University of Dundee staff and students have learned the findings of a major independent probe into its financial crisis.
The report, from Professor Pamela Gillies’s investigations, was revealed on Thursday afternoon.
It comes less than a week before multiple former university chiefs are grilled by politicians on the Scottish Parliament’s education committee.
The Courier – led by our political editor Alasdair Clark – had live updates for you as the full scale of the crisis was laid bare on a dramatic day for the historic institution, culminating in the resignation of interim principal Shane O’Neill.
🔁 This live blog is now finished.
6.40pm: Thank you
It’s time for us to sign off after one of the most dramatic days in the history of Dundee University.
Thanks to everyone who joined us and to those at the institution who spoke to us this afternoon as they left the Dalhousie Building.
We will have more news, comment and analysis on the Gillies report, and other developments at the university, over the next few days.
Our political editor Alasdair will join our comments section to discuss the findings tomorrow (Friday June 20) between 12:30 and 1.30pm.
And we will be back with live updates next week ahead of the Holyrood hearings.
Thank you.
6.24pm: Staff and students react
The Courier’s Andrew Robson and Kim Cessford were at Dundee University earlier to speak to staff and students leaving the Dalhousie Building after hearing the findings of the bombshell Gillies report.
Mark Donald – who has worked at the university for nearly 18 years – said: “The entire UEG has to go.
“The university needs to be rebuilt from scratch – it’s a mess.
“If this were any other business, we’d be insolvent. That’s been made clear to us.”
Mark added: “People are losing their jobs left, right and centre before the compulsory redundancies.
“I’ve been at this university for nearly 18 years, and that’s the way they’re treating members of staff.”
6.20pm: More resignations at Dundee University
We told earlier how interim principal Shane O’Neill had resigned in the wake of the Gillies report.
Acting chair of court Tricia Bey and Carla Rossini, chair of the governing body’s finance and policy committee, will also stand down with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, Mr O’Neill has been recalled to give evidence for a second time to the Scottish Parliament’s education committee.
He will be grilled at Holyrood again a week today (Thursday June 26).
Convener Douglas Ross said: “In light of the evidence in Pamela Gillies’ report the committee has recalled former principal Professor Shane O’Neill to give evidence alongside his predecessor, Professor Iain Gillespie.”
4.55pm: ‘Any potential criminality’
Dundee SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick has had his say on the Gillies report and its bombshell findings.
He says: “I am sure the appropriate authorities will be fully considering this report to determine any potential criminality.”
4.25pm: Recap of Dundee University developments
Staff and students gathered in the Dalhousie Building to hear the findings of the independent probe into the university’s financial crisis by former Glasgow Caledonian principal Pamela Gillies at 2pm.
Speakers at the town hall included Ms Gillies and Scottish Funding Council (SFC) chief executive Francesca Osowska.
Those in attendance learned that Dundee University bosses breached ethics rules, ignored financial red flags and operated in “isolation of facts”.
They heard the institution’s most senior leaders repeatedly failed in their duties as it hurtled towards a cash crisis that left it on the brink of collapse.
Unions called for the University Executive Group (UEG) to resign, which prompted applause from those in the room.
The meeting finished a few minutes later, with no questions allowed.
Some staff were visibly upset as they exited the Dalhousie Building while others called on Shane O’Neill to stand down as interim principal.
At 3pm, Ms Gillies’ findings were made public and within 15 minutes, Mr O’Neill resigned.
4pm: The Courier’s political editor Alasdair Clark on the findings
Shane O’Neill told me in January that he was in it for the long run and determined to survive.
Reading the Gillies investigation, it was clear he would not see out the afternoon.
This has been a day of reckoning for those at the top of the university.
Two more are set to follow next week when MSPs grill former executives, including Iain Gillespie.
But while this stark report was much needed, it does not answer why.
Why were these well-paid leaders so determined to present a rosy picture when they knew of the crisis hurtling towards them?
Why did Shane O’Neill not challenge the then principal Iain Gillespie, or make the university court aware?
