A place to pay it forward…
26 Apr 2022
We talk to Board of Governor lay member, Gary Buxton about who he is, how he and his colleagues support our University – and why he was drawn to this essential role
Our University’s Board of Governors plays an essential role in supporting our ambitions and achievements.
But it is an area of our University that may not be understood as well as it might – an issue raised in last year’s independent review of our governance by Halpin.
To give everyone a better understanding, over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be featuring a series of communications looking at various aspects of the Board and its work.
So meet Gary Buxton, who chairs our Remuneration Committee and sits on our Awards and Honours and Nominations Committees, after seven years on the Board. Gary - pictured at the front of the canoe, with his husband Nick - is our third Board member to tell us who he is and why he was drawn to this essential role.
Q: Can I ask, what attracted you to a role on the Board in the first place?
A: I love Manchester and I love education and of course, the University combines both.
Education really made a huge difference in my life. I was the first in my family to go to university and it enabled me to break away from my home in Cumbria and move to a more cosmopolitan city. Coming out at 14-years-old was really tough. 1991 was a difficult world for a gay teen. At this time there was an unequal age of consent, it was legal to be fired for being gay, teachers were prohibited from offering you compassionate support through fear of Section 28 and all of this was with the backdrop of the huge impact of HIV and AIDS on my community.
University gave me a place to find others like me. A place to campaign on issues that mattered to me and of course it gave me learning and skills that I still use today.
My degree was in Psychology and this opened up my whole career. A career that has enabled me to work with people who’ve experienced long term unemployment, addiction, those in prison or on probation, young people and these days, senior executives from across the world. University opened up this opportunity for me and I want to be in a place where I can pay it forward.
Q: What are your top three core skills (or areas of expertise) that you bring to the Board?
A: Curiosity: I am professionally curious, so I am always asking questions which can help everyone to build mutual understanding.
Compassion: Much of my career has been about supporting people through moments of crisis or challenge. I recognise the importance of creating an environment where people can thrive and I hope I bring an understanding of how organisations and leaders can create inclusive workplaces.
Community: Manchester is my chosen city. I live here and have done for 23 years. I’ve worked with so many communities across the city. This gives me a good grounding in our third strategic aim of social responsibility and our role as a civic institution.
Q: What are the three things that have impressed you most about the University in your time on the Board?
A: Definitely the breadth of what we do. One day we’ll be in Jodrell Bank looking into outer space, the next in the Graphene Institute thinking about something just one atom thick. My business acumen has been enriched from people in the business school and my understanding of the world increased through insights offered on the US, China and the Middle East from various members of Humanities.
I’ve been really impressed with our significant strides in securing donations and philanthropy to further our social mission. Well done Kate, Dale and the team for the huge progress here!
I’m also excited by the work of the Tyndall Centre in bringing together some of the best minds to address what is arguably one of the biggest crises facing everyone in the world today.
Q: What’s been the most challenging topics you’ve had to discuss/take a view on so far in your Board deliberations?
A: The three areas which have been most challenging have been:
- How our University can achieve more to increase the diversity of staff at senior PS, lecturer or professorial roles. We need to do more here and I’m excited to see where Nalin, Banji and the team can take this next.
- Recognising our environmental impact and pushing our decision making to divest from carbon intensive industries and work harder to reduce our own carbon impact.
- Reflecting on student mental health needs, notably during COVID. I visited our University’s Counselling Service and have always recognised our need to offer students excellent support during difficult times. I am pleased to see the level of cooperation across all five Greater Manchester universities in this space.
Q: What would your top three tips to anyone who wanted to take on a Board Member role in the future?
A: Be prepared to offer more time to really understand the complexity and size of the organisation.
Enjoy the experience by taking the chance to meet with parts of the institution that speak to your interests and skills.
Don’t be afraid to ask the difficult questions. We’re all better for it.
Q: When not working or acting on the Board of Governors, what do you focus on doing professionally?
A: I work as an Executive Coach and Non-Exec Director. My coaching practice is focused on Senior Leaders and Managers and I whilst this was initially delivered in Manchester and London, the post-COVID world has meant I’ve worked ‘virtually’ with executives in the US, across Europe and in Australia.
Prior to this I was founding CEO of the national charity Young Advisors and the Inaugural Director of Youth Services for the B-Corp Ingeus which involved me designing and delivering services to around 20,000 young adults each year.
I hold non-executive roles with Manchester Camper Hire, The Apprentice Academy and Victorious Academies Trust. I’m delighted that my non-exec work takes me across primary, secondary, technical/vocational and higher education as well as a leisure business that gives people something outside of studying!
Q: When you are not working, what are your hobbies/interests?
A: I love camping as you might have guessed from my joint ownership of a campervan business. I also enjoy walking, so much so that a lot of my clients come to me for walking coaching, which is just a brilliant. Calorie burning and great thinking!
Most of my spare time is with friends and volunteering and when I’m switching off from being productive, I’ll go for a paddle up the canal from our house in Tameside.
Q: And to finish up….favourite film, book and piece of music?
A: I think the books that have made me do the most thinking in recent times are those by Noah Harari; Sapiens – a brief History of Humankind; and Homo Deus – a Brief History of Tomorrow. I love any book which tries to make sense of the world we’re living in!
Further information
You can get further information on our Board of Governors at: