Crisis-hit Dundee picks council chief executive as next principal

The crisis-hit University of Dundee has looked outside the higher education sector to appoint its next principal.

The institution announced that it had appointed Angela Scott, chief executive of Aberdeen City Council for the past 12 years, as its next leader. She will take up the post in October.

She will be Dundee’s first permanent principal since Iain Gillespie resigned with immediate effect in December 2024 as details emerged of the university’s £35 million budget black hole.

Former provost Shane O’Neill picked up the baton on an interim basis for seven months but quit when an external investigation found that financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency, compounded by a “top-down” failure in leadership, had pushed the institution to the brink of bankruptcy.

Former Abertay University principal Nigel Seaton has been temporary charge since June last year, with the institution being kept afloat by Scottish Government bailouts.

Scott will be greeted at Dundee by industrial action, with the local University and College Union branch confirming on the day that her appointment was announced that members would go on strike for five weeks between 21 September and 23 October in protest at the rising tally of job cuts.

Another 200 jobs are set to go at the university, on top of 815 that have gone since the crisis first erupted.

In its announcement, Dundee said that Scott had “extensive experience of institutional recovery, financial sustainability, and large-scale transformation across complex public services”. She was born and raised in Dundee, and is an Abertay graduate.

Esther Robertson, chair of Dundee’s court, said Scott “comes to us as the university seeks to rebuild after a traumatic period”. “I am sure Angela is the right person to lead that recovery,” Robertson said.

Scott said that Dundee had “a remarkable history and a well-earned international reputation for excellence in education, research and innovation”.

“While the university has faced significant challenges in recent years, I am confident in its future. By building on the achievements of generations of staff and students, we have an opportunity to strengthen and renew the university for the long term, ensuring it continues to make a positive difference locally, nationally and internationally,” she said.

On top of the recently announced job cuts, Dundee is also facing criticism over its plans to close its mathematics degrees. Scottish education secretary Màiri McAllan said that she was “extremely disappointed” by the planned redundancies, adding that outgoing principal Seaton had refused her request to pause the process.

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com