Professor Rama Thirunamachandran will retire from Canterbury Christ Church University after thirteen years, amidst major job cuts affecting 26% of staff.
He feels it’s time for someone new. He is proud of his achievements there. The university created a new medical school, and they built a brand new engineering hub. A digital arts program also developed; estate improvements supported these programs.
He thanked colleagues for their hard work there. He noted ongoing “external challenges,” too. This news comes soon after job cut reports, where the school might cut over a quarter of its jobs. This could save about £20 million, and eighty percent of the savings will come from job losses. About 400 jobs are at risk here, which is 26% of the workforce.
People are asking how this happened. The uni’s financial report said things were strong, and they made a profit last year, £3.6 million. Income actually rose twenty-one percent to £319 million. Student enrollment increased from 11,000 to 38,000.
Rama Thirunamachandran started in June 2013. He replaced Professor Robin Baker then. Before that, he worked at Keele University. He studied geography and natural sciences, and he even worked with the UN on flooding in Bangladesh.
He used to work for higher education funding. He also had jobs at other universities, including Bristol and King’s College. He was named a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent in 2020. For now, he wants the university to stay successful and sustainable in the future.
