Published: 26th February, 2021
In this week’s 2-minute summary, we reflect on some of what University of Leicester executives chose to share with staff in their Question-and-Answer session on February 24. You can watch the recording of that event here and/or you can read our live Twitter commentary here. Our conclusion: Nishan Canagarajah and his executive board are seeking…
Published: 23rd February, 2021
“Shaping for Excellence” proposes merging the Library’s User Services team with colleagues from the Student Services Team, to provide a single team to deal with a wider range of enquiries. It is User Services who have re-opened the David Wilson Library and who keep it operating. The University appeared to value their contribution by giving…
Published: 23rd February, 2021
Open letter to Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor,University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.vc@leicester.ac.uk We write to express our profound dismay at the decision to close the “Mechanisms of Animal Behaviour” and “Systems Neuroscience” Groups in the Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour at the University of Leicester. This decision will severely harm the University’s ability…
Published: 18th February, 2021
I’m angry. Angry and tired. I am angry that the University Executive Board wants to make 145 of my colleagues redundant. All redundancies make me angry – and in over thirty years working in British higher education, I have been angry at too many proposed redundancies. This time, though, my anger is off the scale….
Published: 16th February, 2021
If you are not one of the 145 at-risk members of staff, you may think that redundancies are necessary to secure the future of the University, given the financial crisis and pandemic. But is that true? No. This so-called ‘Shaping for Excellence’ exercise actually demonstrates that there are serious problems with the decision making processes,…
Published: 15th February, 2021
A strong statement from the London Mathematical Society, the UK learned society for the advancement, dissemination and promotion of mathematical knowledge. The executive board’s plans are ‘seriously flawed’. The statement can also be found here. The London Mathematical Society has been informed that the University of Leicester is consulting over a proposal to reduce the…
Published: 12th February, 2021
If you care about academic freedom, if you care about scholarship, if you care about Leicester university, now is the time to make your voice heard.
Published: 9th February, 2021
We shine a spotlight on the Library staff affected by the proposals in the ‘Shaping for Excellence’, proposals for creating an integrated customer service team and new physical desks and virtual enquiry staff University of Leicester’s library staff are a team crossing all grades of staff who pride themselves on their commitment to Customer Service….
Published: 4th February, 2021
Colleagues at risk of redundancy in the School of Informatics unpick the business case being used against them. To sign the petition opposing managers’ plans, click here. Recently management at the University of Leicester put forward a business case to slash the School of Mathematics by making redundant all pure maths researchers, and to similarly…
Published: 27th January, 2021
The proposed cuts to English at the University of Leicester have been universally condemned worldwide, with hundreds of distinguished scholars warning of reputational damage to the University and the ways in which the student experience will be impoverished. Some of the staff at risk of redundancy unpick the inconsistencies in the cynical thinking that is…