Alexander ‘was asked to leave’ Dundee uni role over finance questions

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PA Baroness Alexander was vice principal international at the university for almost a decade

Former MSP Wendy Alexander claims she was asked to leave her senior post at Dundee University after asking “uncomfortable” questions about the institution’s finances, MSPs have been told. Alexander was the university’s vice principal international for almost a decade but retired last year rather than accept what she said was the offer of a “package and trips.” She said “cakeism, profligacy and hubris at the very top” led to “a failure to reign in expenditure” and that she “chose not to be bought off”. She said former principal Prof Iain Gillespie, who was heavily criticised in a recent damning report into the university’s finances, “made clear” he wanted her to leave last October.

University of Dundee Prof Iain Gillespie resigned as Dundee University principal in December last year

Alexander’s comments were made in a statement submitted to Holyrood’s education committee. Gillespie resigned with immediate effect in December after telling staff the previous month that job losses were “inevitable”. He is expected to give evidence in person at the committee on Thursday. The university currently faces a £35m deficit and has said it must cut 300 jobs through a voluntary redundancy scheme. The independent report, published last week, said university bosses and its governing body failed multiple times to identify the worsening crisis and continued to overspend instead of taking action. In her statement, former Labour MSP Alexander said: “I personally, was progressively frozen out of meetings, my objectives changed, data withheld and when I challenged the absence/adequacy of financial information in Sept (20)24, I was then asked to leave. “I declined the offer of overseas trips at the university’s expense to be followed by a generous settlement payment. “Quite simply, it seemed unethical and morally wrong.” Alexander, who now sits as a baroness at the House of Lords, said she felt “punished for speaking out” and that the university “failed to fix the roof when the sun shone”.