Duncan Ivison familiarisation, reflections and contractual details - Spring update

15 Apr 2024

An update from Philippa Hird, Chair of the Board of Governors, on the arrival of new President and Vice-Chancellor, Duncan Ivison

Dear colleagues,

We said, when we made the announcement in December about Professor Duncan Ivison’s appointment as our next President and Vice-Chancellor, that we would follow up with some further communications in the Spring.

Since the start of this year, led by Nancy and Patrick Hackett, we have begun a managed process of gradual induction for Duncan involving online meetings and discussions with staff and wider stakeholders to help him start to understand more about our amazing university.

As a next step in his induction, it has been fantastic to see Duncan take some leave and be on campus, for a jam-packed nine-day visit running up to Easter, meeting a wider group of people face to face. Time is always limited and there is just so much to see and so many people to meet, but please be assured it is Duncan’s intention to visit every part of the University when he arrives later in the year.

As a reminder Duncan will be formally joining us on the 1 July 2024 for a period of handover, before taking over as President and Vice-Chancellor on 1 August, as Nancy steps down from her role at the end of July.

In between now and then he will be back in Australia and, despite the time difference, there will continue to be a lot of planning and preparation going into supporting him as he continues to learn as much as possible.

However, we did think it might be interesting to hear about Duncan’s impressions of his recent visit, so he has very kindly put pen to paper and given a few simple reflections which you may find of interest in this Viewpoint blog piece.

With all elements of Duncan’s contract and remuneration, including pension arrangements now complete, in the spirit of transparency and openness, we are publishing those details today together with a letter from the Chair of our Remuneration Committee, Gary Buxton, explaining in some detail the robust thinking and assessment that the University went through to make the right decisions.

Kind regards

Philippa Hird

Chair, Board of Governors