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Ex-Dundee University chief feels the pain of Holyrood mauling

Ex-Dundee University chief feels the pain of Holyrood mauling

Times27-06-2025
Y ou watch mesmerised, but also a little nauseous, when a Holyrood committee lays into one of its victims. It's like seeing a ring of jackals circling a wounded gazelle. One after the other they lunge in and snap at the wretched creature. You know it doesn't stand a chance, but it's hard to take your eyes off its death throes.
Thus it was that Professor Iain Gillespie, former principal of Dundee University, whose leadership, or lack of it, exposed that institution to a £35 million debt, the loss of 300 jobs, and even possible closure, faced Holyrood's education committee.
His attackers brushed off the 'heartfelt apologies' he offered for what had happened, and gathered for the attack. Jackal-in-chief Douglas Ross, the committee convener, listed Gillespie's failings: 'hubris … overbearing behaviour … dangerous over-confidence … arrogance'. These, he said, were only some of the conclusions of Professor Pamela Gillies, whose independent report revealed a catalogue of failures.
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