The Courier’s focus on Dundee University has been relentless.
When the scale of the crisis became clear, we immediately began uncovering what had gone wrong.
What we found was devastating: a catastrophic, large-scale failure of leadership.
The Gillies Review and the parliamentary hearings have now provided staff, students and the wider city with long-overdue answers.
They did not reveal a single smoking gun or one individual to blame.
As with any crisis of this scale, in an institution of this size, responsibility is shared – and so will be the burden of rebuilding.
So today, we turn the page. This is day zero.
Our unflinching determination to expose what went wrong and who was responsible will now be matched by a drive to examine what happens next.
We will scrutinise every step of the recovery. We will hold the new leadership to account. And we will demand a clear and achievable plan to rebuild trust and restore stability.
That recovery will not be easy. Mistakes may still be made. But when they are, they must be met with transparency and accountability. Dundee deserves no less.
Today, we set out our expectations of the university, of government, and of the city’s political leaders.
1. The university must commit to open governance
There is no question that the university would not be in a position to reopen this autumn without significant public support.
Some £65 million has already been committed. The final cost to the public purse may be far higher.
This demands a level of openness the institution may not find comfortable. But it will be essential.
The university must open itself up to regain the trust that has been shattered, inside and out.
Its governing body should operate in public view. Much of the crisis stemmed from incompetence and a failure of scrutiny. That cannot be allowed to continue.
Court papers should be published, except where there is a clear and valid reason not to. Meetings should be subject to independent media scrutiny.
This will be a difficult shift but it is a vital one if credibility is to be rebuilt.
2. The Scottish Government must deliver
First Minister John Swinney has said Dundee University can and must survive. He is right to insist it remains a fundamentally strong institution, despite a “catastrophic” failure of leadership.
Even as the immediate crisis passes, that commitment must not fade.
We will continue to hold government to account and press for the support needed to ensure recovery, even if that involves difficult or unpopular decisions.
We will also keep asking hard questions about the wider policy decisions undermining the Scottish university sector.
3. All parties must honour the promise
So far, financial support for Dundee University has had welcome cross-party backing. Labour, Conservatives, Greens and Liberal Democrats have all echoed the First Minister’s commitment to the institution’s future.
But words must become action.
Ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, every party seeking votes in Dundee must publicly commit to delivering the support that has been pledged.
We will seek that on-the-record assurance from each party leader.
The university’s leadership failed. But its greatest strength – the staff who work directly with students – did not.
Those staff have carried the institution through its darkest period. They have upheld its mission and values in the face of disaster.
They deserve leadership they can trust – both within the university and at Holyrood.
As a newspaper rooted in this region and supported by tens of thousands of readers who care about its future, The Courier will remain a vigilant and constructive voice in this recovery.
The City of Discovery deserves a vibrant, outward-looking university. The future of Dundee and the wider Tay region is inseparable from its success.
We will expect no less and we will look harshly on any failure to deliver.
Conversation