Interview with Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal & Vice-Chancellor, Rachel Sandison, Vice-Principal and Fran Shepherd, Director of Development & Alumni at the University of Glasgow

Interview with Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal & Vice-Chancellor, Rachel Sandison, Vice-Principal, External Relations and Fran Shepherd, Director of Development & Alumni at the University of Glasgow

The Golden Thread of External Relations: How the University of Glasgow is creating impact and results as a global leader.

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We spoke with three leaders at the University of Glasgow about External Relations in uncertain times. Led by Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Glasgow is in the private phase of the first pan institution fundraising campaign in its history. A top 100 university, they are attracting more international students and playing a pivotal role in the fight against COVID-19 including the search for a vaccine.

They’ve given a seat at the top table to Rachel Sandison, their VP of External Relations and restructured their development team under the leadership of Fran Shepherd. Glasgow is determined to supercharge their philanthropic ambitions to support the creation and distribution of knowledge that is – to quote their increasingly recognised brand – world changing.

Anton, given the current environment with COVID-19, what are some of the tough decisions you have had to make quickly as Vice-Chancellor to minimise impact and ensure viability? 

Before we begin, I want to stress how devastating COVID has been for everyone. No-one is untouched by this. We are privileged to lead communities who have responded magnificently to the health challenge and clearly proved the long-term value of Higher Education. But there are serious implications for us. From the beginning of the crisis, we ensured good financial stewardship and reduced our spending. We controlled staff appointments and focussed investment on critical infrastructure, bolstering support for IT systems and online assessment and teaching.

We’re continuing with our ambitious campus development project but we’ve paused some other infrastructure projects. Providing our income recovers in 2021 and 2022, we’re planning to progress other investments and start to take advantage of new opportunities. But for now, we’re keeping focussed on delivery of key projects which were already in development.

Fran, The University of Glasgow was awarded a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for vaccine development in response to the crisis in Malawi. That grant is generating knowledge that may inform effective immunomodulatory treatments. This is a major endorsement. How do you plan to leverage it to attract more investment for this research?

Not our first Gates funding, I would point out! But yes, it’s a fantastic story - and we are getting it out there. I think there is a real appetite for news in this area – and my communications colleagues have done a great job in demonstrating Glasgow’s relevance and importance to the fight in which we find ourselves. We’ve increased communication from our Centre for Virus Research (CVR), who are at the heart of the fight against COVID and have assessed our campaign priorities and the need for new narratives and priorities around COVID. For example, our Institute for Health and Wellbeing – who will be brought together in the fantastic new Clarice Pears Building (thank you Pears Foundation!) as part of the campus development project - has a lot of relevant research, not just in terms of epidemiology, but also in mental health and this has gained further profile. We also had a great philanthropic response to our COVID appeal focussed on the CVR and support for our most vulnerable students. Its messaging connected strongly to the wider community and brought us more new donors than any digital initiative we’ve attempted.

Anton, an article you co-wrote for the THE stated that “the global academic community has grasped an important truth: that it is only through collective action that we can protect our societies and restart economies”. Can you give examples of your collaboration during COVID-19?

Let’s look at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research. It’s working on clinical trials to repurpose existing drugs for COVID treatments. Our approach is multi institutional, involving the NHS, major bio-medical universities and the University of Oxford’s vaccine trial. The University of Glasgow also hosts one of three UK Lighthouse Labs, central to processing all of UK COVID testing. 

The UK network of scientists has come together incredibly well. But we’re also looking at how we can support the economic recovery. For example, we’re working with the Scottish Government on how innovation can help the national economy and investing more in our work in precision medicine. This will potentially have a multi-million-pound impact right here in Scotland. This is alongside our innovation projects that will create more jobs and develop new skills post COVID, whether through formal master’s degrees or credit bearing learning.

The Muscatelli Report (2019) considered how the strengths of Scotland’s Universities can be channelled to achieve maximum economic benefit for our country. One of the recommendations was to encourage your alumni to help connect Scotland with industry and potential inward investors. How is your global alumni community supporting the University in driving economic benefit?

Anton: Universities have helpful and influential alumni. We can and must work with them to create positive change. And I’m convinced a broad agenda leads to more opportunities. IP generation for example, which is referenced in the report. This is a conversation we’re having with alumni, looking at how we can collaborate with industry to protect IP. I have my own perspective as a university leader, but hearing the perspective of leading alumni in areas such as technology showed some of our approaches as being a bit outdated. So now we can begin to remove these barriers and adapt our approach. 

