Minute of the statutory half-yearly meeting of the General Council held on Saturday 30 November 2024

The Chancellor, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem CH CBE KC FRSE, was in the chair and welcomed  members to the meeting.

1. Minute of the last ordinary half-yearly meeting of the General Council held on 15 June 2024

The minute of the meeting was agreed upon as a correct record (see General Council Minutes).

There were no matters arising.

2. Report by the Convener of the Business Committee – Matthew Lawson

Mr Lawson introduced himself as a graduate from Saint Mary's in 1991. He had been ordained in the Church of England and now runs multiple hospitality businesses across England and around the world. He paid tribute to his predecessor as convenor, Wendy Russell, for her service in this role until she stepped down in May.

Mr Lawson explained that there remain five elected members on the Business Committee, whose term of office ends next June. They had continued the work recommenced under Wendy Russell to look at the role and purpose of the General Council Business Committee.

This included a useful meeting with the Convenors of the Business Committees of the other ancient universities to share experience and ways of working with each other.

Mr Lawson hoped to refresh the Business Committee to align with the University Strategy 2022-2027, creating a more dynamic and globally representative alumni board of volunteers, strengthening connections between the University and its worldwide alumni community.

Membership of the refreshed committee could comprise eight to 20 alumni chosen from the University's most active global alumni clubs, ensuring diverse international representation. Members would be appointed initially through co-option, with the process reviewed annually. 

  • The committee would meet quarterly, with flexibility for in-person, online or hybrid formats. 
  • Leadership would include an elected Chair and Vice-Chair, serving renewable two-year terms.
  • The Chair will represent the committee at Alumni Weekend and Summer General Council meetings.

Core responsibilities of the Business Committee could include:

  • supporting alumni programmes and events
  • acting as University ambassadors
  • providing feedback on initiatives
  • assisting with fundraising efforts
  • building alumni relationships
  • contributing to admissions events

The Business Committee would maintain strong connections with the Vice-Principal (Governance), Registrar and Clerk to the General Council, and the Alumni Relations Manager. Regular reports will be provided to the General Council at its bi-annual meetings.

This refreshed structure aimed to create a more engaged, representative and effective alumni leadership body that actively supports the University's strategic goals while fostering a vibrant global alumni community. Following further discussion with Business Committee members, Mr Lawson hoped to bring formal proposals to the next meeting of the General Council. If approved, these would come into effect from June 2025.

The Chancellor thanked the Convener for his report and work with the Committee and invited questions from the floor. There being no questions, he then called upon the Principal and Vice-Chancellor to give the University address.

3. University Address – Professor Dame Sally Mapstone FRSE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor

The Principal welcomed members to the meeting and said how much the University appreciated their attendance at General Council.

The Principal’s University Address to the General Council can be read in full online.

The Chancellor thanked the Principal for her Address and proceeded to invite questions from the floor.

Questions were posed concerning: whether advanced digital courses would be delivered purely online; the fundraising target for the Making Waves campaign; whether there were action plans for LGBTQ+ and disability following the University’s success with the Race Equality Charter (REC) and Athena Swan silver award; the naming of New College; the financial challenges facing the University; and the resumption of large scale concerts in the Younger Hall.

In response, the Principal confirmed that the advanced digital courses would be online only, without a residential aspect, although participants would be eligible to attend graduation in person. 

The Making Waves target was ambitious, at £300m, but the Principal is confident of success. The target’s viability had been supported by two feasibility studies, and more than £120m had already been raised during the “quiet phase”, including £37.5m for New College before the designs had been produced. This was indicative of the level of support amongst alumni and supporters, and it was to be hoped that General Council members would give generously to secure the University’s future success through supporting this campaign.

Supporting LGBTQ+ staff and students and those with disabilities was something the University took very seriously and an area where there was a good track record, notwithstanding (in the case of physical disability) the challenge of an estate of some 180 buildings, many very old. It was important to recognise that disabilities were not simply physical and this was a particular area where all universities needed to do more. REC and Athena Swan were well established national charters; where other appropriate national awards existed, these would be considered. 

