Leading GCU has been a challenging but also a joyful experience and, frankly, the highlight of my 45-year-long career. I am incredibly proud of our achievements as a University community and, as I prepare to step aside, I am content that, with the consistent commitment of all of you, the University is on a very sound footing to continue to succeed for many years to come.

It was a big leap to become Principal and Vice-Chancellor when I did so. Appointed in the summer of 2005, I came to the University in January 2006 and hadn’t anticipated the full weight of responsibility that would land on my shoulders. Those first two years were extremely difficult. Our finances were parlous, there was enormous gender inequality, research was relatively weak and low on the agenda, there was a high drop-out level among our students, and very few good graduate outcomes.

The key to unlocking GCU’s success, however, was there in those early days too – our inspiring motto on our seal: for the Common Weal. It has been our shared sense of purpose in pursuit of this – in creating the University for the Common Good – that has helped us build our values-led culture. I quickly realised that if we were going to stabilise our financial situation, we needed an international portfolio of education and research to raise income and diversify our culture. While we already had one excellent international partnership in Oman, I knew we would have to substantially invest in both our research culture and our international profile if we were to become sustainable, more successful and improve outcomes for our students.

Today, we lead the world in the real-life impact of our research but, back then, I knew our first Research Assessment would be critical. I remember in December 2005, working with the outstanding and, sadly late, Professor Mike Smith, who was to become our first Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, reading through “the best” 100 academic papers produced by our staff. We identified where real excellence lay and invested in these areas quickly in time for the 2008/9 assessment. That was the beginning of creating a research culture based on excellence in a small number of key areas and we have continued to build on these first decisions by, for example, creating the Graduate School, committing to social sciences, creating our research centres of excellence and encouraging interdisciplinary research.

As for gender equality, on a very large Executive team of 17 when I took over in 2006, we had just two women, there were very few women leading as Deans or as heads of departments, and we only had a few female professors. Today, more than 40% of our professors and more than half of our senior managers are women, and we are recognised as a global leader in promoting gender equality – and, of course, I believe that we make better decisions through this balanced approach to encouraging female leadership in the University.  We are not, however, complacent in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion in our institution and know there is still work to be done in these areas.

Our Common Good mission has given us our sense of purpose. But how did we get people to believe in that purpose? Creating and sharing stories of our work was key, but also engaging staff and students in practical demonstration projects such as: the Caledonian Club; the Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing in Bangladesh and Transnet Freight Rail in South Africa – and its Phelophepa Train of Hope, which we have supported to provide essential eye care to more than 35,000 rural South Africans for the past 10 years.

Our staff and students’ embodiment of our Common Good mission allowed us to attract Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who gave us such confidence in our abilities and, in turn, drew Professor Cam Donaldson FRSE to lead our Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health. Public Health Scotland, led by Professor Sharon Hutchinson, and our array of amazing health-related work followed and we more recently built on our international centres of excellence with the establishment of the Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice, led by Professor Tahseen Jafry.

We attracted a host of scholars from the creative industries and business world too. Our MA TV Fiction Writing programme gave us a huge boost, and our extraordinary Cultural Fellows have worked in so many inspirational ways across GCU over many years. The idea for this cultural programme came from Jan Hulme, University Secretary, and is just one of the many good ideas she has crafted. I particularly enjoyed working closely with her on our strategic Heart of the Campus plan, which literally transformed our physical estate.

As our esteem has risen, the landscape of assessment has changed, too. Our track record in delivering for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is reflected in the prestigious Times Higher Education Global Impact Rankings. We were one of the very first universities to use the UN SDGs as the framework for our Research Strategy in 2017 and they now provide the architecture for assessing the impact of the whole University Strategy 2030. And, my goodness, how well we have delivered to this agenda.

In the THE Global Impact rankings of 2022, we were ranked 70th in the world for the real-life impact of our research, fourth in the world for gender equality, and 21st for our work to reduce inequality in society. It’s astonishing how far we have come so quickly.

