COLLEGE CHIEF SUSPENDED
Glasgow principal facing disciplinary action in probe
THE head of a newly-merged Scottish college who was awarded an OBE last year for services to education is facing disciplinary action.
Susan Walsh, the principal of Glasgow Clyde College, has been suspended on full pay by the college board pending a review.
The board refused to comment on why action was taken, but sources close to the college said a number of issues had arisen in recent weeks.
There have been particular issues in some quarters about Mrs Walsh’s “robust” management style in meetings. College unions were also said to have been reluctant to take part in a survey of staff opinion about the running of the institution unless it went straight to the board. She was also said to have had disagreements with former First Minister Henry McLeish, the powerful chairman of the Glasgow colleges regional board.
Under current plans, the college will see a cut of £1.7 million, with the funding transferred to City of Glasgow College in a move which teaching unions have warned will create a two-tier system.
Another source said the college had struggled to keep track of bursary payments for students and had accumulated a significant deficit. And last year, a group of staff based at Anniesland, in the city’s west end, passed a vote of no confidence in the senior management team after problems with the enrolment of students.
Despite these concerns, a recent Education Scotland report into the running of Clyde praised the leadership of Mrs Walsh. It stated: “The college is led well, has sufficiently robust arrangements to address any identified minor weaknesses and is likely to continue to improve the quality of its services for learners and other stakeholders.”
Mrs Walsh was known to be passionate about further education and spoke publicly about her concerns over cuts to funding and the impact they would have on vulnerable students. She was recognised in The Queen’s Birthday Honours list last year for services to further education.
A statement from the board said: “The board of management of Glasgow Clyde College met this evening and ratified the decision of the chair and vice-chair to suspend the principal on full pay pending a review.”
The board said Eleanor Harris, the current vice-principal, had been asked to take over the running of the college in the short-term.
Mrs Walsh was appointed principal of the newly-formed college in 2013 following the merger of Anniesland, Langside and Cardonald colleges.
She said at the time: “I absolutely commit myself to making this one of the most successful colleges in the UK, and look forward to continuing the excellent work that all the staff and students at the three colleges have invested in this merger.”
A spokesman for the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union said: “While we cannot comment in relation to the status of any individual college employee, we will continue to engage constructively with the college’s board of management to represent the views of our members and the wider college community.”