing our teaching’. The event, held on campus, is an opportunity for colleagues to come together to learn and be inspired
by each other through short presentations.
Registration is now open for the event and submissions for proposal presentations are being accepted
– so please get involved where you can. You can find more on this webpage
or by contacting Fabio Arico, Director of the Centre for Higher Education Research Practice Policy and Scholarship (CHERRPS)
f.arico@uea.ac.uk.
Reminder to complete the all-staff Pulse Survey
Our latest all-staff Pulse survey
is now live until 7 May. This wave of Pulse asks the usual questions on wellbeing and work life at UEA, and your feedback will help us identify hotspots of concern and support local action planning to diagnose and address issues. It takes just a few minutes
to give us your thoughts, so please get involved.
Best wishes,