VC's ADDRESS

Professor Chris Taylor welcomed the opportunity to speak to staff during the Vice-Chancellor's Annual Address and Meeting of the Assembly, and said he supported the concept of the Assembly for all staff.

He said he had enjoyed his first two months in post, and hoped, in this address, to give his impressions of the University, look at achievements and challenges, and to talk about some of the areas that he wanted to focus on in future months.

Talking about his own thoughts on the role of universities, he said: "I do not believe that universities are businesses. We are a charitable organisation committed to education. For me it is about a love of knowledge for the benefit of the students and in the wider context the United Kingdom." However, he did stress the importance of ensuring that we manage our finances in a business-like way. He emphasised the importance of team work, saying that he had seen different sectors of staff equally committed to the University and who brought enormous benefit to the teaching and research process. He said that he believed in a democratic process and in 'everybody having an opportunity to be heard', but that decisions should be made at a reasonable pace and processes should not be over-bureaucratic.

Future Higher Education Issues
The Vice-Chancellor said that Bradford was well-positioned within the widening participation field and could contribute significantly in the Government's initiative to extend participation of 18 to 30-year-olds in Higher Education to 50 per cent by 2010.

Although there were some distinctions between universities, there were currently many more similarities. "This is about to change," said the Vice-Chancellor. "We cannot be excellent at everything and we are advised that we have to differentiate." The funding council is developing new funding mechanisms, he said, which are going to change our lives within the next decade. Because of a large number of universities, there is an inability for all of them to deliver across broad mission and there is strong encouragement to focus and to enter into partnerships and relationships.

School Achievements
Professor Taylor said: "One of the things my predecessor stressed was that the University has much to be proud of. I agree with that whole-heartedly." The Vice-Chancellor went on to praise the work of the eight Schools, including: the immense research vitality of Archaeological Sciences; the tremendous research achievements in Engineering, despite its difficulties with student numbers; the excellent TQA outcomes in Health Studies, which had grown impressively since 1996; the student numbers in Informatics - a remarkable achievement in five years - together with its recent research grant successes; massive prospects for the future for Life Sciences, which was running in great substantive financial surplus; the executive MBAs in Management, which were among the top 50 in the world, while the School was among the top 10 business schools in Europe; the teaching vibrancy and world-class departments in Social and International Studies; and the unique cross-university function, and great prospects, of SLED.

Learning and Teaching
The Vice-Chancellor highlighted the University's achievements in the Subject Review scores over the last three years, which, he said, had been "crucial to internal morale and external perceptions". He commended the 'Bradford approach', which was now ExcellentPLUS. He said: "The idea of everything that the student experiences in teaching and learning being excellent is clearly commendable and the PLUS Bradford has is to deal with the issue of transferable skills as the added value." He also commended the rewards for excellent teaching through the Chancellor's Award scheme.

He told staff that one of the foci for the future would be the student experience. "I believe in supporting students in all elements of their experience from the moment they apply to the University, through registration, arrival, through to the quality of their provision of teaching and the role of the careers service. I will remain committed to that, and to improving it, which will be positive for the life and activities of the University.

Research and Innovations
While teaching and learning had attracted significant energies and shown improvement in the last few years, the Vice-Chancellor said one of the areas we must also focus more on was research. He stated he was making moves to ensure investment in research and intended to work with the new Pro-Vice-Chancellor in this area.

Bradford College
The Vice-Chancellor talked of the closer collaborations with Bradford College. He said: "We have a long history relating to Bradford College and a common ancestry. The University needs to move to a more secure financial basis in order to pursue its academic visions with confidence. There was a unanimous view in the Senior Management Group that this goal could be met by moving towards a more substantive integration or a merger with Bradford College. The decision was that we ought to look at a feasibility study, not that we ought to do it. The city needs some successes and we believe this contribution to the educational agenda in the city would be well received."

The collaboration would address the national Widening Participation agenda and of Higher Education working more closely with Further Education, which this Government is supporting. He said. "It will move us to a critical mass where the combined institutions are better than their sum and have a secure financial base. Neither institution is inferior. It will be critical that in any merger or integration that high-quality research and programmes of study which attract national and international study are protected and not be seen to be 'dumbing down'."

Conclusions
In summing up, the Vice-Chancellor said there were many successes in which the University should rejoice. There are short-term challenges, different missions and alternative funding regimes on the horizon. All this, he said, would lead to a target of redefining our vision of 'Making Knowledge Work'.

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