As the University of Glasgow prepares to mark its 575th anniversary, it is also entering a new chapter of leadership. After nearly 15 years in post, Sir Anton Muscatelli announced last year that he would step down as Principal and Vice-Chancellor. His successor will be Professor Andy Schofield, who leaves Lancaster University after a relatively short four years as its Vice-Chancellor, to become Glasgow’s 51st Principal.
The appointment followed a rather costly headhunting process led by Saxton Bampfylde, which included consultation with staff and students. For Schofield, it represents a shift from one Russell Group institution to another with a £165k raise, at a moment when UK higher education is facing mounting financial pressures. Universities across the UK are grappling with long-running funding shortfalls, inflated pension costs, and structural deficits. Fees for rUK students continue to rise while Scottish institutions like the University of Dundee teeter on the brink, with the devolved government having to step in with an additional £40 million to prop up the University.
“It is a great honour to have been appointed as the next Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow,” Schofield said when his appointment was announced. “Glasgow is an impressive, world-changing institution which has made huge strides under Sir Anton’s leadership. I look forward to building on his legacy and working with colleagues to take the University forward.”
University of Glasgow’s Convener of Court, Gavin Stewart, struck a similar note. “Professor Schofield has an exceptional academic record, along with the strategic vision and extensive leadership experience required to open the next successful chapter in our long and distinguished history.”
“Professor Schofield has an exceptional academic record, along with the strategic vision and extensive leadership experience required to open the next successful chapter in our long and distinguished history.”
Behind the polite pleasantries of farewells and hopeful beginnings at Glasgow, a deeper challenge persists. Universities across the UK are facing long-term financial pressures and structural change.
So what kind of leader is Glasgow inheriting? Conversations with Lancaster alumni, students, and staff paint a more nuanced picture of Schofield’s leadership style than official announcements suggest.
Schofield departs Lancaster at a moment of deep crisis. The University is proposing to cut over 450 jobs, roughly one in five academics at Lancaster, through a voluntary redundancy scheme already underway, with compulsory redundancies expected to follow in autumn. The move has provoked uproar among students, staff, and trade unions, who argue that the scale of the cuts is unjustified.
Management points to a projected “£35 million black hole” in University finances. Yet unions argue this figure is speculative, not based on current losses, and note that Lancaster is on course to break even this year. The situation has been made more contentious by the revelation that the University Executive Board’s average pay has risen from £150,000 to £200,000 since 2017, with the 12-member board earning £2.42 million collectively in 2023/24 as University and College Union (UCU) representatives have highlighted.
For staff unions, the optics and lack of clear communication are stark. “Making redundancies without any sort of proper financial justification is very concerning,” said Dr Sunil Banga, UCU. “The University is the biggest employer in the region here. This is going to have an impact far beyond campus.” He added that no senior managers are facing redundancy or pay cuts, while staff “who’ve endured years of below-inflation pay and burnout are now being forced out.”
The use of private consultants has further soured relations. Lancaster paid KPMG to produce a report justifying the cuts, yet the University has allegedly refused to share it with trade unions. Banga said, “We haven’t seen any sort of data, any good numbers to justify what the University is doing. That’s a very false argument. If the student numbers for next year are similar to this year, or in fact increasing, there’s no need to make people redundant.”
“Making redundancies without any sort of proper financial justification is very concerning,” said Dr Sunil Banga, UCU. “The University is the biggest employer in the region here. This is going to have an impact far beyond campus.”
Others argue that the redundancies were embedded in structural reforms overseen during Schofield’s tenure. A major curriculum transformation programme reduced the number of modules on offer, which unions say was designed to minimise disruption once staff were cut. “Less modules, less student choice, less teaching,” Banga said. “Our members are very angry. They feel they were working to improve the university’s operations, only to find out now they’d been digging their own graves.”
Schofield’s wider approach to industrial relations has also come under fire. Jackie Hughes, UNISON branch secretary at Lancaster, noted that the Vice-Chancellor tended to stay removed employee relations, having his or her Deputy VC take on the brief. While she described him as “a nice enough fella” in his interactions with academic departments, she suggested that his distance from unions may leave him unprepared for Glasgow, where the Principal is expected to engage more directly.
The situation has sparked political attention. Lancaster MP Cat Smith speaking against the cuts in Parliament, and stating that “Lancaster University is not only a globally respected institution of academic excellence, but also one of the largest employers in our district and a vital part of the local economy. Whilst the University is operating under significant financial pressures, staff and students must not bear the brunt of this.”
At the same time, Smith also spoke to Hillhead Review of Schofield’s “approachable and forthcoming” manner while recognising the difficult circumstances he began his tenure as Vice-Chancellor at Lancaster with the aftershocks of the Covid pandemic.
This duality, approachability on a personal level but an arms-length stance when it comes to difficult decisions, runs through many accounts of Schofield’s time at Lancaster.
Just as Glasgow has seen increased student activism, Lancaster was the scene for occupations relating to divestment and Gaza. Anonymous sources accused him of heavy-handedness, with one claiming, “Students were manhandled by external security, dragged out of lecture theatres. This is a university, not a dictatorship.”
At the same time, it would be unfair to portray Schofield’s tenure at Lancaster as entirely negative. His leadership saw the university earn a Gold rating in the TEF 2023 and achieve top rankings in the National Student Survey, first in the North and eighth in England. Lancaster was also named University of the Year at the 2023 Educate North Awards, with judges commending its student experience, teaching quality, international reach, and environmental work .
His leadership saw the university earn a Gold rating in the TEF 2023 and achieve top rankings in the National Student Survey, first in the North and eighth in England. Lancaster was also named University of the Year at the 2023 Educate North Awards.
Moreover, Schofield spearheaded bold climate action by declaring a climate emergency and committing the institution to net zero carbon by 2035, reinforced with investments in renewable infrastructure like wind energy and a £17 million solar farm.
Taken as a whole, his tenure at Lancaster presents a complicated legacy for Schofield: a great deal of promises and amicable demeanour, combined with harsh industrial relations and icy student engagement. The University of Glasgow begins a new chapter under a principal whose past decisions have sparked a good deal of criticism, leaving questions unanswered about the direction ahead.
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