Annual Review, 2006-2007
Vice-Chancellor's introduction
2006-2007 has been a year of signal achievement and significant change at the University. At the time of writing I
have completed exactly one month as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex. It is a great honour and a privilege
to have the opportunity of leading the University at a time when the higher education landscape is undergoing seismic change.
The challenges of national and international competition coupled with a very clear government agenda in respect of widening
participation and employer engagement mean that universities are having to undergo a fundamental reassessment of their mission
and approach. I am convinced that Essex can rise to these challenges and am determined that my tenure as Vice-Chancellor will
see the University continue the highly successful trajectory that it has enjoyed under the leadership of my predecessor.
The last of Professor Sir Ivor Crewe’s twelve years as Vice-Chancellor was marked by
characteristic success. The Institute of Social and Economic Research received a grant of
some £15.5m from the Economic and Social Research Council to establish the world’s
largest household panel survey. This outstanding award affirmed the pre-eminent
position of Essex in social science research and provided a fitting finale to Sir Ivor’s own
singular contribution in this area. In tandem with this development, the UK Data Archive
has launched the Online Historical Reports Website, which provides online access to the
complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937. Funded as
part of the Joint Information Systems Committee Digitisation programme, the
Online Historical Population Reports is an Arts and Humanities Data Service History
project that provides a unique and hitherto inaccessible in-depth view of the economy
and society during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
September 2007 saw University Campus Suffolk (UCS) welcome its inaugural students.
This prestigious project to develop a new higher education provider in Suffolk is a joint
venture between the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia with funding
support from HEFCE, EEDA, Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council. UCS
will play a key part in helping the University contribute to the widening participation and
access needs of Suffolk and environs, and the brand-new waterfront building that began
taking shape during the course of the year will provide a fitting home for its activities. The
University is proud to be part of this historic development and keen to pursue the
opportunities for partnership that it offers.
Essex students raised the profile of the University in a number of very positive
ways. Essex shot up the British Universities Sports Association rankings to finish in 49th
place, making Essex the most improved university. We are delighted at our sporting
students’ achievements and wish them well in the coming season. The Students’ Union
won a prize of a different sort; the refurbished venue Sub Zero was deemed
’Best Students’ Venue in the UK’ at the British Entertainment and Dance Awards.
The Students’ Union continues to enjoy an excellent reputation among British
universities and the University is keen to pursue the equally excellent working
relationship which characterises our cooperation.
The departure of Professor Sir Ivor Crewe, commemorated in a local version of
Question Time featuring Polly Toynbee and Professor Anthony King, as well as Sir Ivor
himself, marks the end of an era at Essex. The University has much to thank him for
and I would like to record my own personal best wishes for his new career as Master
of University College Oxford.
As we look to the future, the University will continue the strategy of developing our
regional presence and will aim to create a powerful base from which to build the
international strategic alliances that will allow us to compete on the global stage.
We must make financial provision for investment in the student experience across
all campuses, with a focus on the Library, student services and our sports facilities.
We must be able to invest in our research effort at will, since our research reputation
is and will remain the University’s most precious asset and our key defining feature.
Making such provision will require a resolute and focused approach, but the
reward will be to set the University ahead of its rivals in the acutely competitive world of
higher education in the twenty-first century.
Professor Colin Riordan
Vice-Chancellor