I noticed visits to this blog from DailyNous “Serious Cuts and Stark Choices at Aberdeen“. I asked whether the former Science & Engineering Vice Principal at Queen Mary, Jeremy Kilburn, was repeating one of his destructive assaults against colleagues? At Queen Mary he convinced academics to strike; an act he repeated at the University of Aberdeen. Unfortunately, according to the BBC, it looks like Kilburn continues to call for academic sackings. I wish he fails and faces instead the sack himself. (more…)
Tag: Simon Gaskell
Simon Gaskell quits Queen Mary
Simon Gaskell has announced with an email to all staff his retirement. This is good news for the College, although it will be challenging to find a successor to reverse such decline witnessed in the past few years. Together with the departures of Matthew Evans and Jeremy Kilburn, none of the culprits of the destruction of the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences remains in post. As I put it to Gaskell in November 2011:
Correspondence with Sir Nicholas Montagu
Sir Nicholas Montagu, Chairman of Council, Queen Mary University of London
Simon Gaskell, Principal and President, Queen Mary University of London
Petition to reinstate John F. Allen at Queen Mary University of London
Simon Gaskell unlawfully dismissed Professor John Allen in the aftermath of the restructuring of the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the College.
You can read the Employment Appeal Tribunal Judgment here: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2016/0265_15_1104.html
In my view, you are under the moral obligation to repair the damage of this decision before you quit formally your respective posts at the College.
I request a reply to this open petition.
Yours sincerely,
Fanis Missirlis
Simon Gaskell should reinstate John Allen
Simon Gaskell should reinstate John Allen to his post at Queen Mary. It is the right thing to do after the Employment Tribunal’s findings that John’s dismissal was unfair. The Tribunal found that removing the whole of the John’s pre-sabbatical work was such a serious breach of contract that, taken together with the failure to deal with his grievance in a reasonable time, it would have justified resignation and a constructive dismissal claim. (more…)
The East End of London
The “Legend” is a movie about the Kray brothers and their influence on East London. “The College” is located at the heart of it all and still has a collective memory around the mark left by the Krays…
Academic position, age discrimination and social justice
Dedicated to the memory of Jake Dutton, barrister and member of Clerksroom, who represented Babis Magoulas at the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Matthew Evans quits Queen Mary
With two tweets, Prof Matthew Evans announced his notice to Queen Mary University of London, standing down on July 1st, 2016. His departure follows that of Prof Jeremy Kilburn. I once shared with the Principal of Queen Mary my view that because managers (like politicians) change all the time, the incentive to build an improved department (which in former times would mean personal recognition) appears to be lacking. Indeed, this pair of managers deeply transformed the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences: in a blink of an eye they recruited over 50 new academics who joined 40 members of staff surviving since 2011, while effecting 35 departures of active researchers. Was it for the better? I think Prof Evans would say so:
The decline of a College
“Managing a team of Process Improvement Project Managers, the Head of Process Improvement will champion a change in behavior and culture at QMUL, placing process improvement and the value for money agenda at the heart of professional services both centrally and in academic schools.”
236+100+165+150+… the academic slaughter in the UK continues
Chris Havergal reports today on Queen’s University Belfast plans to axe 236 (note the precision in their count) jobs and reduce student numbers by 1,010. James Field reports that the University of Surrey is to cut 100 jobs and scrap its politics department, partly using the Research Excellence Framework (REF) as a guide. Jack Grove reports that up to 165 jobs may be lost at London Metropolitan University. The University of Aberdeen is to cut about 150 jobs as part of efforts to save millions of pounds in the coming months (this item from BBC but see also my post over one protagonist).
fanismissirlis 