Hunt starts for new Plymouth university boss as VC steps down

Prof Judith Petts

The University of Plymouth’s vice-chancellor is to step down after nearly nine years in charge saying “it’s time for a change”. Professor Judith Petts, who has just overseen the university’s return to profit, will retire in September.

She told the university’s chair of governors and chancellor, who will begin the search for a successor, about her plans this week and colleagues have now been informed. Prof Petts said: “This will be my ninth year at Plymouth and my 45th year in higher education, with a few years in the commercial world before that. So it is time for a change.”

Professor Petts became vice-chancellor and chief executive at the University of Plymouth in February 2016, following senior roles at the universities of Southampton and Birmingham. She replaced the controversial Wendy Purcell, who had been suspended and faced a vote of no confidence.

Prof Petts, who has just celebrated her 70th birthday, graduated from the University of Exeter with a BA in geography in 1975. She was a research fellow in the Institute for Planning Studies, University of Nottingham and then joined Loughborough University where she completed her PhD in 1996 and became director of the Centre for Hazard and Risk Management.

In 1998, she became professor of environmental risk management and later head of the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham, serving as pro-vice-chancellor from 2007 to 2010 when she joined the University of Southampton as the dean of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences and pro-vice-chancellor for research and enterprise.

During her time at the University of Plymouth she oversaw major building projects, with the recent unveiling of the Intercity Place health campus following a £33m revamp, and the transformation of the Babbage Building into an engineering and design centre. But she also oversaw a restructuring which resulted in 700 staff losing their jobs in a bid to save cash between 2017 and 2019.

This week, it was revealed Prof Petts total pay packet had grown to £321,852 as the institution bounced back into profit. Her total remuneration leapt by more than £14,000 in a year which saw the university’s income soar, mainly thanks to an influx of foreign students.

The university’s annual report and financial statements showed that for the year to the end of July 2023, Prof Petts was paid a basic salary of £264,484, which was up by more than £10,000 on the previous year, and by almost £20,000 on 2021. But with pension contributions, healthcare and other benefits her total remuneration jumped from £307,921 to £321,852.

In 2023 she received pension contributions of £27,536, up from £25,134 in 2022. The university said the vice-chancellor’s remuneration was around the median for the sector and the increase in pay was in line with that paid by universities of a similar size.

It came as the university turned its financial results around and recorded a large profit after falling into a £200,000 loss in 2022. The university’s pre-tax surplus of £13.4m in 2023 was mainly due to a £10.9m increase in income from tuition fees and education contracts as a result of an increase in student numbers and international tuition fees.

Prof Petts said: “The university is an amazing institution which we have all managed to get into a very sound position with an immensely strong reputation, not least for our impact on our students, on innovation and our communities. It has been an absolute privilege to work with so many talented colleagues at the university, to build and deliver on our Strategy 2030, and to have the opportunity to position the university so strongly with our major stakeholders. I know a new leader will have so much to build on.”

The university’s board of governors will now begin the “lengthy and careful” process of selecting her successor. Prof Simon Gaskell, chair of the board of governors, said: “We all wish Judith well in her retirement and will be sad to see her leave.

“Great progress has been made by the university in recent years in the quality of teaching and research, and in the impact of both – regionally, nationally, and internationally. During the current academic year, we will ensure there are opportunities to celebrate all that Judith has achieved as vice-chancellor – and all that has been achieved by the university under her leadership.”