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Wendy Alexander 'was asked to leave' Dundee uni role over finance questions

PA A woman with short dark hair and a dotted top speaks into a microphone PA
Baroness Alexander was vice principal international at the university for almost a decade

Former MSP Wendy Alexander claims she was asked to leave her senior post at Dundee University after asking "uncomfortable" questions about the institution's finances, MSPs have been told.

Alexander was the university's vice principal international for almost a decade but retired last year rather than accept what she said was the offer of a "package and trips".

She said "cakeism, profligacy and hubris at the very top" led to "a failure to reign in expenditure" and that she "chose not to be bought off".

She said former principal Prof Iain Gillespie, who was heavily criticised in a recent damning report into the university's finances, "made clear" he wanted her to leave last October.

University of Dundee Prof Iain Gillespie in a blue suit and brown tie and wearing glasses, leans on a wall outside a university buildingUniversity of Dundee
Prof Iain Gillespie resigned as Dundee University principal in December last year

Alexander's comments were made in a statement submitted to Holyrood's education committee.

The committee heard evidence on Wednesday from the university's former director of finance Peter Fotheringham, former chief operating officer Dr Jim McGeorge, and former chair of court Amanda Millar.

Fotheringham and McGeorge expressed regret that cost-cutting measures were not made earlier.

Millar said she was "deeply frustrated and saddened" by the "undoubted pain" of students and university staff.

Alexander submitted her evidence rather than appearing in person due to a prior family event abroad.

Gillespie resigned with immediate effect in December after telling staff the previous month that job losses were "inevitable".

He is expected to give evidence in person at the committee on Thursday.

The university currently faces a £35m deficit and has said it must cut 300 jobs through a voluntary redundancy scheme.

The independent report, published last week, said university bosses and its governing body failed multiple times to identify the worsening crisis and continued to overspend instead of taking action.

In her statement, former Labour MSP Alexander said: "I personally, was progressively frozen out of meetings, my objectives changed, data withheld and when I challenged the absence/adequacy of financial information in Sept (20)24, I was then asked to leave.

"I declined the offer of overseas trips at the university's expense to be followed by a generous settlement payment.

"Quite simply, it seemed unethical and morally wrong."

Alexander, who now sits as a baroness at the House of Lords, said she felt "punished for speaking out" and that the university "failed to fix the roof when the sun shone".

She said international fee income had quadrupled over eight years to 2023, but the university was "barely breaking even".

She said that international income plateaued in 2023/24 and fell the following year.

Alexander said there was a "misguided" shift away from a "laser-like focus on international student recruitment to a new globalisation strategy".

She added that the university "deprioritised international student recruitment when it mattered most" and left the university "poorly equipped to deal with the downturn".

Scottish Parliament A man with a suit and tie sits in front of a committee. His name, Peter Fotheringham, is shown on a card in front of himScottish Parliament
Peter Fotheringham told MSPs he and his team 'struggled to stay on top of everything'

Giving evidence in person, Fotheringham said his team was "seriously under-resourced".

He added: "I think I struggled and the team struggled to stay on top of everything."

McGeorge told MSPs that financial information available to university chiefs was "not as comprehensive as it could have been".

He said leaders "could and should" have been reducing staff count through voluntary redundancy schemes in early 2024, six months before they considered such a move.

McGeorge denied findings in the independent report that he had acted in "isolation of the facts", insisting he acted on the basis of the facts that were "available".

Millar, the former Law Society of Scotland president, denied that she lacked the experience necessary to chair the university court.

She said hearing that the finance director had struggled was "news to me".

It was announced on Tuesday that the university will receive an extra £40m from the Scottish government as the institution continues to tackle its financial crisis.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the decision would place specific conditions on the funding which will be paid over two academic years.

The university received £22m from the Scottish Funding Council in February as part of funding to support universities facing financial challenges.