Departure of UHI principal Prof Todd Walker brought forward to this week
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PRINCIPAL Todd Walker of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) has brought forward his departure date to the end of this week.
Prof Walker last month gave "family and personal reasons" for his decision to leave early in 2023.
Today (Thursday Sep 15) it was confirmed that UHI and Prof Todd had agreed on the earlier departure date.
Alastair MacColl, UHI’s Chair of Court said: "Following Professor Todd Walker’s recent announcement to depart UHI, we have agreed to his request to bring his departure date forward. Professor Walker will leave UHI at the end of this week.
"We have agreed that it is in the best interests of the institution to allow the process of transition and the handover of responsibilities to proceed promptly.
"The UHI court meets next week and will communicate the detail of that transition and the timing of any accompanying process to appoint Professor Walker’s successor.
"In the meantime, the current executive team, working closely with court and all our partners, will continue to provide the continuity, stability, and momentum we require as we move forward together.
"I would like once again to thank Professor Walker on behalf of UHI for the considerable progress and the many achievements we have recorded during the period of his leadership."
Last month Prof Todd told staff : "After much consideration I have decided to demit from my position as principal and vice-chancellor and leave UHI early in the new year.
"This has been one of the hardest professional decisions I have had to make, but in the end has been prompted by family and professional reasons.
"I sincerely appreciate having had the opportunity to lead UHI and have enjoyed immensely my time here in Scotland."
Prof Walker, an accomplished Australian academic, accepted the post of principal and vice-chancellor of the UHI post in February 2021 but was only able to emigrate to the Inverness area in August of that year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to the Inverness Courier shortly after arriving in Scotland he said that had set in motion a root and branch review of the university's strategy and vision, warning the days of “vanity courses” – fields of study less closely linked to jobs, industry and growth – were numbered.
He expected that process to take two to three years to complete.
Previously working in multi-campus, regional universities in Australia he said he understood the challenges facing technologically advanced, geographically challenged institutions like UHI.
