V-c paid £515K for five-month stint at University of Law

The former vice-chancellor of The University of Law left with £340,000 in compensation after less than six months in the role, it has been revealed.

The payout came despite the institution, which is the biggest law school in Europe, reporting a loss of £400,000 in 2022-23 as a result of writing off the debts of former students.

Craig Mahoney joined as vice-chancellor at the start of February 2022 but lasted only five-and-a-half months, which the for-profit institution attributed at the time to a “reassessment of [Professor Mahoney’s] priorities”.

Professor Mahoney, who had previously spent eight years leading the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), received total remuneration of £515,000 for his brief stint at The University of Law up to 15 July 2022 – including a salary of £165,000 and compensation for loss of office of £340,000.

With 114 working days covered by his term of employment, this meant that the daily rate for the psychology professor, who did not have a prior background in law, stood at about £4,500.

According to Professor Mahoney’s LinkedIn profile, the institution was “able to build more diversification into its academic portfolio” during his brief tenure.

Following his departure, he described himself as a “self-employed” vice-chancellor, who was “working with clients across higher education and related sectors. Ready to share my dreams with the right employer.”

In his place, the owners of the institution, Global University Systems (GUS) reappointed former vice-chancellor Andrea Nollent following her time as GUS’ chief academic officer.

Professor Nollent, who previously led the university from 2014 to 2021, received a total pay package of £318,000 for the 12 months to the end of May 2023.

The financial accounts of The University of Law listed on Companies House also showed a net cash outflow of £900,000 in 2022-23.

It has blamed a £400,000 annual loss on being forced to write off more than £15 million in student debt.

The University of Law did not respond to a request for comment. Times Higher Education has approached Professor Mahoney for comment.

Professor Mahoney also recently resigned his role as chair of the board of directors of the British Universities and Colleges Sport body after three years.

He had previously made headlines during his time at UWS when he suggested that his £227,000 salary was not enough, because it did not come with a home.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, he complained that the lack of a grace-and-favour property hampered his work because he had nowhere to “entertain” guests.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com