Universities UK will look to build a consensus that ¡°things can¡¯t go on like this¡± in university funding, and on agreeing long-term solutions, according to its new chief executive.

Vivienne Stern took up the top job at?UUK in?September, having worked her way?up over a?20-year career at?the representative and lobbying organisation, starting as a?parliamentary officer and most latterly serving as head of UUK International.

UUK is ¡°an organisation that could potentially change the weather for a bunch of institutions that really, really matter¡±, and she was focused on ¡°making the right choices about priorities¡±, she told Times Higher Education.

What did UUK mean by its recent call for a?¡°national conversation¡± on?how to?fund universities?

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¡°There¡¯s clearly a financial sustainability problem,¡± said Ms Stern. ¡°It¡¯s not just teaching; it¡¯s teaching and research. It¡¯s not just England; it¡¯s all four [UK] nations. That¡¯s the really big job.¡±

But making that case to the government cannot start with funding, she added, and instead must ¡°start with what we [universities] are for and why it matters not just to us but to other people that we are able to be successful as institutions¡±.

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The case for support should be based, she argued, in demonstrating universities¡¯ contributions to growth and in ¡°quality and value¡± ¨C where the Conservative government in Westminster, including the Treasury, has concerns.

Ms Stern said that in the sector ¡°there¡¯s an understanding that things can¡¯t go on like this¡± on funding, but she questioned whether that was a ¡°shared view¡± across government.

She continued that funding solutions must be ¡°workable and sustainable for graduates and for students and for government. So, it can¡¯t just be about what we think should happen; it has to be about building some consensus, a)?that there¡¯s a problem that can¡¯t be allowed to continue, and b)?that there¡¯s a?solution that everybody feels could be sustainable in the long term. And I?don¡¯t think we¡¯re anywhere near that.¡±

While UUK has called for the Westminster government to reintroduce maintenance grants in England to address the student cost-of-living crisis, it must also face the fact that the government might consider major public spending cuts after Liz Truss¡¯ unfunded tax cut plans spooked the markets.

Ms Stern said ¡°we have got a huge challenge on our hands making sure that [the drive for savings] doesn¡¯t end up impacting both teaching and research funding¡±.

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She added: ¡°A possible consequence of financial pressures would be [the government] restricting access¡­If?you think about the progress the sector has made in expanding access to groups of society that traditionally didn¡¯t get a look-in, that¡¯s what I?would worry about.¡±

UUK has faced intense criticism from academics striking over cuts to Universities Superannuation Scheme pensions. Ms Stern said the ¡°wretched thing is we risk being in a position¡± where instead of UUK being seen as an organisation that can help improve working lives ¡°for those people who frankly make up the higher education sector¡­we get cast as the bad guys because of our role as the USS employer representative¡±.

The next USS valuation in spring 2023 would be ¡°a very important moment¡±, and ¡°we¡¯ve got to focus on trying to build a consensus around that valuation¡±, she added.

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In terms of her own education and post-graduation path, Ms Stern studied English at the University of Cambridge, then worked as a receptionist at the Royal Geographical Society, in a summer camp in Italy, as a Whitehall temp and as a research assistant to Labour?MP Barry Sheerman, then the chair of the House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee.

Her parents were doctors ¨C but her mother having grown up in poverty in Glasgow and her father being a Holocaust survivor gave her ¡°this idea that you needed to be able to turn your hand to a bunch of things, that you needed to be able to go out and get a job tomorrow if the world turned¡±, a?¡°sense of how fragile everything?is¡±.

She added: ¡°When we talk about access to higher education, I?think one of the things a good university education gives you is this ability to adapt, to apply yourself to all sorts of different things.¡±

When first introduced to universities, the subject of English was often seen as ¡°the Victorian version of a Mickey Mouse subject¡±, noted Ms Stern.

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It had taken her ¡°about a decade¡± to start to realise the value of her own English degree. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s the reason that I¡¯ve been relatively successful, professionally, because people regard me as a decent communicator,¡± said Ms Stern. ¡°And I?think that¡¯s because I¡¯ve been surrounded by good writing and good argument.¡±

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com