The head of Edinburgh university has been accused of ‘greed’ for taking a second job just months before he announced staff cuts.
University of Edinburgh principal and vice-chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson joined the board of Roslin Cell Therapies (CT) in June last year.
The role at the biotech firm could potentially earn him tens of thousands on top of his existing pay, which is worth over £400,000 and was recently increased by five per cent.
Last month, Mathieson warned staff about plans to cut £140m from the university’s annual budget, which would result in a “smaller staff base”. He said the move was necessary due to a “financial gap” at the university.
But the University and College Union (UCU) has accused management of “manufacturing a crisis” to justify cuts, pointing out that Edinburgh has recorded surpluses in recent years and has assets worth billions.
Staff and the union have reacted angrily to Mathieson’s new role, with one lecturer calling it “a slap in the face” for those worried about their future. They questioned how he had time to take on a second job and argued he should be focused on “solving the problems at the university”.
The university said any work undertaken in the role would be carried out in Mathieson’s “personal time” and insisted that cuts were needed so Edinburgh could maintain its position as a “world-leading” institution.
Roslin Institute
Roslin CT was established in 2006 as a commercial spin-out of the renowned Roslin Institute within Edinburgh university, known for its involvement in the cloning of Dolly the Sheep.
The company now manufactures medical products including a ground-breaking treatment for sickle cell disease.
The university was a major shareholder in Roslin CT until it was sold to a private equity firm in December 2021 – a deal that netted Edinburgh £38m. In June 2024 – two and a half years after the sale – Mathieson joined its board as a non-executive director.
His earnings from Roslin CT have not been disclosed, but the company’s latest accounts show its six directors received a combined £350,000 in 2023. This means that each director potentially made tens of thousands of pounds.
Four directors also held share options, a benefit which allows them to buy shares in the company at a fixed or discounted price.
The idea that Peter Mathieson would be paid this amount of money and still have the time to have a part-time job is shocking to me.
Lecturer, University of Edinburgh
The university did not disclose how much Mathieson would be paid for his role at Roslin CT, despite being asked directly by The Ferret.
A spokesperson for the University of Edinburgh said: “Our arms-length commercialisation service Edinburgh Innovations managed the transaction (the sale of Roslin CT) on behalf of the university.
“Peter’s role will support Roslin CT’s significant endeavour to bring life-saving therapies to patients worldwide, and any work undertaken as part of this will be carried out in his personal time.”
Financial dispute
In an email to all staff on 25 February – following three previous emails dating back to July 2024 – Mathieson said the university sector was in “severe financial difficulty”.
He blamed factors including national insurance rises, “longstanding” underfunding of Scottish undergraduates, and policy changes that have made the UK less attractive to international students.
Tuition fees from overseas students are a major source of money for universities. Edinburgh brought in £363m in fees paid by non-EU students in 2023-24, about 27 per cent of its total income and a slight increase from the previous year.
Over recent decades, Edinburgh had been able to attract large numbers of international students which meant it could “grow itself out of financial challenge”, Mathieson wrote. But management was now forecasting an “operational deficit in forthcoming years”.
He argued the university faced a “financial gap” which required a “recurring and sustainable” reduction to its costs in “the order of £140m” – around 10 per cent of its annual turnover.
Mathieson said this would result in a “smaller staff base” and the current voluntary severance scheme would “not be enough on its own”.
The UCU has called the £140m figure “truly staggering” and “out of proportion” compared to other universities.
In a blog post titled ‘cuts could kill our university’, published in response to Mathieson’s email, the union highlighted that Edinburgh has recorded surpluses in recent years. This included a net surplus of £25m in 2023-24.
The union’s analysis found cuts at the University of York were less severe than Edinburgh, despite the fact York posted losses over the last two years.
Edinburgh has net assets valued at over £3bn and the UCU has suggested this wealth could be used to stave off job cuts.
It also claims senior managers have not been transparent in sharing details of the modelling done to forecast future deficits and that the £140m target has been set “arbitrarily”.
The “main threat” to the university’s finances comes from “unrestrained growth” in capital spending – such as on buildings and equipment – rather than staff costs, the union argues.
In his email, Mathieson claimed capital spending was also being reviewed but “reducing this would only be a short term measure” and would “do nothing to address the underlying issues”.
‘Incomprehensible’
The president of Edinburgh’s UCU branch, Sophia Woodman, said she had been “shocked” to learn about Mathieson’s second job, having already been surprised at his willingness to accept a five per cent pay rise while “making things harder for staff at the institution”.
Woodman, who is a senior lecturer in sociology at Edinburgh, said she found it “incomprehensible that Mathieson would take on a role in a former university spin-off when he’s already earning so much money”.
“Throughout the university we have been demanding transparency and accountability on the university finances and the way it operates and sometimes we feel we are shouting into the wind.”
Lecturers who spoke to The Ferret anonymously echoed the UCU, with one pointing out that Mathieson took the Roslin CT job at a time when the university was sending emails about its “allegedly dire” finances.
Most staff are “not allowed to take side jobs”, they noted.
They added: “Mathieson is paid 10 times what I am paid as an early career lecturer. I am very happy with my job, but I am working full-time and even over weekends to do the teaching, research and admin tasks I am asked to do.
“The idea that Peter Mathieson would be paid this amount of money and still have the time to have a part-time job is shocking to me.
“I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but Peter Mathieson has been very consistent in his behaviour and I think it is very worrying to be governed by such a self-serving, greedy character.”
Another academic said Mathieson should “focus on solving the problems at the university” rather than taking on another “demanding role” on the side.
They claimed the principal had become “extremely defensive” at a meeting when asked if he would take a pay cut to “share the pain with the staff” so it was “very interesting” that he had another potential source of money.
Sir Peter Mathieson said: “We appreciate many of the concerns raised by colleagues, students and others in our community, and we are making every effort to listen.
“While we are not currently in deficit, we must take clear and decisive action now to avoid this. Unless we reduce costs, the university currently forecasts a close to break-even position for the 2024-25 financial year, and from the 2025-26 financial year, we forecast to be in a deficit position where our expenditure exceeds our income.”
He said this had been calculated based on “financial modelling of past results, current enrolments and estimates for the coming years”.
Mathieson added: “We have been and will continue to liaise with our joint trade unions throughout this process. The actions we must take now – which include a reduction of both staff and non-operating costs – will ensure that we can maintain our position as a world-leading university and emerge stronger for the future.”
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Cover image thanks to iStock/Aniruddha Chatterjee
How tremendously encouraging it is to know there are such organizations as ‘The Ferret’ calling out accountability and integrity in respect to the actions of individuals in significant positions of power and authority. Greed and self-interest have been hindering progress throughout the world in respect to advancing a more spiritually enlightened understanding of life and the underlying causes of conflict and human suffering stemming from dysfunctional and toxic relationships at all levels of leadership – from parents to politicians, and everyone in-between, for far too many generations! Only when God’s truth for life on Earth is understood, adopted, and abided by will greed and self-interest be able to be seriously and effectively addressed, and a more equitable, transparent, compassionate, and spiritually enlightened world able to emerge. To this end an understanding of mental health and wellbeing through spiritual insight, based on 2 Timothy 1:7, is imperative!