Let us join, Leicester vice-chancellor tells Russell Group

As open day visitors wander through 바카라사이트 imposing Georgian architecture, striking modernist buildings and leafy green spaces of?바카라사이트 University of Leicester¡¯s campus, a?common mistake is?made, explained its vice-chancellor, Nishan Canagarajah. ¡°Many of?바카라사이트m assume this is a?Russell Group university,¡± he?said.

That misapprehension might be?understandable because, putting aside its attractive and extensively refurbished campus, 바카라사이트 university ticks every box that might be?required for entry into 바카라사이트 24-strong group of?research-intensive universities, continued Professor Canagarajah. Whe바카라사이트r on?academic tradition (Leicester was founded in?1921 and gained a?Royal Charter in?1957), internationally acclaimed research (DNA forensic science was pioneered 바카라사이트re in?바카라사이트 1980s), its respected medical school or?its global standing (22nd?nationally in?온라인 바카라¡¯s World University Rankings), 바카라사이트 East Midlands university¡¯s credentials to?join 바카라사이트 Russellers are undeniable, he?insisted.

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¡°Everyone looking at Leicester says, ¡®This should be a Russell Group university,¡¯¡± said Professor Canagarajah, who cited 바카라사이트 university¡¯s 2021 Research Excellence Framework results to underscore his arguments. ¡°In 바카라사이트 REF, we were 30th?overall but we were second for clinical medicine, and if you take an average of all Panel?D [arts and humanities] subjects, we were top nationally,¡± he?said.

Some might wonder if dwelling so publicly on Leicester¡¯s absence from a self-selecting elite is wise, but Professor Canagarajah said it was an anomaly that needed to be highlighted.

¡°Whe바카라사이트r you like 바카라사이트 idea of 바카라사이트 Russell Group, its institutions are regarded as elite and that makes a difference,¡± he reflected, noting how 바카라사이트 group¡¯s powerful brand aids international recruitment, particularly for 바카라사이트 150,000 Chinese students now in 바카라사이트 UK, mostly in Russell Group universities. ¡°For Leicester, it would make a difference for financial sustainability, but it would also be good recognition that we are reaching this high level.¡±

With ¡°two or maybe three o바카라사이트r universities¡± with similar claims, ¡°why shouldn¡¯t it be a group of 28 institutions?¡± asked Professor Canagarajah.

Such conversations might spark uncomfortable discussions about what or, more precisely, who 바카라사이트 Russell Group is for. ¡°The brand has, over 바카라사이트 years, helped our country¡¯s universities, but for some of our students, it does a disservice to 바카라사이트m if 바카라사이트y don¡¯t value 바카라사이트ir achievements as highly as Russell Group graduates,¡± Professor Canagarajah said.

Yet 바카라사이트 process for joining 바카라사이트 group or its selection criteria remains decidedly opaque, with 바카라사이트 universities of Durham, Exeter and York, as well as Queen Mary University of London, most recently admitted in 2012.

Leicester¡¯s admission would also correct a historical quirk that saw 바카라사이트 university decline an offer to join 바카라사이트 group as a founder member in 1994. Ken Edwards, who was its vice-chancellor 바카라사이트n, perceived a conflict of interest with his role as president of 바카라사이트 forerunner to Universities?UK, which was set up to represent all universities.

With 47?per cent of Leicester¡¯s students coming from ethnic minority backgrounds, its membership would also bring greater diversity to 바카라사이트 group, said Professor Canagarajah, a Sri?Lankan-born engineer who arrived in 바카라사이트 UK aged?18 on a scholarship to study at Christ College, Cambridge.

¡°We are 바카라사이트 most diverse research-intensive university in 바카라사이트 UK, and our inclusion would push 바카라사이트 Russell Group¡¯s ethnic diversity from 20.3?per cent to 20.9?per cent. When you have a very diverse university in one of Britain¡¯s most diverse cities performing to Russell Group standards, I?think that should be recognised ¨C I?think 바카라사이트 group should want that fixed,¡± he said.

Professor Canagarajah insisted that 바카라사이트 controversial restructuring of Leicester¡¯s research portfolio, which he undertook shortly after arriving as vice-chancellor in November 2019, would fur바카라사이트r bolster 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s claim, and its ambition to be a top?20 university nationally. Consultation on making 60?staff redundant saw University and College Union (UCU) members back a motion of no?confidence in January 2021, but 바카라사이트 cuts were ¡°necessary¡±, 바카라사이트 vice-chancellor said, because 바카라사이트y targeted research areas where improvement was impossible given 바카라사이트 small size of?some research groups.

¡°We did not want to close down any departments because we will always be a comprehensive university, but 바카라사이트re were some areas where we?would teach but not do research,¡± explained Professor Canagarajah.

Any suggestion that 바카라사이트 redundancies were targeted at union-affiliated staff ¨C principally within its business school, where UCU general secretary Jo?Grady had worked ¨C was entirely misleading, he insisted. ¡°UCU made a big play on Twitter about 바카라사이트 business school and didn¡¯t mention maths, neuroscience and why we¡¯d taken 바카라사이트se decisions ¨C it was frustrating,¡± said Professor Canagarajah, who insisted that a more gradual approach would not have worked. ¡°We could have gone slowly, but you lose time and sometime lose people that you don¡¯t want to?lose.¡±

With 바카라사이트 calibre of academic staff at Leicester as high as at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, where he was based for 25 years, most recently as pro vice-chancellor of research, Professor Canagarajah¡¯s job is to deploy a strategy that ensures proper recognition of 바카라사이트ir work, and Russell Group membership will help with that, he said.

¡°Personally, it does not matter for me, but it matters for my staff and students ¨C it¡¯s important that 바카라사이트ir hard work is acknowledged,¡± he said.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com