Dear Colleagues,
Over the past few weeks, Strathclyders have been at their very best, they have collaborated and supported each other and have been at the heart of how we have responded to Covid-19.
It is therefore fitting that this week we launch the new Strathclyde People Strategy. Built around our values, this places staff at the heart of our plans and recognises that their collective talents, effort and commitment will deliver the University’s ambitious Vision for 2025.
Strathclyde’s success over the years has been built by our community. The remarkable achievements we reflected on at the launch of Vision 2025 were only made possible by everyone pulling together. The People Strategy recognises this, building on our now well-established reputation as a socially progressive employer.
Central to the Strategy is The Strathclyde Pledge, which commits to ensuring that staff have stable contracts, fair and equal pay, a safe and secure working environment and that their opinions are valued.
The People Strategy is one of the many features of Vision 2025 that I look forward to discussing with you as part of my upcoming digital engagement sessions that are due to begin from 13 May with participation details being circulated soon. The University has in place a series of interconnected plans which reflect our ambitions and reputation for delivery of excellent education, research, innovation, impact and contribution; all done 'the Strathclyde way' and fuelled by our founding mission of Useful Learning. It will be a pleasure to share these with you at the planned sessions.
Last week I highlighted that we have made our student counselling service available to staff, and I am pleased to tell you that this is now up and running. This free, entirely confidential service enables staff to access up to six counselling sessions via Zoom and augments our well-established PAM Assist service for the extended period of the lockdown.
By being people-oriented, we continue to put the health and wellbeing of our people first.
The University’s leadership is also determined to support our students at this challenging time. In discussion between Senior Officers, we have committed to personally donate to the University’s Covid-19 Student Hardship Fund to support students experiencing financial difficulty in the coming months. These donations are in keeping with our values and socially progressive ethos, enhance the Fund and help our students cope in these challenging times. These donations are targeted to reach £50,000 between May and August 2020.
While this is being led by Senior Officers, we also wish to give all our staff the voluntary opportunity to contribute to the fund over the next four months. University colleagues will be able to donate to the Covid-19 Student Hardship Fund and full details of how you can contribute will be in next week’s Inside Strathclyde.
Through this week’s announcements, we are living our values and putting students and staff at the centre of our response to the current crisis.
Once again, many thanks for your dedication and contribution to Strathclyde. Have a safe and peaceful weekend.
Best wishes,
Jim