Talking leadership

New president of Canada’s largest university hails renewed sense of purpose as nation takes leading role on world stage

Vice-chancellor Dave Phoenix tells THE that focus should be on using partnerships to deliver for city and UK, not switching to face-to-face education on new campus

Lack of financial expertise at board level nearly toppled famed drama school, says leader who picked up the pieces

Facing a £12 million deficit and a beloved but underutilised rural campus, former barrister who led murder cases says she took lessons from legal career when attempting to modernise an institution with Victorian-age origins

Cardiff’s January announcement of plans to cut 400 academic jobs and close several departments prompted a media firestorm that heaped opprobrium on its vice-chancellor. But she also received lots of quiet support for her efforts to put the university back on an even financial keel, she tells Chris Havergal

In wide-ranging interview, crisis-hit university’s interim principal admits further redundancies are ‘uncomfortable’ for ministers and acknowledges ‘moral hazard’ of £62 million bailout

Departing vice-chancellor of Middlesbrough institution crowned University of the Year discusses riot aftermath, serving a deprived area and the importance of ‘learning gain’

Africa’s flagship university may have escaped the arson that has blighted some South African campuses but its research prowess could have gone up in smoke earlier this year when Donald Trump began slashing research funding, Cape Town’s vice-chancellor tells Jack Grove

Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University was founded only 15 years ago but it is already the region’s leading higher education institution. But that is far from the limit of its ambitions, its new president, Waqar Ahmad, tells Chris Havergal

Newly appointed vice-chancellor wants to embrace university’s interdisciplinary heritage while managing financial pressures

New vice-chancellor at London South Bank discusses FE-HE integration, universities’ reputation problem and what he learnt from years at top of Civil Service

Bosnian-born president of University of Connecticut says her unusual academic career shows how US promotes outsiders like no other country

A year after joining the ‘MIT of the Middle East’, the former King’s College London president reflects on the need for scholars to align their research with national priorities and the joys of leading a ‘city community of scholars’

Expat Ian Findlay says his fourth retirement will be his last. Before that, his task is to ‘transform’ the breeding ground of Papuan prime ministers

Donna Whitehead warns university leaders must be candid with staff as sector’s financial crisis endures

The retirement of arguably the UK’s most politically adept university leader leaves big boots to fill. The Glasgow principal talks to Jack Grove about 40 years of sectoral evolution, his thoughts on Scottish university funding and his concerns about the now-paused changes to the 2029 REF

UK universities have no need to oversell their benefits to individuals or societies, but they do need to demonstrate an ability to foster both free speech and civil disagreement – while carefully navigating their ‘slightly nerve-racking’ reliance on overseas students, UCL’s provost tells Chris Havergal

Outgoing rector of University of Oslo says culture of openness changed into one dominated by national priorities during his eight years in charge of Norway’s top-ranked institution

As he begins his stint as Universities UK president, Malcolm Press tells Helen Packer that the sector’s demands of government need to be realistic about the constrained state of public finances and that the sector will have to address its own problems through efficiencies and collaboration 

Good lobbying skills coupled with ‘academic backbone’ the key to success in both sectors, according to leader of Colombia’s University of la Costa

Government yet to articulate its vision for the sector after a year in power as political threats – rather than long-term thinking – shape its agenda, says outgoing UUK president

Being odd one out from a celebrated merger makes it ‘easier to differentiate’, while conferring the ‘mantle of seniority’, says vice-chancellor

Institution falling back on reserve cash to pursue growth through major transformation, including a new teaching model, overseas expansion and controversial staff redundancies

Leading private university pivots to graduate and international students as entire sector threatened by low birth rate

Cambridge’s 347th vice-chancellor may have spent the whole of her previous career at Princeton, but she has no plans to tear up local or national traditions as she seeks to turn the UK government’s big hopes for the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor into reality, she tells Jack Grove  

Innovation cluster, new medical school and cautious growth of non-local student numbers high on the agenda of president of leading Hong Kong research university