What’s unlocked this incredibly inspiring journey? Our people of course, delivering excellence and being confident in their abilities, asking key questions of the world and driving forward to find answers, knowing they are making a difference in the world through their work. The improved confidence of the institution has also attracted the very best people in the world to work with us and to be our partners in education, research and business development.

We, in turn, have reached out to attract more international partners, created GCU London and helped found the African Leadership College to help create ethical leaders across Africa. Our partnership is flourishing in Oman, we have transformed the lives of some of the most marginalised girls with our work in Bangladesh’s Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing, and we were the first international university to win a charter to deliver our degrees from our partnership college in New York (GCNYC).

Being part of creating the University for the Common Good has been exciting. It has needed our whole community to come together, but also some outstanding individuals. People like Professor Caroline Parker, Professor Mike Smith, Professor Cam Donaldson, our former Chancellor the late Magnus Magnusson, all of our chairs of Court; Emeritus Chancellor Professor Muhammad Yunus, Sir Alex Ferguson and, of course, our Chancellor Annie Lennox. Who could have imagined that we could attract such great international figures to join us in our endeavours and inspire our students. In addition, the whole Executive team has been outstanding as have all of our Student Presidents and Officers. I do, however, have to make special mention of some of the long-standing “old timers” like Jan Hulme, James Miller, Fiona Campbell, Claire Hulsen, Jill Watt, Stephanie Pitticas, Mike Mannion, Anita Simmers, John Lennon and the redoubtable Julie Burns. Not forgetting Alan Heafey, the University Driver, making sure I got home safely after the many late-night events. I could go on and on, but I just don’t have the space to mention everyone here.

Our recent Uncommon People for the Common Good campaign has thrilled me because it has spotlighted our incredible students. There have been so many outstanding students throughout the years and I am particularly proud of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic: 500 of our student nurses immediately rushed to volunteer on the frontline, alongside some of our staff at the outset of the pandemic.  It was a phenomenal response and the largest from any university in the country.

One of the most joyful moments of my role has been joining all of these incredible students when I officiate at graduations. When the whole hall erupts in celebration, it is so fulfilling to know that GCU has been part of giving people, often from the most challenging of backgrounds, new opportunities in life through their education.

As a University, we now have exceptionally sound foundations upon which to build for the future:  financial health, good student outcomes, strong research metrics, highest quality assessments for our learning and teaching, our excellent work with business and industry and our strong international partnerships. We are also an exceptional anchor and civic institution for our city, delivering for the local economy and public services. That’s all very satisfying and rewarding for me to see as I ‘hang up my clogs’.

I couldn’t have imagined in the late summer of 2005 that I would be here in Glasgow for 17 years. Of course, I feel a wee bit sad to say goodbye, but I have been part of an extraordinary collective achievement and it’s now time for new adventures for me and for us all.

A fond farewell

Leading figures in Higher Education pay tribute to Professor Gillies and her time as Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University.

Dr  Annie Lennox, Chancellor of GCU, said: "It’s been a real privilege to play my part as Chancellor for Glasgow Caledonian University. I was especially honoured to have been invited on board by Pamela when we first met several years ago. She is truly a unique and outstanding individual, who has left GCU with an exceptional legacy – always true to the ethos.. ‘For The Common Good’.

"I’m immensely proud of all her accomplishments as a visionary and inspirational leader of this wonderful institution!"

Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chancellor Emeritus, said: "You transformed people’s lives in so many ways around the world. Above all, the warmth of the friendship that you generously extended to me will always be with me undiminished."

Professor Andrea Nelson, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, said: “Professor Gillies’ leadership, investment and support has transformed our research culture.”

Rob Woodward, Chair of Court, said: “Under the skilful leadership of Professor Pamela Gillies, the University has undergone a transformation in its standing and performance. It is now Scotland’s leading modern institution and has developed an unparalleled reputation as the University for the Common Good. It has developed a strong international presence and at the same time stayed true to its roots in Glasgow and the west of Scotland.”

Alastair Sim, Chief Executive of Universities Scotland, said: “Professor Gillies’ commitment to the Common Good has been striking and heartfelt, and she has led the Scottish university sector’s commitment to put student welfare at the centre of what we do.”