Transcript: Vice-Chancellor's message for the start of Hilary term 2025

A transcript of Vice-Chancellor Professor Irene Tracey's start of term message to staff

14 January 2025
The Vice-Chancellor in the Weston Library

Dear colleagues,

Happy New Year from the wonderful surroundings of the Weston Library’s ‘floating stacks’ above Blackwell Hall. A place that supports our academic mission of research and teaching as well as allowing the public to enjoy our outstanding collections through the various exhibitions our wonderful staff curate.

I do hope that you have had some time to rest and recharge over the Christmas break and are ready for the new term – I know I certainly am.

Some of you might have listened to my Guest Edit for Radio 4’s Today programme during the break. My theme was Hope and Kindness through the lens of my former research and what Universities do in the world. Let us all have hope for the coming year and let us show kindness to one another in whatever way we can.

And we have our new Chancellor to welcome this term who will be installed on 19 February. I am in regular contact with William, who is raring to get going and will be wonderful to work with as we take this great University forward. I know that you will all give William a very warm welcome.

I’d like to remind you that the Staff Experience Survey 2025 will launch on 31 March. This is a key opportunity to share your experiences and help shape our University’s future. Your feedback from the last survey in 2023 helped shape our work on Pay & Conditions and many other improvements that you will read about in the University Bulletin over the coming months. Your views will again help us to identify and shape our future. Please do participate.   

Our work continues in delivering the Pay & Conditions recommendations. This term we aim to introduce a workload management toolkit for line managers and supervisors, as well as introduce extended paternity leave. Looking ahead to medium – and longer-term initiatives, we will start looking in more detail at areas including health and wellbeing, access to fitness and sports facilities and broader access to the University’s cultural offerings.

The Academic Career and Reward Framework review will begin the process of engaging actively with all academic staff for consultation over the coming terms. Please take the opportunity to provide your feedback on the framework – it is vital we get this right for you and future generations, so please do get involved and have your say.

The University’s People Strategy will launch this term, following approval at Council in December. Informed by your feedback from the 2023 Staff Experience Survey and an extensive consultation process, it reflects our collective efforts to create an outstanding work environment, building on our strengths while promoting inclusion and wellbeing. It creates a framework that brings together several of our ongoing projects and initiatives, including the Pay & Conditions Programme, as well as introducing a renewed focus on attracting, retaining and developing our talent, delivering high-quality People services that support academic delivery, and ultimately making this University a great place to work.          

Building on the work we did last year to explain University finances and your excellent participation, we will continue this dialogue. Please look out for invitations to join our finance webinar on 13 February that will be in your inbox soon.

Before then, if you have other questions or would like to hear more from me directly, I hope I'll see you at the Conversation with the Vice-Chancellor event on 15 January.

And on 11 February, my Sheldonian Series will continue, with a discussion event on the theme of ‘Life.’ in all its forms. This series that was launched last term is designed to promote good dialogue, reasoned and respectful debate as well as inclusive inquiry.

One of the things we’ll be doing this year is launching the next Strategic Plan that will take forward our ambition as a collegiate university to remain world-leading in teaching and research and to make impact for the betterment of society and our planet. Please look out for updates on the 2025-30 Strategic Plan later in the year.

Looking further afield, I am thrilled that our local engagement report will launch later this month, and I encourage you all to read it and consider how your role might support its aims, if you have not done so already.

Lastly, I am so pleased to say that the Vice-Chancellor's Awards are open for nominations for the second year. These awards celebrate the dedication, courage, ambition and inspirational contributions of all of you, our people. The deadline for nominations is Monday 3 February: so please do get your nominations in as soon as you can.

If you have any other questions or feedback, I look forward to hearing from you. There is a short communications survey open at the moment so that you can let us know how central communications, including from me, are working for you. Thank you for taking a look.

I wish you all the very best for the term ahead.

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