With existential challenges mounting in both his adoptive homes, outgoing University of Surrey vice-chancellor says cuts cannot be the only focus as he prepares to head back Down Under

Stagnating government funding means tuition fee rises may be inevitable, says Japanese university leader

Outgoing president of the University of Toronto discusses Canada’s international student restrictions, impact of second Trump term and prospect of more ‘bad surprises’ awaiting his successor

The marine biologist and new University of Melbourne vice-chancellor is intent on using insights from beneath the waves to keep her institution afloat through the brewing storms

Neeli Bendapudi on being an outsider and a trailblazer, students as customers and nurturing the world’s largest alumni network 

Jane Norman eyes more focused approach for university after decades of rapid growth, with new financial paradigm forcing ‘hard conversations’

‘I want to understand as best we can quantitatively, what are the things that lead to our students leaving?’ says University of Colorado Boulder leader

‘People lose a lot of their energy and resources to fear and speculation versus focusing on what’s actually happening,’ says newly inaugurated Boston University leader

The chancellor of Abu Dhabi University on different types of intelligence, freedom of speech and universities in the East versus West 

The president of Technical University of Munich explains his recipe for breaking down silos while retaining deep disciplinary strength

New LSE vice-chancellor discusses ‘Wild West’ US, dealing with campus protests and the personal turmoil that led him to make the switch to London

Irene Tracey says policymakers and universities need to work together to tackle funding crisis

Monash vice-chancellor discusses universities' progress on preventing gender-based abuse and the 'flattening effect' on internationalisation 

Dartmouth College president discusses seeking criticism, prioritising mental health and getting more women into engineering

Indian Institute of Science director discusses opening a new medical school and receiving the country’s largest philanthropic university gift

Sheffield vice-chancellor discusses including innovation in promotions criteria and carving a distinct identity for the university

The Florida Tech president on creating a 'living, breathing' strategic plan, the explosion of the space industry and why diversity matters

Outgoing Erasmus University Rotterdam president discusses the underappreciated value of the social sciences, managing student protests and the differences between Dutch and German higher education

The president of McMaster University discusses the importance of nuclear power, dealing with a sexual misconduct scandal and limits on student recruitment

Departing Manchester vice-chancellor discusses sector finances, pay gaps and letting go after 14 years

The president of San José State University on harnessing location to build partnerships, the importance of representation and why she isn’t a ‘traditional academic’

University of Technology Sydney head on achieving impact on policy and sustainability by building partnerships, fossil fuel divestment and boosting Indigenous enrolment

The president of Lingnan University on requiring students to use ChatGPT and using data to manage grumbles from staff

The head of Nanyang Technological University leverages the institution’s youthful vigour to put AI at the heart of learning and uses his research background to inform his leadership and help recruit potential Nobel prizewinners

The head of Hong Kong Baptist University shares his solution to the rapidly changing jobs market

As overhaul presses staff and students to broaden horizons, president discusses handling faculty pushback, maintaining a vital Samsung partnership and dealing with disgruntled alumni

The interim president of Michigan State University shares her approach to healing the campus community after a deadly shooting and sexual misconduct crises

Ebrahim Adia’s journey through modern universities indicates their power to transform lives, but they face growing financial pressure

The president of Aalto University talks about leading a nationwide flexible learning effort, and why he’s been standing up for an ‘international Finland’

Royal Holloway head discusses decentralising university leadership and tapping into the creative industry in Surrey

The American University in Cairo’s first Arab leader on helping people reskill, serving the community and taking on the ‘necessary evil’ of administration

Michel Mawad fights to keep the lights on at Lebanese American University and its teaching hospitals, and to keep staff while supporting students amid economic and political crisis. But he’s not giving up

The University of Exeter’s vice-chancellor talks about partnering with businesses, including the controversial decision to keep working with Shell on sustainability

UC Davis’ chancellor, Gary May, has plenty of background in attracting minority students, but finds California’s decades-old ban on race-based admissions a formidable foe