I am delighted to join the University of Bath as its new Chair of Council. I am honoured to build on my 40-year commitment to the University both initially as a student and as an alumna/donor to the excellent Gold Scholarship program. My time at Bath truly transformed my life and I welcome this opportunity to support the whole University community. It is also clear that it has been a very successful first year under the leadership of Professor Phil Taylor as Vice-Chancellor & President and I am excited to be able to work in partnership with such a strong leader.

I have been impressed at the sense of momentum within the University, the continued and increasing focus on quality in our education and research, a real sense of refining our priorities and developing action plans to drive our aims. It is pleasing to see this hard work reflected not only in the domestic rankings, but also internationally, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who have played a role in our continued success.

The national and international context in which we operate continues to present challenge as well as opportunity. People are at the heart of higher education, and I’m pleased to see that we have maintained our focus on enabling an inclusive community, supporting our students affected by global conflicts or those fearing discrimination in a world that can seem polarised.

Looking forward, the external environment in Higher Education remains difficult and we are not immune from the very real financial pressures. It will be important for Bath to take a strategic approach to strengthen our university. This will mean operating efficiently and focussing on core priorities, to enable us to invest in our staff and areas of excellence, while generating sufficient resources to fund the renewal of our infrastructure over the medium term.

We are also focussing on being as efficient and effective as possible with our governance arrangements and have moved to a more streamlined Council structure of 15 members. We believe this will enable us to respond more nimbly to the challenges ahead. I would take this opportunity to thank all members of Council, those standing down for their contribution to the University’s success and those who will continue to serve. I would also like to specifically thank the outgoing Chair of Council, Pam Chesters. Her commitment to good governance is exceptional and I would particularly like to thank her for her huge support during the transition period over the last few months. I look forward to working closely with members of the University community and our partners over the coming year.

Sharon Flood
Chair of Council