New College was a neutral working title, which would be kept under review.

Questions were posed concerning: the dual focus on saving and spending money; music performance venues, including Younger Hall; reputation management; and the University’s relationship with golf.

In response, the Principal confirmed that the University operates on a prudent budget and, at the moment, we are running ‘a vacancy freeze’ which means filling posts where we think it’s strategically important to do so, otherwise freezing recruitment. We’ll continue doing that for the remainder of this year to ensure that we balance the books. Due to the absence of a substantial endowment, fundraising is crucial. Capital projects rely on fundraising efforts, as government capital funding is minimal.

Younger Hall underwent a £13 million renovation focusing on graduations and lectures. The current acoustic changes prioritise lectures over musical performances. The issue is noted for future resolution when financial conditions improve.

The University’s reputation is vital, particularly in attracting US donors. Student experience remains a primary selling point, bolstered by high rankings. Continued emphasis on maintaining top-tier student experiences is essential.

Golf is a key asset in enhancing the University’s profile. Collaboration with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) and integration with executive education initiatives offer significant opportunities.

There being no further questions, the Chancellor thanked the Principal for her talk and moved to the next item on the agenda, inviting Robert Fleming, Director of Development, to give his presentation on ‘Making Waves, the Campaign for St Andrews’.

4. Presentation by Robert Fleming, Director of Development, on the University Campaign ‘Making Waves’

Thank you for your warm welcome. I’m delighted to have been invited here to present to members of the General Council. Today I have the great privilege of introducing ‘Making Waves: The Campaign for St Andrews’. This is our most ambitious fundraising campaign to date, aiming to raise £300 million to benefit four essential priority areas of funding. 

I will tell you more about the detail of the campaign priorities shortly, but I will start by sharing with you a brief overview of how we came to develop the campaign, including its name and visual identity.

To develop the new campaign we undertook a programme of work to review our current resources and case for support. This review involved our senior University leadership as well as some of our key donors and alumni. This was undertaken by fundraising consultants Huron GG&A, who are based in Chicago. They undertook a feasibility study, as the Principal mentioned. 

We used this process to test attitudes to the University, our strategy for 2022-2027, the draft case for support and fundraising projects, volunteer interest in the proposed priorities, and the willingness to offer philanthropic support.

Following this review we settled on four key priorities:

  • two capital projects: New College and Digital Nexus
  • PG and UG scholarships
  • Endowed Chairs, with an emphasis on growing the endowment

Then we sought to create a visual identity for the campaign, to offer a sense of cohesion across the varied priorities, and create an identity which would align with our campaign principles moving forward. We worked with a marketing and design agency called Whistlejacket, who helped us to workshop concepts for the campaign that eventually led to the name ‘Making Waves’ and the key visuals you see here, including the ‘wave’ device, which we will apply consistently across our communications.

I’m now delighted to share with you a short introductory film for the Campaign which we first screened at the opening of the Campaign in September, with a voiceover from Kirsty Wark, who received an honorary degree from the University in 2023:

(Alma Matres video played)

At the campaign launch in September 2024 we were delighted to be able to welcome graduates, friends and supporters to a series of events held over the course of a long weekend, Thursday 26 through Sunday 29 September. These events, which some of you may have attended, included a performance by Diva Opera and, sponsored by Lord Laidlaw, of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville held in the wonderful McPherson Recital Room at the Laidlaw Music Centre. This was a showcase for the Chancellor’s Circle, our legacy giving circle, where we are able to acknowledge the legacy of Jean MacPherson.

The Making Waves campaign was launched formally by the Principal the following morning, with some of our key supporters in attendance. 

Guests then had an option of joining a tour of the Eden Campus, which would showcase the facilities, and the  important research and entrepreneurship programmes taking place there or a scholarship session where we invited current scholars to meet with those who have supported scholarships at St Andrews, showing what difference these can make to those studying here and allowing us to continue to attract the brightest minds to St Andrews.

