Facilities Directorate Staff Bulletin - February 2021

Once again, I would like to thank colleagues across the FD for the huge efforts and unwavering commitment you demonstrate to keep our services going on campus. As you know, there are a number of students who are eligible to be on campus under the national lockdown guidelines, and we know that there continues to be at least 3,000 students currently living in University accommodation. The FD have more staff than any other department on campus, supporting these students, and I am extremely proud of all of our ongoing contributions.

I was further reminded of our fantastic work when the latest Sustainability Annual Report was presented to University Council. The report celebrates the huge impact the University is making, achieving global recognition for the work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rankings, and receiving an international award for the collaborative approach to embedding sustainability across all aspects of the University curriculum.

Staffing wise, there are a number of senior changes across the University to update you on. Malcolm Dawson, Head of Security Services, will be retiring in March after 29 years of service at the University and throughout his time has been a fantastic ambassador for the University of Leeds. Also, Jenny Tucker, Commercial Director is retiring in May and will leave a big hole in the FD senior team and we are currently considering the best ways to fill this gap.

As spring approaches, it signposts a more positive future! Nationally, there is light on the horizon with the progress of the vaccine roll-out, and the new ‘Universal Values, Global Change: University of Leeds Strategy 2020-2030’ has been officially launched. This strategy sets out our ambitions to build a thriving community and a collaborative culture to make an impact locally and globally. A major focus of this new strategy is digital transformation, in which the FD will have a significant involvement, particularly on the exciting development of a smart campus infrastructure. Additionally, a key theme in the strategy reinforces our University sustainability commitments, in particular for our attainment of a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030. Virtual Town Hall meetings to launch the new strategy are available for staff to attend, and if you can’t attend live, recordings will be available on the For Staff website.

Whilst the advice currently remains for staff to work from home wherever possible, we hope that the continued roll-out of vaccines will enable an easing of Government restrictions and at some point later this year more staff will be able to come back onto campus. Groups across the University are looking at how space is used across campus, building on the positive elements of staff having to adopt new ways of working during the pandemic. I hope to update on this further over the next few months.

Finally, I want to reiterate again my thanks to you all for your continued response to the pandemic, and for your ongoing efforts in what remains a very challenging time.

Dennis Hopper

Director of Campus Developments