September 2014

Dear Colleagues and Students,

We all knew that this new academic year would be a special one for Warwick because of the start of the university’s 50th Year Anniversary Celebrations in January. We now know that we have even more cause to celebrate those 50 years of success with the welcome news that the Sunday Times and Times have just declared Warwick to be the University of the Year for 2014-15. I want to thank every member of staff, the students and the alumni that have contributed to the achievement of this award - and indeed to the full 50 years of Warwick’s success.

This news sets the seal on a genuine summer of success for Warwick which has included the following achievements:

• The award of the Fields Medal, the world’s most prestigious mathematics award and the equivalent of a Nobel Prize, to Professor Martin Hairer, Warwick’s Regius Professor of Mathematics.
• The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) selected Warwick as the site for its Hub location, supporting a ten year, £1 billion industry and government commitment to the development of low carbon propulsion systems.
• Warwick Business School completed its agreement to open a London base at The Shard – the tallest building in the European Union.
• Warwick Business School was awarded the Bronze Gender Equality Mark by the Equality Challenge Unit.
• Warwick signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Carnegie Mellon University to create a $10 million research and education collaboration.
• Warwick rose to 61st in the world in the QS World University Rankings.
• On US Independence Day, Paul Prescott (Associate Professor, Department of English at Warwick) and Paul Edmondson (Head of Research and Knowledge, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust) began an epic road trip all around North America in a unique project titled 'Shakespeare on the Road' to capture a comprehensive picture of Shakespeare’s place in contemporary American culture
• WMG welcomed His Excellency Ma Kai, Vice Premier of China, along with a delegation of senior officials including Liu Xiaoming, Chinese Ambassador to the UK, and Sir Sebastian Wood, Britain’s Ambassador to China.
• The start of the inaugural academic year for the new WMG Academy for Young Engineers. Hundreds of school pupils and teachers are the very first to experience the new school, just 10 minutes walk from our campus, which was established by the WMG Academy Trust of which Warwick is a member.
• Computer Science were awarded a Bronze Athena SWAN award. These awards are designed to recognise commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research. This latest award means that all of Warwick’s STEMM subjects have now received an Athena SWAN award.

Staff and students will also see that, after a wide-ranging consultation process, we have now agreed our latest University strategy and it has just been published here: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/about/strategy. Please do take the time to read it. The strategy will now move into its implementation phase.

Normally I would not now write to all of you again before the end of the term and the calendar year. However I would like to give notice that I will in fact be writing an additional letter to all staff and students that will be devoted to exploring how we can as an institution do more to support the development and careers of women. I personally feel that there is more we can and should do to ensure even greater equality of experience and opportunity for women in the university in an environment free from any kind of bullying or disrespectful behaviour. My next letter will outline some of the additional initiatives that we will be launching to make that happen.

Once again, thank you to everyone for your hard work and commitment to the University.

With best wishes,

Nigel Thrift
Vice-Chancellor