Thousands call for Coventry v-c to lose government role

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for Coventry University’s vice-chancellor to be removed from a government position over his handling of the institution’s financial situation.

John Latham, who has led the Midlands institution for over a decade, was recently announced as a non-executive board member at the Department for Business and Trade.

However, this coincided with the institution’s plans to make 92 academics redundant and to transfer others to a subsidiary company.

Amid “massive cuts and staff morale being at rock bottom”, the University and College Union (UCU) has launched a petition calling for Professor Latham to be stripped of his government position.

“Coventry University is facing an unprecedented jobs and debt crisis under the leadership of vice-chancellor John Latham,” claims the petition, which had more than 2,600 signatures at the time of writing.

“John Latham is failing students, staff, and the wider academic community.”

Along with continuing his role at Coventry, Latham’s government job will involve providing independent advice, support and scrutiny on the department’s work.

“We believe this role is incompatible with his responsibilities as vice-chancellor, particularly when Coventry University is facing such severe challenges under his watch,” says the petition.

“His attention should be focused on addressing the issues at Coventry University, not undertaking additional government duties.”

While Coventry’s 2023-24 financial accounts are still to be published, last year’s revealed that Professor Latham received a total pay package of almost £400,000. He has received a bonus in every year of his tenure since 2014, including almost £200,000 over the last three years and £80,768 in 2022-23.

Jo Grady, UCU’s general secretary, said the government’s appointment of Latham “demonstrates a disregard for both staff and students”.

“We must hold leadership accountable and send a clear message that those who prioritise personal gain over the welfare of the academic community should not be rewarded with influential positions,” she said.

A government spokesperson said non-executive board members must abide by the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies.

“John’s appointment followed a fair and open competition, and the department has robust processes to ensure that any outside interests are managed appropriately,” they added.

Coventry declined to comment. In a previous statement, a spokesperson said that it was “simply unaffordable” to pay employer contributions of 28.68 per cent of salary for staff who are part of the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme. UCU estimated that more than 200 staff could be transferred to Peoples Futures Ltd (PFL), a company owned by the university, where contributions are capped at 10 per cent of salary.

“Most of the higher education sector is having to adapt to a new financial reality created by Brexit, a seven-year freeze in UK tuition fees, unsustainable pensions and the devastating impact of the previous government’s policy U-turn on international students, none of which we can control,” the previous statement said.

“We have successfully grown student numbers in Coventry over a number of years and have been proud to create a large number of jobs as a result but we must rebalance our student-staff ratios in line with current student numbers.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com