The power of collective giving where every donation counts has provided nearly 1,000 Wardlaw scholarships since the campaign quiet phase started in 2018.

The highlight of the weekend was the black tie dinner which was held inside a spectacular clear marquee, sited inside the Quad of ‘New College’, which will be redeveloped into the new home for our Business School and School of International Relations. Speeches were given by the Principal and by our Campaign Chair and alumnus, Tim Allan.

We highlighted the four campaign priorities:

Two capital projects: ‘New College’ on the site of the old Madras College, our Digital Nexus building as a new home for the School of Computer Science, alongside a renewed commitment to funding scholarships with an emphasis on postgraduate research, and endowing academic chairs.

To give you a greater insight on the capital projects I want to share with you two digital fly-through films created by the respective architects for these exciting developments. 

(Two films then played with no sound.)

  • New College fly through
  • Digital Nexus fly through

Our endowment, although still small relative to other comparable institutions, is increasing, benefiting from donations, and from long-term growth of the managed funds. 

When we launched this campaign in September we were thrilled to announce that we had reached £121 million in the quiet phase of fundraising. Since the launch I’m pleased to report continued progress, and the campaign total now stands at £128.8 million.  

We have a long way to go but, with support from our committed alumni and friends of the University, I am confident that we will continue to ‘make waves’ and reach our target of £300 million.

Our programme of Impact Events has taken the launch ‘on the road’ bringing our plans for the future of St Andrews to our community of alumni across the world. We will continue to add dates and locations to this programme to ensure our global network understands the importance of the work taking place at St Andrews, and grow the culture of philanthropy across the University and alumni community at large. 

And finally, I’d like to leave you with an anecdote I shared at the launch weekend, recalling a St Andrews fundraising donor at the 600th Campaign, when a guest asked the table guests if money can make you happy.  The normal reaction is to say ‘no’, as health, family, friends are the most important things. Well, the answer to the question turns out to be that if money isn’t making you happy, you aren’t giving away enough! 

So I thank all of you here today who are already donors, or committed legacy pledgers to our Chancellor’s Circle, and we would be delighted to hear from you if you’d like to know more about how to give. Our website has lots of information about the campaign priorities we are supporting, or please be in touch with us directly. 

Robert Fleming thanked the General Council for the opportunity to talk about the Making Waves campaign and the Chancellor invited questions from the floor.  

The first question was in two parts, the first asked why there was a lack of student accommodation included in the campaign, and secondly if there was a possibility to begin to raise money in China now that UK and China relations had improved.

The Principal responded that, in terms of accommodation, the University ruled out the possibility of adding residential accommodation because we wanted to maximise the return we could get from adding more lecture rooms.

Robert responded to the question regarding China that, as part of the 600th anniversary, we launched the Hong Kong Foundation. This is called a Section 90 and has the same sort of tax treatment as a 501C3 charity in the US, which we've got, and our own charity status in the UK. This can take donations from China and from currencies across Asia.

The next question asked if it would be possible to double the intended capacity of the new lecture hall from 250 to 500, and in turn free up Younger Hall. Robert responded first saying that the lecture theatre can't really be expanded to 500 without knocking beyond the boundaries of the site into residential areas or impacting onto the other plans of the site. So the 250 seater lecture theatre is probably a pretty settled version for what we need on that site.

The Principal responded that we have looked very carefully at what we actually need: 250 is, we think, right for the kind of teaching that we will be offering on the site, bearing in mind that we have calculated the uses of the full panoply of our estate. The Younger Hall, which had an extensive renovation in order to be able to be used both for graduations in an accessible way and for lecturing will go on being a very important lecturing venue, accompanied by the lecture theatre in the New College.

The next question asked that, due to the housing crisis in St Andrews and the need for more student accommodation, are there any updates on the Albany Hall renovation or, potentially, is this included in the Making Waves programme?

The Principal responded that we need to bear in mind that the housing crisis was very much of an issue in terms of not having enough accommodation two years ago. Last year, we actually had accommodation available for an entire year. This year our accommodation has been running at about 97% full. We have been able to keep an excess of rooms available for people who may need them across the year.

