Ex-finance chief at crisis-hit university says he ‘could have done a lot better'
The former chief finance officer of crisis-hit Dundee University conceded to MSPs that he 'could have done a lot better'.
Peter Fotheringham spoke out the day after the Scottish Government stepped in and used special powers to award £40 million directly to the university – whose interim principal quit last week after a report criticised him and others.
The university is currently seeking to cut up to 300 jobs as it seeks to deal with a £35 million deficit.
Professor Shane O'Neill, who up until last week was the interim principal and vice-chancellor there, has previously told MSPs on Holyrood's Education Committee that the scale of the financial problems only 'crystallised' in November last year.
He quit that post however after a report by former Glasgow Caledonian University principal Professor Pamela Gillies criticised senior figures at the university.
Members of the university executive group (UEG), which included the 'triumvirate' of Prof O'Neill, his predecessor former principal Professor Iain Gillespie and ex-chief operating officer Dr Jim McGeorge, were found to have 'failed' to 'properly respond to the worsening situation' and disclose the looming crisis to other university officials.
Dr McGeorge, appearing before the committee on Wednesday, said he was 'deeply and unreservedly sorry' for the situation at Dundee University.
He spent 16 years at the university, saying he had 'championed what it does through good times and through challenging times, including some previous financial difficulties'.
He added: 'Through the period covered by the report I tried to do my very best for the university, in good conscience, and on the basis of the information that was available to me.
'Where I have been found wanting or fallen short, either personally or collectively, I am deeply and unreservedly sorry for that.
'It would never have been my intention to do anything other than my very best for a university that I love and that I have served for over half my career.'
However he told the committee that leading figures at the university 'did not spot early enough the fact that the university as heading towards this crisis'.
He added: 'We should have done. I am hugely regretful and sorry that we did not.'
Committee convener Douglas Ross insisted that Dr McGeorge holds 'a significant amount of blame' for the university's situation.
The former chief operating officer however claimed he was 'equally as responsible as others' – although he said he wished decisions on cost-saving measures had been made earlier in March of last year.
'I think about that every single day at the moment and have done for some considerable period of time,' he told the committee.
But he insisted: 'I am not trying to shirk blame in any shape or form, I accept my share of responsibility for what happened to the university and the position it finds itself in.'
Mr Fotheringham meanwhile told the committee that the institution had 'not been in a strong financial position' for 'well over 10 years'.
But asked when the situation started to give him sleepless nights, he said that only happened 'as late' as September 2024.
Joe FitzPatrick, the SNP MSP for Dundee City West, told him: 'The fact that you didn't realise till September is the thing that folk who are watching – students, lecturers, staff – they will find that incredible that folk in your position have not realised how bad things were until that late. It is incredible.'
Mr Fotheringham responded: 'Absolutely and that has given me sleepless nights ever since September, if I'm honest with you.'
He left the university in October 2024, and is currently unemployed, telling the committee: 'I absolutely understand I could have done a lot better.'
And he said he took his 'share of responsibility in terms of the current position of the university'.
Mr Fotheringham added: 'The position that it now finds itself in is obviously deeply upsetting for all of us and I am very sorry for any part I played in that.'
But he also insisted: 'I thought it was very clear to everybody, the whole leadership team, that we did need to reduce costs. We had those discussions in late 2023 and early 2024.'
However SNP MSP George Adam accused the men of having 'tanked' the university.
He said there had been a 'systematic failure at every single point' at Dundee, including 'poor financial judgment, failure to act in real time on clear warning signs' as well as 'overly optimistic budget assumptions' and 'weak internal controls'.
Mr Adam described the problems as a 'perfect storm' as he told the witnesses: 'You nearly tanked the university. You nearly tanked one of the oldest universities in Scotland.'
The MSP added: 'I don't understand how people like yourselves can get yourselves into that position.'
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