Large pay rises for university principals
Unions hit out as university leaders accept hikes in salary and bonuses
THE principal of Dundee University took a 15 per cent pay rise in the last financial year.
Professor Sir Pete Downes’s pay rose to £261,000 after changes to his pension plan. Professor Petra Wend, the principal of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, saw her salary grow 13.4 per cent to £228,000.
A union said it showed the “arbitrary nature of senior pay in our universities”.
UNIVERSITY leaders have been attacked for accepting inflation-busting pay increases.
New figures show that despite the current financial climate, several principals took significant salary hikes in 2014/15.
The largest overall increase was 15 per cent, accepted by Professor Sir Pete Downes, from Dundee University, who saw his overall remuneration climb to £261,000 after changes to his pension arrangements.
Professor Petra Wend, the principal of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, was given the second-largest increase, with her salary package rising 13.4 per cent to £228,000.
Professor Louise Richardson, the former principal of St Andrews University, in Fife, took a pay rise in her last year of more than eight per cent, taking her salary to £294,000. She was criticised last year for accepting a one-off bonus of £30,000.
Professor Andrea Nolan, from Edinburgh Napier University, accepted a £9,000 bonus, which officials said was in recognition of her performance.
Mary Senior, Scotland official for the UCU union, which represents academics and support workers, said the increases had come at a time when staff were awarded only two per cent pay rises.
She said: “The enormous disparities in the levels of pay and the pay rises at the top exposes the arbi- trary nature of senior pay in our universities.”
Emily Beever, NUS Scotland’s women’s officer, said it was “incredibly disappointing” to see increases well above the rate of inflation.
She added: “Universities are facing budget cuts, staff are overworked, and underpaid and there’s little transparency about how these decisions have been made or any sign it will mean improvements in the experience of students.”
However, universities defended the increases and argued many principals had refused to accept pay rises in recent years.
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said: “Decisions on senior pay have strong lines of accountability and oversight by the governing body, which includes staff and students.
“The governing body approves the process the remuneration committee works to and it has to be satisfied that all decisions are compliant with those processes.”
Overall, Professor Sir Jim McDonald, principal of Strathclyde University, remains the highest paid principal, with a salary package of £343,000. The university is currently ranked eighth in Scotland in The Times Higher Education tables.
The highest-ranked university is Edinburgh, where principal Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea accepted just one per cent this year – the sector’s lowest increase – taking his salary to £289,000.
The increases come at a time when the university sector has seen its funding restricted as part of a wider squeeze on public spending.
There are also long-standing concerns about the lack of transparency over the way pay rises and bonuses for senior managers are decided.
A Dundee University spokesman said the change to the principal’s pay reflected a transfer from pension contributions to salary.
He said: “As a result his total cost of employment is slightly less than it would have been had the university continued making contributions to the Universities Superannuation Scheme on his behalf.”
A spokeswoman for QMU said the principal received a reduction in her remuneration in the previous year and the changes arose from an “objective benchmarking exercise by an external consultant”.
Leader comment: Page 14