Preston’s university campus likely to see more building changes soon

Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin who has signed a Social Mobility Pledge on behalf of the University of Central Lancashire. — Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin

Preston’s university chief has hinted the recently opened new vet school won’t be the last new building on the city’s campus.

Vice-chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin said the university, with its upcoming formal name change to the University of Lancashire, was doubling down on its presence in its home city and elsewhere in the county too.

Speaking to Blog Preston following the official opening of the new £40m vet school, he also said they remained committed to widening participation and access to university particularly from under-represented groups both socio-economically and in terms of ethnicity.

Mr Baldwin, asked about whether new buildings are in the works, said; “We have plans. We’re always formulating a campus master plan and then working towards developing that in order to further enhance the student experience. So we have got some plans and ideas in terms of further developments and enhancements.

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“It will depend on the funding, obviously, but we have got those plans in place and we’ll work towards continuing to improve the campus so that the students get as good an experience as they possibly can.

“We’ve also got some less quality buildings and you know we’d be looking to either upgrade or replace those buildings over time.”

Students outside the university's new £40million vet school — Students outside the university’s new £40million vet school

Blog Preston understands the university has a desire to condense the size of its current Preston campus which could lead to some buildings on its edges being sold off or converted for different uses.

In September the university will also formally drop the ‘Central’ from its name.

Mr Baldwin began his speech at the opening of the vet school with a stumble as he began to say ‘central’ in the name but quickly corrected himself.

He said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for us in terms of taking on a title. You know, the county name is rich in terms of its heritage and its legacy. It’s understood nationally in a way that Central Lancashire wasn’t. University of Central Lancashire used to get abbreviated to UCLan, which out of the county, it doesn’t tell you what we are or where we are.

“So it’s exciting for us to be the University of Lancashire. We are a university of and for our region. We’re very, very much committed to our home city here in Preston, but we’ve also got a very significant campus in Burnley. But we’re a pan-county university providing services and opportunities. We’ve got a work-based learning provider in Blackburn for example.

“So University of Lancashire properly represents who we are and what we do. We are very much, though, rooted in our home cities and home towns and very committed to that.”

Asked whether he would have the resources to deliver on new buildings for the city, given the well documented financial challenges facing universities up and down the country – and falling student numbers, particularly around international students who pay higher fees, Mr Baldwin said financial decisions made by the university which has seen a number of rounds of job cuts in recent years had made it robust.

He said: “We’re in a good position. The university is fundamentally strong financially. It’s underpinning reserves, etc. There are challenges with ongoing funding, as you read about in the media on an almost daily basis. We’re not immune from that, but we have been accumulating our reserves. We plan for the future.

“We believe that creating a school of veterinary medicine is actually an investment in the future. There is genuine demand for this subject. There is demand to produce more vets. So we’re filling a gap. There’s an opportunity for the students. It’s a good opportunity for us in terms of recruitment. So it’s very much an investment. But you’re right, there are challenges with university funding generally and you know we’re hoping that the government will address that we’ll have a you know review of university funding in the not-too-distant future.”

Throughout the launch of the city’s new vet school the commitment to widening participation was mentioned by both Prof Baldwin and fellow UCLan staff.

He said: “We believe this is a university for people to come to at whatever stage in their life and whatever their background.

“For example, in the veterinary profession then just four per cent of vets are black or people of colour compared to 18 per cent of people in the UK population overall.

“It also scores as one of the lowest three subject areas for social mobility with the majority of veterinary students coming from fee-paying or selecting school backgrounds.