Why did it take the threat of 700 job losses for this chaos, mismanagement and failure of character to be exposed?
These questions remain unanswered.
Alasdair will join our comments section to discuss the Gillies report findings on Friday June 20 between 12:30 and 1.30pm.
3.42pm: More political reaction
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has welcomed Shane O’Neill’s resignation and says she will give a statement in Holyrood next week on the findings of the Gillies report.
She said: “It is evident from the findings that there are serious questions which must be answered by the University of Dundee’s management team.
“This is obviously a difficult time for the university but I welcome the decisive action which has been taken with the changes in leadership.
“It is vital that we now move to a period of stability to ensure the institution can move forward and thrive into the future.”
3.33pm: ‘Financial vandalism and appalling leadership’
Here’s some reaction from Dundee-based Scottish Labour MSP Michael Marra, a former university employee who has fought for answers on how the crisis was allowed to escalate.
He says: “This devastating report lays bare the financial vandalism and appalling leadership that has tipped the city’s most important institution into an existential crisis.
“The report shows that the institution was failed catastrophically by a small group of executive leaders entirely out of their depth and cowed by a hubristic principal [Iain Gillespie] who brooked no dissent.
“Details of Iain Gillespie’s leadership style are deeply troubling – side-lining, speaking over or publicly criticising women in the university who dared to speak up.
“There were also clear failures of governance, with inaccurate reports which masked the true financial picture and public statements by the principal that were purposefully misleading.
“The so-called ‘triumvirate’ of the principal, his deputy and now interim principal and the chief operating officer opened this proud university to the greatest risks of a broken funding system in Scotland.
“It is right that the interim principal has recognised his position is untenable – but the lessons of this go beyond a single institution.
“The Scottish Government must reckon with the fact that it has made all Scottish universities vulnerable to this kind of crisis, if they and the communities they serve have the misfortune of being led by a management so clearly out of its depth.”
3.25pm: Apology for impact of crisis on staff and students
More from Shane O’Neill, who has resigned as interim principal at Dundee University in the wake of the Gillies report.
He said: “This has not been an easy decision for me.
“I have been here at Dundee for four years, initially as senior vice-principal and then deputy vice-chancellor and provost.
“I have been very proud of the great things this university does for our city and for wider society, and of all our staff and students.
“The university will continue to have a transformative impact for many years to come through education, research and enterprise.
“I have done all I can to set the university on a path to recovery, engaging with internal and external stakeholders to find the best way forward.
“I had hoped that we would be further along that path by now, and it will now be for others to steer that course into the future.
“I am truly sorry for the impact this financial crisis has had on many people, particularly our staff and students.”
3.15pm BREAKING NEWS: Interim principal resigns
Dundee University’s interim principal Shane O’Neill has resigned in the wake of the findings from the independent probe into the crisis at the institution.
Pamela Gillies’ report says the leadership team – a triumvirate of former principal Iain Gillespie, Mr O’Neill and former chief operating officer Jim McGeorge – collectively breached ethical standards by failing to disclose the true state of the university’s finances.
Mr O’Neill said: “It is with a very heavy heart, having committed myself fully to the recovery process over these past months, that I have decided to step aside from my position and will be leaving the university.
“It is important that the university can move on and I recognise that this will be easier with new leadership.”
We’ll have more on this story in the next few minutes.
3pm BREAKING NEWS: Dundee University principals blamed in bombshell findings
Dundee University bosses breached ethics rules, ignored financial red flags and operated in “isolation of facts”, an explosive independent report has found.
The highly critical review, led by Professor Pamela Gillies, found the university’s most senior leaders repeatedly failed in their duties as the institution hurtled towards a cash crisis that left it on the brink of collapse.
Former principal Iain Gillespie is condemned for presenting an unrealistically positive picture of the university’s financial health.
Shane O’Neill, his then deputy and current interim successor, is also panned.