Fran: The conversation that we open with our alumni and potential donors should cover many aspects of a potential relationship with the University, including business and research collaboration. We have several examples where those conversations led to an alumnus/a first getting involved with advising a University spin out, or the potential for their SME to locate in our Clinical Innovation Zone.  Those alumni have now made significant philanthropic investments. I think that a broad ranging approach is sometimes not well understood and there can be a degree of mistrust. Fundraisers can fear that discussing other kinds of involvement distracts from the journey towards becoming a major donor; colleagues elsewhere in the University – and sometimes in government  - fear that if fundraisers get near their contacts, they are going to sour relations by asking for gifts. Whereas the reality is that it’s a win win if the relationship is properly managed. It’s our job as advancement professionals to change those perceptions. I believe there is great potential to work more closely with government in bringing interested people together – but again, I think it’s worth saying that these partnerships need to be based on trust to avoid the reinvention of the wheel and the presentation of conflicting messages to alumni. Governments are best placed to work through us and with us. I don’t think it serves anyone well if they try to replace what we do.

Both Cairney & Company and the University of Glasgow believe integrated advancement supports delivery of institutional strategic objectives, and increases performance and impact. What opportunities have presented themselves working this way, and have there been any challenges? 

Rachel: Karen, we’ve had this conversation many times and you know that I am evangelical about integrated advancement. Together we share our priorities and develop strategy. This means increased economies of scale, efficient resourcing models, and integrated skill sets that best serve strategic objectives and the communities we serve. It can also lead to improved expertise and experiences across the teams.

There is a ‘golden thread’ that runs through external relations. Our team is often the first or final point of contact for someone's relationship with the University, be that a prospective student, their parents, a member of our alumni community or a potential donor. We are taking people on a journey, and this needs consistent, timely and impactful messaging.

One of the major supporting factors is having External Relations represented on the Senior Management Team. With my appointment as a professional member of staff, this is a rare move by a university, and it speaks volumes as to the importance placed on the team and the value we can add, as well as the confidence of the University’s leadership led by Anton in our team.

Fran: Our integrated model means we can draw on all the other major pieces of work to support the Campaign. For example, the brand and positioning work – particularly with regard to our research has given my major gift fundraising team a succinct story to tell on the road and supported the shaping of our campaign positioning which is firmly part of the overall university brand of “World Changing Glasgow”.

Fran, Looking to the year ahead what would be your one piece of advice to advancement teams and professionals across the UK who may be struggling to demonstrate their institutional value?

I think a previous Cairney Conversation highlighted the need to talk in terms of institutional and societal benefit rather than function or team needs, and I would 100% agree with that. Of course, RoI and Net Cash Yield are important, but we sometimes miss the bigger picture if we just talk about the bottom line. Philanthropic support of universities is rarely the answer to a cash emergency.  It is important to demonstrate how the University’s alumni and donors – and therefore the work we do to engage them - are integral to the institutional mission and goals.

In this much-changed global environment, how are you approaching your international development strategy? Given the greater level of competition for international students, what is the potential impact of students not coming to the UK?

Rachel: Glasgow was on track to have its most successful international recruitment year in history. The growth has been exponential over the last few years, and we now have over 7,000 international students in our community. This success comes from strategic investments in some of our major markets and focused engagement with our stakeholders - prospective students, applicants, offer holders, agents and parents. We now have 10 in-country officers working across the globe and that number will only likely increase.

We've also been very intentional around our partnerships and networks. We’ve chosen esteemed partners and focused on international collaboration, driving a halo effect in those markets. We’ve also been able to embed a really compelling brand framework and narrative that has undoubtedly had a positive impact on our reputation, brand and profile.

Is there, or will there be, a particular focus on alumni involvement to support international recruitment? If so, does this approach require new kinds of activities and investment with a shift in focus and resources? For example, the role that digital plays? 

Anton: We’ve continued to build our digital expertise and effectiveness but my personal view is that while Zoom and other digital platforms are great for maintaining existing relationships – and we are making creative use of such tools to hold online events and briefings – there is still something about face-to-face interaction when you’re trying to build trusted new relationships.

Rachel: I would agree with Anton. We’ll see much more of a blended approach. I think we will start to finesse the best parts of the virtual engagement experience and combine them with the best parts of physical connection. The physical aspect will be the richer and more contextual interactions, especially focussed on higher level donors or in markets with flagship events. But it has to be about a practical balance.

