Important role of the university principal

The position of principal and vice-chancellor is of the utmost importance to the success of the university, as the principal is the chief academic and administrative officer who presides over the senate, the decisionmaking body of the university.

Since the first days of the University of Dundee – or as it was known originally, University College, Dundee – there has always been a principal at the helm.

William Peterson, a Latinist and scholar, became the inaugural principal in 1882 at the tender age of 26. He stayed in post until 1895.

It was only in 1946 that a permanent principal was installed with Douglas Wimberley’s appointment. Major General Wimberley started when University College, Dundee was striving for independence from St Andrews University. When the “Wimberley Memo” was written in 1947, this paved the way for change and, to this day, the Wimberley Award is given annually to a student who has contributed most to the life of the university.

The current principal, Sir Pete Downes – knighted in 2015 – worked closely with Professor Sir Philip Cohen at the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy, which saw a collaboration between the university and leading pharmaceutical companies to treat diseases such as cancer and diabetes. This groundbreaking work secured £50 million of investment for the city.

Aileen Ross is part of the public engagement and major events team at Dundee University.