Russell Group vice chancellor pay

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12 January 2018

Commenting on analysis of vice chancellor pay levels based on universities’ most recently published financial accounts, Russell Group Chief Executive, Dr Tim Bradshaw, said:

“The key to restoring trust around senior pay is to ensure the process for pay-setting arrangements is as rigorous and transparent as possible and so we very much welcome the publication earlier this week of a proposed new code by the Committee of University Chairs.

“No one would argue that Russell Group Vice Chancellors aren’t well remunerated for the difficult job they perform. However, the value our universities bring to the UK economy, society and culture is vast. In purely economic terms our 24 universities generate around £86 billion for the country every year. It’s also worth remembering that our VCs tend to be paid less than their counterparts in countries like Australia and the USA, while their average salary as a percentage of their university’s turnover is comparatively very low at just 0.05%.

“We agree that Russell Group universities need to take a lead in acting responsibly on this issue in order to regain the confidence of staff, students and the wider public. It’s really important that every pay award is fair and justified and that relevant information is publicly available.

“At the same time, we should recognise that the position of Vice Chancellor at a research-intensive university is very challenging and increasingly multi-faceted. In a highly competitive market, it is vital that our members can attract and hold on to the right people to run these large, complex, global operations to deliver the best outcomes for their students and to society at large.”