You talk about being a Civic University with a global outlook. What does it mean to be a Civic University in 2020, and how would you describe your proposed impact? How does this translate to the alumni engagement and philanthropy work undertaken at Glasgow?

Rachel: Civic and global are mutually reinforcing. We must be a civically minded university with global ambitions and outlook. This is how Glasgow best benefits from our work, not just economically but socially and culturally. It’s never been more important to the city, from the £1bn campus development programme, to the launch of Kelvin Hall, partnering with Glasgow Life and the National Library of Scotland, to the widening access agenda and raising attainment across the city. Universities need to highlight the value they bring to local communities and to regions more widely. Those that embrace the triple helix of learning, industry and government will have the greatest success in the future.

Anton: The concept of the Civic University is multi-dimensional, from relationships with schools and Colleges to increasing access to research. Universities make major contributions to local economies and we do important research on public health and population health. We also have major innovation projects which are significant to local industry. They go hand in hand with the concept of place and are absolutely key to the development of a city like Glasgow.

Fran: This is exactly what we were founded to do in the broadest sense. The University’s work – and the stories we tell about it - have communities at the heart and reach beyond the significant economic benefit. I believe the institutions that thrive will be those with really strong connections to their founding missions and that demonstrate and reinforce that in how they think and talk about themselves. We weren't founded to increase student numbers or to put up buildings: we were founded to create and share knowledge and through our research and our graduates to make our cities, our communities, the world a better place.

Anton, the current trend of donors engaging directly with the VC and senior development professionals looks to be working across the sector. What has been your experience at Glasgow? And going forward, how can you use the virtual environment to engage new potential donors?

In the immediate term we have focussed on the relationships we already have and that’s working well. I don’t think virtual can entirely replace in person conversations – particularly in starting new relationships. However, if you think of online presentations or thought pieces by our academics, these can fuel exciting new interest from places we were hitherto unable to reach. For example, “Here is a discussion on X”, and all of a sudden, our senior leaders are available for a real-time debate, developing and bringing the ideas to life, to a global audience. We wouldn’t have considered this possible if it meant getting everybody around the same dinner table in San Francisco or in Hong Kong – the digital environment can definitely increase the accessibility of ideas.

Higher education across the globe has been impacted significantly due to COVID-19 what do you believe to be the one major change we will see across the HE landscape in the next three years?

Anton: Given the financial impact of COVID, we’re looking at a reset of the relationship between government and Higher Education. Different countries have different degrees of dependence on public funding, but the importance of universities means their relationships with governments are key. A reset might be welcomed where countries get it right, but it could also bring strains, where the relationships are not as good. I don't think the premium on international education will disappear, even given the rise of online learning. I think that the crisis and the time it will take us to recover might actually add a premium.

Will there be fewer Universities?

Anton: There may be. The UK Government has already made an announcement about restructuring funds to be made available to universities in England facing major financial difficulties, so to me, that’s a clear signal of a sector that’s going to change. There is a bigger question around whether there will actually be fewer universities or whether some existing institutions undergo radical reshaping.

Rachel: I think we’ll see greater diversification, both in terms of markets and the institutional offering. But the biggest shift will be a need for agility. What’s really blown me away is how responsive the sector has been during the pandemic. It's incredible when you think about it. Universities can be slow, bureaucratic organisations but when change was forced upon us, we adapted. The sector will have to continue to adapt to market demands if it wants to survive and thrive.

Do you think if fees come back in Scotland your work to widen access will be negatively impacted in the next three to five years?

Rachel: Widening participation is core to the Scottish Government’s manifesto. The University has really ambitious targets to meet for widening access and particularly for students from the lowest 20% of the multiple deprivation index. I can’t see those targets changing.   We’ve seen a significant increase in calls to our hardship fund since the pandemic began because our students don’t have access to part-time jobs. There will be a demand for universities to provide this kind of financial support if we want continued access for all. I can see lots more fundraising flowing into student financial support.

Anton: I've said publicly that I don't think there will be a move towards fees in Scotland because the indications are that younger people will disproportionately experience financial hardship in the coming years. COVID will actually have a bigger impact on young people than any other segment because they lack assets. Stock markets, returns, and house prices, overall, they haven't been too badly hit by COVID. So, any party or government who said “I think we're going to put more financial burden on young people” will not be popular. 

What's happening in England is influencing the debate here in Scotland. Fees were originally introduced as a way of taking all this off the government balance sheet and onto the Office of Students (OFS). But the current UK government is questioning why universities are being subsidised with public money. The whole Augar agenda has not gone away. The debate is still alive because you have an incomplete loan system.