The next question was from a graduate and resident of St Andrews, who said they were a little bit concerned about the subtitle for the campaign, 'A Campaign for St Andrews', because quite a number of students regard the town as their campus, and it isn't. The resident also raised that they worry that the campaign could be misunderstood elsewhere as well.

Robert Fleming responded that it's fairly common in university fundraising naming to have ‘the campaign for Oxford’ or ‘the campaign for Exeter’ or wherever else. With apologies to locals who are maybe slightly offended by it, but it should be seen in the University context, and it is only ever used as ‘Making Waves, the Campaign for St Andrews’ with the University logo beside it. We're not creating a new logo for the University, that is very much the shield and the lettering, and I hope that we will avoid any confusion that might arise.

In response to the next question asking how progress was being made in reducing the number of students down to 10,000 again, from 10,600, the Principal responded that this is something that we can't just do like that because undergraduates come for four years. The numbers are holding around 10,600 at the moment. We will be bringing them down over the next few years. We're still also dealing with what we refer to as the Covid bulge, a generation of students who came in when we had to administer the offers that government required us to administer. Those students are still working through the system, but the intention is still to bring the number down.

The next question started that in 1976, J Stephen Watson said there will never be more than 3,575 students at the University of St Andrews. Would the Principal like to comment?

The Principal responded that she is a huge admirer of J Stephen Watson, and that she remains in very regular and friendly contact with his son, Philip. The Principal thinks J Stephen Watson did a huge amount for the University, including cementing a lot of our important relationships with Emory University.

But the thing about education, and higher education, is that if you stand still, you get left behind. This University has persistently, since the 15th century, restyled and reinvented itself when it has needed to, and that is what leadership is about. The Principal continued by making it clear that 10,000 is absolutely regarded as our key aim number and is something that she has shared with General Council before, and is happy to share again.

“Let's also not forget that if we didn't have the University, this town would not have half of the character, the retail, the fun, the investment, the music, the culture that it has,“ she concluded.

The Chancellor commented that we shouldn’t look to rely too heavily in philanthropic income or student numbers from China, that working in that market requires a certain amount of dexterity and money coming out of that particular country has a great deal of difficulties attached to it.

The Chancellor then raised the concern that if we are to have high class, high cost, high fee paying students in the Business School, would they not come with certain expectations about the quality of the accommodation available?

Robert responded that, in the first instance, we may be uniquely placed to draw on the very excellent accommodation at the Old Course Hotel and Fairmont Hotel and if these courses are being taught in the winter months, then it's low season for them. But that it was above his pay duty to comment further.

In terms of philanthropic income from China, Robert added that he finds himself drawing on his own undergraduate degree of international politics and international business just about every day in the job that he does. The University has a gift acceptance policy to provide safeguards on the sort of conversations we're having with philanthropists around the world.

There being no further questions the Chancellor thanked Robert and moved to the next item on the agenda.

5. Any Other Competent Business

The final question asked about the intake of Scottish students from state schools and the fate of those who are severely poor, homeless and from a working class background. The person asking the question is currently writing their memoirs and wanted to provide as accurate a figure as possible.

The Principal responded that she would be very happy for the University to contribute on this point. The verbal answer she was able to give, which is one regularly shared with this audience, is that the University has persistently hit the targets for SIMD 20 students, students from the most deprived parts of Scotland, when some of our neighbour universities have not been able to do so. These students are generally from schools which have no tradition of sending students to university over the past five to ten years. 

We have doubled our intake of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, Scottish students from disadvantaged backgrounds over the past ten years. That's a record that we take some pride in. The Principal added that if the person asking the question would like the absolute chapter and verse on this topic, they could contact her office so we can ensure that part of the memoir is as accurate as possible.

There being no other competent business, the Chancellor brought the formal part of the meeting to a close.

Then, thanking members for their presence, he invited them to rise for the Benediction.

Alastair Merrill
Registrar and Clerk to the General Council