New vice-chancellor to hold termly Question Time

Incoming vice-chancellor, Stuart Croft, has agreed to a termly student Question Time which will begin on Monday 1 February, his first day of office.

The first event, which begins at 6pm in the Maths & Statistics Building and will last approximately 2 hours, has no set topic; students are encouraged to be both “challenging and ambitious” about the University direction.

Questions can either be submitted beforehand via Facebook or directly as an audience member. For those who are unable to attend, the SU will be keeping students updated with a live Twitter feed on the night.

The initiative was set up by the SU in a bid to improve communication between students and University management; despite occupying the number 2 spot on SU president Isaac Leigh’s election manifesto last year, the Union has been unable to hold the events since the current vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Nigel Thrift, refuses to participate.

His successor, however, current provost and professor, Stuart Croft, has agreed to a termly student question time “for the foreseeable future,” once he takes over the post in February.

In a public statement, the SU president expressed his optimism about the sessions, which are intended to improve the “transparency and accountability” of top-level management and give students the opportunity to offer direct input towards University decision-making:

“In my personal view, the vice-chancellor talking to students is an obvious and basic aspect of the job, whether things are going well, poorly, or a mix of the two. Not doing so suggests that you’re not taking their concerns seriously.”

University spokesman Peter Dunn told The Boar that Professor Croft’s decision to attend the events shows the University’s engagement with student opinions, adding that “it makes more sense for students to have this opportunity with the new vice-chancellor rather than his predecessor.”

Mr Dunn commented that “there are already a great many opportunities for Warwick staff and students to present their thoughts and opinions so that they can be considered in any decision-making process. This provides yet another such opportunity.”

He also confirmed that he sees this arrangement as continuing in the long-term.

First-year Psychology student Sophia Spady commented on the benefits of this change: “I think it’s great for him to spare the time to get involved and answer our questions directly.”

Yasmin Shaikh, a first-year Biochemistry student added: “I have a great many questions about a lot of the facilities on campus, questions that most people I meet don’t seem able to answer. Especially about opening and closing hours at the Health Centre…”

These regular discussion meetings are a first-time initiative for Warwick University. In the next few weeks question times are also being held at the universities of Birmingham, where only the SU officers are attending, and Wolverhampton, where both the vice-chancellor and officers are taking the stage.