In order to prosper in the next decade the University must reconcile conflicting aims. Pure scholarship must flourish alongside the exploitation of commercial opportunity. Staff must have protected time for research but will also have to comply with demands for accountability. International collaboration must coexist with a strong regional presence. Academic freedom and collegiality must be preserved in harmony with efficiency. Academic standards must be maintained while the University accepts students from diverse backgrounds, helping them to develop their potential.

The work of the last year makes the University of Bristol well placed to meet these challenges. It has seized academic opportunities. It has bold building programmes, new initiatives for enterprise, imaginative use of information technology, a visionary participation strategy and enhanced equal opportunities policies. Additional tasks for the forthcoming year include the formulation of a response to the Bett Committee on staff pay and conditions and further work towards a revised Council.

I wish to express my gratitude to all those who contribute to the University’s success: staff, students, members of Court, Council and Council committees, benefactors and friends. I would like to extend my particular thanks to Mr Michael Parry, outgoing Registrar, for his dedication to the University over more than 30 years.

MOGER WOOLLEY
Chairman of Council