Talking leadership

Departing Manchester vice-chancellor discusses sector finances, pay gaps and letting go after 14 years

The president of San José State University on harnessing location to build partnerships, the importance of representation and why she isn’t a ‘traditional academic’

University of Technology Sydney head on achieving impact on policy and sustainability by building partnerships, fossil fuel divestment and boosting Indigenous enrolment

The president of Lingnan University on requiring students to use ChatGPT and using data to manage grumbles from staff

The head of Nanyang Technological University leverages the institution’s youthful vigour to put AI at the heart of learning and uses his research background to inform his leadership and help recruit potential Nobel prizewinners

The head of Hong Kong Baptist University shares his solution to the rapidly changing jobs market

As overhaul presses staff and students to broaden horizons, president discusses handling faculty pushback, maintaining a vital Samsung partnership and dealing with disgruntled alumni

The interim president of Michigan State University shares her approach to healing the campus community after a deadly shooting and sexual misconduct crises

Ebrahim Adia’s journey through modern universities indicates their power to transform lives, but they face growing financial pressure

The president of Aalto University talks about leading a nationwide flexible learning effort, and why he’s been standing up for an ‘international Finland’

Royal Holloway head discusses decentralising university leadership and tapping into the creative industry in Surrey

The American University in Cairo’s first Arab leader on helping people reskill, serving the community and taking on the ‘necessary evil’ of administration

Michel Mawad fights to keep the lights on at Lebanese American University and its teaching hospitals, and to keep staff while supporting students amid economic and political crisis. But he’s not giving up

The University of Exeter’s vice-chancellor talks about partnering with businesses, including the controversial decision to keep working with Shell on sustainability

UC Davis’ chancellor, Gary May, has plenty of background in attracting minority students, but finds California’s decades-old ban on race-based admissions a formidable foe

Canterbury’s vice-chancellor contrasts her adopted island homeland with her native South Africa and reflects on the opportunities spawned by even the worst horrors

Daniel Diermeier reflects on traversing the increasingly polarised US political landscape and on disagreeing with staff and students pressing for the university to take sides

Folasade Ogunsola discusses her country’s battle with brain drain and universities’ search for ‘creative’ ways to combat funding shortfalls

Lund University vice-chancellor discusses the challenges of working with business, creating an innovation valley in the Baltic region and managing one’s friends

Monterrey Institute of Technology’s president says it is setting aside £46 million for international hires to compete with the global standard of living

University of Southern Queensland head makes case for teaching students in remote towns regionally to keep them and their skills in the community

University of Limerick president talks about putting in place university-wide structural changes to inspire cross-pollination between disciplines

Outgoing EdUHK head reflects on a decade-long stint leading Hong Kong’s teacher training university

The UK’s first Palestinian vice-chancellor discusses proving the value of creative degrees in a hostile climate, how to internationalise rural towns and what growing up with nine siblings can teach you about academic life

The rector of ORT Uruguay, cradle to the country’s first ‘unicorns’, talks about fostering an entrepreneurship mindset in a risk-averse society

The Nottingham Trent vice-chancellor discusses using data to support students, avoiding strike action and why diversity conversations are too focused on Oxbridge

Singapore Management University president Lily Kong says the country’s institutions ‘must carve their own path’

Hong Kong has ‘a special convening power’ that could attract partners from China and the Middle East, CUHK’s v-c tells Tiya Thomas-Alexander

Alan Shepard tells Rosa Ellis how Western University united all of its community behind a comprehensive impact strategy

Auckland v-c wants to use Māori knowledge and research on misinformation to help tackle UN goals

Lahore University of Management Sciences head Arshad Ahmad says country has much to offer in the battle against climate change – if the world can get over its misconceptions

Former University College Cork president Michael Murphy reflects on pandemic, Ukraine and Brussels experience as he prepares to step down from top of representative body

The rector of Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute takes charge of the world-leading medical school after the disruptions of a pandemic and an ethics scandal

Imperial president reflects on his institution’s role in UK growth and the importance of collaboration within Horizon Europe 

President of ‘leftist hotbed’ Wesleyan University reflects on run-ins with students and controversial efforts to increase intellectual diversity

In National Apprenticeship Week, we talk to the vice-chancellor who kicked off a stellar career with an apprenticeship 

The principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow discusses the economics of higher education 

Marking his first year directing the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Liam Smeeth on dealing with Covid-19 and a racism review  

University of New England president explains his fearless approach to freedom of speech on campus, including the trans debate

The head of the University of Manchester discusses a lifetime of science outreach, supporting regional development and the humanities

With falling enrolments in traditional MBAs – and increased pressure to tackle diversity and sustainability agendas – business schools must change to stay relevant, says Haas dean

Melbourne boss explains why knowledge is service, and why unbridled casualisation would displease his dad

The outgoing vice-chancellor reflects on his five years at Cambridge and the future of higher education 

The outgoing v-c of the University of Oxford talks about her fears of a brain drain and the highs and lows of her tenure

Universities face growing public pressure but this only means their mission is more vital than ever, NYU president Andrew Hamilton tells Rosa Ellis

Compelling stories of how foreign-born founders drive economic prosperity are more likely to convince policymakers about the need to embrace overseas students, says Alice Gast, who recently stepped down as president of Imperial College London

The University of Washington leader discusses bridging subject-level siloes, and how academic science can better serve society

Shigakkan University president talks about being the odd one out in an ‘old boys’ club’ and about encouraging her students to carve their own path

The president of the University of Victoria outlines how his university is welcoming more indigenous people 

Unicamp’s rector discusses harnessing the power of one of the continent’s most research-intensive universities for the public good

A cultural shift is needed, according to the vice-chancellor of Cardiff Met

The vice-chancellor of FLAME University in India discusses his agenda for reform, lessons learned from his alma mater and the importance of keeping employees happy

The Western Sydney University vice-chancellor says sustainability is a hallmark of his institution, including its high-rise campuses

ETH Zurich president discusses building public trust in science, supporting apprenticeship schemes and a downside of Einstein’s legacy

The University of Hull vice-chancellor explains how she simultaneously reduced costs and improved academic performance at the formerly under-threat institution

The president of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro discusses budget cuts and encouraging interdisciplinarity

The Vassar College president discusses creating equitable partnerships, minimising resistance on campus and what higher education can learn from healthcare

The vice-chancellor of Edge Hill University discusses centralising spending, climbing up the rankings and leading the institution for almost 30 years

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor discusses the importance of role models for students, his approach to hiring top staff and how he has stayed in the role for 15 years

The president of the University of Würzburg discusses the differences between the two systems, why he’s joined a European university alliance and the benefits of interdisciplinary working