And in a finding likely to make O’Neill’s position untenable, the report says the leadership team – a triumvirate of Mr Gillespie, Mr O’Neill and former chief operating officer Jim McGeorge – collectively breached ethical standards by failing to disclose the true state of the university’s finances.
Click here to read Alasdair Clark’s full report on the findings.
2.54pm: University town hall live
In the Dalhousie Building, where staff and students have gathered to hear the findings of Pamela Gillies’ independent probe, unions have called for the University Executive Group (UEG) to resign.
This demand prompted applause from those in attendance.
The meeting finished a few minutes later, with no questions allowed.
2.42pm: Inside the room
Connor Bertie – the deputy editor-in-chief of the university’s student publication The Jute Journal – is in the Dalhousie Building.
That’s where staff and students have gathered to hear the findings of the probe.
He says: “Among the speakers are Pamela Gillies and Francesca Osowska, chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council.
“People in the room are laughing as they listen to what’s in the report and learn of senior management’s incompetence.
“It’s packed here with staff and some students.”
2.10pm: From The Courier’s Alasdair Clark
Members of the university’s governing court convened at 12 noon and were presented with the findings of Professor Pamela Gillies’ investigation.
There will be a further meeting on Monday to discuss its implications.
Meanwhile, in the last few minutes, staff have gathered at the Dalhousie Building to hear the findings of the probe, commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
1.56pm: Job cuts recap
We revealed earlier this month that Dundee University has opened a voluntary redundancy scheme as part of a plan to reduce full-time posts by 300.
It was put together after talks with campus trade unions and approved by the university court.
The scheme opened on June 6 and runs until July 25.
Staff accepting the deal will leave their jobs by September 30.
Jim Spence, a former rector at the university, wrote in The Courier: “It wouldn’t surprise me if they fill their quota easily such is the dreadful way folk working there have been treated over their concerns.
“They’ve been kept in the dark by a management which has treated them very shabbily.
“Many of those at the university are deeply depressed and distressed at the lack of information about their futures and career prospects, as it grapples with the financial crisis which has beset it, and that at one stage threatened its very existence.
“With staff across all sectors worried about whether they’ll be able to pay the mortgage or rent in the months ahead, both management and the Scottish Government need to get the finger out and tell staff exactly what they plan to do and when.”
1.10pm: Mood on campus
Connor Bertie – deputy editor-in-chief of the university’s student publication The Jute Journal – has covered the crisis since last year.
In March, he broke the story of how a town hall meeting at the institution escalated after staff marched on the office of interim principal Shane O’Neill.
Just after lunchtime, he told us: “The mood on campus at the moment is quite upbeat.
“Students, kept in the dark for so long, believe they’ll get revealing answers from this report.”
12.32pm: Tough week ahead
The Gillies investigation findings come less than a week before senior figures past and present are grilled in Holyrood about the Dundee University crisis.
On Wednesday, former chief operating officer Jim McGeorge, ex-finance director Peter Fotheringham and former university court chair Amanda Millar will be quizzed by politicians.
Ex-principal Iain Gillespie – who received a £150,000-plus pay-out last December after his shock resignation – will face the Scottish Parliament’s education committee a day later.
Lady Wendy Alexander, the former vice principal international, is unable to attend but is submitting written evidence.
Former interim finance director Helen Simpson, ex-vice principal Blair Grubb, current principal Shane O’Neill and acting court chair Tricia Bey faced the committee in March.
11.54am: Recap of what’s happening today at University of Dundee
If you’re just joining us, here’s a reminder of what to expect today on what has been described as a pivotal day for the institution.
Staff will gather at the Dalhousie Building at 2pm to hear the findings of the major independent probe by former Glasgow Caledonian principal Pamela Gillies, commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
Ms Gillies and investigators from audit firm BDO have been carrying out their investigation since April 10.
The findings will be made public at 3pm and The Courier will have live updates, reaction and analysis.
11.30am: The Courier’s Alasdair Clark on pivotal day in Dundee University’s history
Today will be the culmination of arguably the worst period in the University of Dundee’s history.
