A raft of changes have been made to an Aberdeen university’s governance rules in the wake of last year’s “cronyism” row.
The Robert Gordon University has agreed 21 amendments to tighten-up its policies following a probe into the departure of former principal, Ferdinand von Prondzynski.
Several other universities have also moved to implement a series of recommendations made to the higher education sector following a review by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and RGU.
Aberdeen University, Dundee University, Glasgow Caledonian University, St Andrews University and Strathclyde University are among those which have told the P&J they have made changes, or are considering whether to do so.
But specific amendments to governance rules do not appear to have yet been taken forward by Abertay University, Edinburgh University, Glasgow University, the University of the Highlands and Islands, Heriot-Watt University, Napier University, Stirling University or West of Scotland University.
Prof von Prondzynski quit a year ago after the RGU’s board heard there was “considerable concern among a broad spectrum of university employees” about the handling of an internal inquiry into his business links with the university’s vice-principal, Gordon McConnell.
The former Dublin City University colleagues were co-directors of a firm which owned a £12 million Irish castle, but the connection was not declared during Prof McConnell’s recruitment.
After an internal investigation, the university’s board concluded the failure to declare the link was a “genuine omission or oversight”, but the decision not to sanction the pair prompted another vice-principal, Prof Paul Hagan, to resign in protest.
Prof Hagan withdrew his resignation when Prof von Prondzynski announced he would step down.
RGU and the Scottish Funding Council subsequently launched a “lessons learned” review, and in December last year they made two recommendations for RGU, and six for the wider university sector in Scotland.
It advised that “more tailored guidance” should be put in place at RGU for dealing with anonymous allegations against senior staff, and that an “option appraisal for decisions about terms of departure” should be recorded in writing.
Prof von Prondzynski received a termination payment of £237,000, and the review recommended that all universities consider publishing details of such payments “as soon as possible after the date of the settlement agreement”, rather than wait for the publication of annual accounts.
It was also suggested that a “sector-developed template for senior-level settlement agreements” be agreed to improve “transparency”, and that institutions consider the development of a “resilience plan” for coping during “discontinuity at the very top”.
Last night, RGU said: “The university continually looks to achieve excellence in governance and has embraced the recommendations set out in the Lessons Learned Review.
“The university has fully implemented the recommendations which specifically relate to RGU, which involved making amendments to its policy and procedure on disclosures in the public interest and its severance policy.
“As part of the sector-wide recommendations, the university has developed a resilience plan which will be implemented in exceptional circumstances.”
