In 1990,Bell became assistant director of education at Newcastle City Council. During this time he spent a year as a Harkness Fellow at Georgia State University,Atlanta,studying education and local government reform across the United States of America. Bell trained as an Ofsted team inspector in 1993. He became a Registered Inspector in 1994 and carried out inspections in primary schools. He was promoted to director of education and libraries at Newcastle City Council in 1995 and became chief executive of Bedfordshire County Council in 2000.[1]
In September 2012,[5] Bell left the civil service to become the vice-chancellor of the University of Reading. He succeeded Acting Vice-Chancellor Tony Downes.[6]
In 2016 a move to reorganise the structure of Reading University provoked student protests.[7] On 21 March 2016,staff announced a vote of no confidence in Bell,[8] the no-confidence motion being backed by 88% of those who voted.[9]
Bell left the University of Reading in September 2018 and was succeeded by Robert Van de Noort as acting vice-chancellor.[10] Bell had left "under a cloud",according to Times Higher Education[11] when it emerged that Reading had returned a £20 million deficit,largely because of its Malaysia campus.
University of Sunderland
Bell began his new role as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Sunderland on 24 September 2018.[5] He announced the closure of history,politics,modern languages and public health courses,and of research in those fields,on 13 January 2020.[12]
Childcare Centre
It was announced in an email from Bell on 18 September 2024 that St Mary's Childcare Centre based at City Campus will close permanently on 23 July 2025.[13] He wrote,"The Childcare Centre is currently running at a substantial loss. This means that it is subsidised by the University,with the subsidy for 2023/24 projected to be in excess of £250,000... Last academic year,the service was used by 45 families,including 17 members of staff and 11 students. Currently,there are 34 children registered in the Centre."[13]
National Glass Centre
Bell announced on 12 January 2023 that the National Glass Centre building would be closed (and probably demolished) within 3 years.[14] Bell says that due to the cost of the relocation estimated at £9.4million,it has instead decided to close the course in summer 2026,with recruitment stopping from September [2024].[15] This is despite a £250million capital development budget for the University[16] and will shutter the centre,which is a heritage and history of glassmaking at Sunderland since the 7th century.[15] As a consequence,the University announced on 22 March 2024 that its glass and ceramics academic programme will close in summer 2026.[17][18]
Restructuring,voluntary severances,and layoffs
Under Bell's leadership,staff at the University of Sunderland have faced departmental restructuring and combining of faculties[19] and voluntary severance offers with caveats that if not enough voluntary severance offers are taken,targeted layoffs and redundancies will be undertaken.[20][21] On 30 September 2024,the University and Colleges Union (UCU) warned the institution is considering 76 redundancies,including 60 out of 549,more than one in ten,of its academic staff.[22][23] The union added:"This is the second formal notification of redundancies in under six months. In neither this,nor the previous notification,were any management jobs put at risk."[24] It is of note that during this period of layoffs and restructuring,a new executive member of staff was appointed,for the position of Pro Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching.[25]
Parking fees
In May 2024,it was announced that parking at the University of Sunderland would see a rise from £1.30 to £6 per day - or 462% - and from 35p to £1.60 per hour.[26] This has seen calls for the price to return to the previous rate from the student and staff unions.[27][26]
Graduation fees
In 2024,the University introduced a £30.00 per guest charge for any students who wish to bring family or friends to their graduation ceremony. Previously free,the Student´s Union has a petition online calling for this to be removed,in recognition of the increased cost of living and job insecurity that students are facing. [28]
1 2 Message from VC Childcare Centre Closing.pdf. (n.d.). Google Docs. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://drive.google.com/file/d/147olOdZmHm1jsrUZatgNTW5djr0oy2Fa/view?usp=sharing&usp=embed_facebook
1 2 I hoped to become a glass artist, but the university’s decision has left me shattered. (2024, April 11). Sunderland Echo. https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/people/artists-letter-to-university-of-sunderland-over-course-closure-thats-further-nail-in-glassmaking-coffin-4584954
↑ Game-changing £250 million investment for University of Sunderland. (2023, February 6). University of Sunderland. https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/more/news/story/game-changing-250-million-investment-for-university-of-sunderland-2043
↑ Message from VC Restructuring.pdf. (n.d.). Google Docs. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FQOKlq-3KBPKloDpof-2X8v4QShFdSE0/view?usp=sharing&usp=embed_facebook
↑ Joint Statement. (n.d.). University of Sunderland. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/more/news/university-news/2024/sunderland-ucu-unison-joint-statement/
↑ University working with unions to “avoid compulsory redundancies” after jobs shock. (2024, October 8). Sunderland Echo. https://www.sunderlandecho.com/education/university-of-sunderland-working-with-unions-to-avoid-compulsory-redundancies-after-jobs-bombshell-4815276
↑ Union warns University of Sunderland considering 76 redundancies. (2024, September 30). Sunderland Echo. https://www.sunderlandecho.com/education/union-warns-university-of-sunderland-considering-76-redundancies-with-jobs-going-by-christmas-4803297
↑ University of Sunderland threatens to make more than 1 in 10 academics redundant. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/13740/University-of-Sunderland-threatens-to-make-more-than-1-in-10-academics-redundant
↑ Foster, A. (2024, September 30). Dozens of Sunderland university staff facing redundancy. Chronicle Live. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/sunderland-university-staff-redundancies-students-30040213
↑ Pro Vice-Chancellor. (n.d.). University of Sunderland. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/more/news/university-news/2024/pro-vice-chancellor/
1 2 Increase of parking fees at Sunderland Campus @ University of Sunderland Students’ Union. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.sunderlandsu.co.uk/thestudentvoice/increase-of-parking-fees-at-sunderland-campus
↑ Calls to stop Sunderland University parking charge rise. (2024, May 23). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1108q9ee9o
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