Staff eagerly await the findings of the investigation.
They are desperate to see accountability – in black and white – for the litany of mistakes made by senior managers which have put hundreds of their livelihoods at risk.
“Iain Gillespie and his lieutenants – who were completely obsessed with power – death-gripped a brilliant university and destroyed it. I hope we see how that happened in brutal detail today,” one senior insider who has since exited the institution told me on Thursday morning.
The true impact of the report will of course depend greatly on its contents.
Whether the current senior leadership of the university survives remains an open question, though many expect they will be welcoming a new principal in the not too distant future.
While today is likely to be a day of accountability, staff will remain anxious that they are yet to see, in their estimation, a credible path to recovery.
11am: Who is Pamela Gillies?
Pamela Gillies was appointed to lead the investigation after a long career in higher education.
Most recently, Ms Gillies – who is from Dundee – was principal at Glasgow Caledonian University, leaving in 2022 after joining in 2006.
Her career began when she graduated from Aberdeen University in 1976 with a BSc in Physiology and a teaching diploma.
She was the first in her family to go to university.
Ms Gillies also worked in San Francisco on AIDS research, at the World Health Organization and at Harvard in the US.
She was made a CBE in the 2013 New Year Honours list for services to education and public health.
10.35am: ‘World-leading work’
Dundee Labour MSP Michael Marra, a former university employee who has fought for answers on how the crisis escalated, wrote on X: “Today is a very stressful day for all of the employees and students at the University of Dundee.
“Whatever this report says, you should all know you do brilliant, extraordinary, world-leading work and that will continue come what may.
“I will fight tooth and nail to ensure it.”
10.15am: Just in from The Courier’s Alasdair Clark
One senior insider, who has since exited the institution, told me this morning: “Iain Gillespie and his lieutenants – who were completely obsessed with power – death-gripped a brilliant university and destroyed it.
“I hope we see how that happened in brutal detail today.”
10am: The Courier editor David Clegg on the future of Dundee University
Few things have mattered more to this newsroom in the last year than the future of Dundee University.
It’s not just one of the city’s biggest employers or most recognisable institutions – it’s part of what gives Dundee its sense of direction.
The university powers research, drives opportunity, and plays a central role in shaping what this city wants to be.
That’s why today is so important.
We’re about to see the findings of the independent investigation led by Professor Pamela Gillies into the university’s financial crisis.
For staff, students and everyone who cares about Dundee, it’s a moment of real significance.
At The Courier, we’ve followed this story every step of the way.
We were the first to report the scale of the black hole. We’ve published exclusive interviews, investigated the leadership response and tracked the politics around it all.
The reaction has been huge.
Thousands of you have read, shared and responded to our coverage.
We’ve seen a surge in engagement, not just in Dundee but across the region and beyond – a reminder that this story doesn’t just matter within the campus gates.
It matters to everyone with a stake in the city’s future.
What we need today is a long-awaited moment of reckoning and accountability.
But also, most crucially, the start of a more honest conversation about what kind of university Dundee needs, and how we make it work.
9.30am: Dundee University crisis recap
Dundee University has been engulfed in crisis since a £30 million funding deficit and potential job losses were revealed by The Courier last November.
This story by our business writer Paul Malik – and Alasdair Clark’s revelations about principal Iain Gillespie’s “obscene” spending on international trips – was swiftly followed by the university chief’s resignation.
On March 11, it emerged the deficit had grown to £35m, with the institution suggesting as many as 632 full-time equivalent posts could be cut.
Strikes and protests followed while the university was given access to £22m lifeline support from the Scottish Government.
Since Mr Gillespie’s sudden departure, several other senior figures have left the institution during the crisis.
Last month the university submitted a £100 million rescue plea to the government.
Earlier this month we revealed it had opened a voluntary redundancy scheme as it tries to axe 300 full-time roles.
9am: What we can expect
Staff will gather at Dundee University’s Dalhousie Building at 2pm to hear the findings of the much-anticipated independent probe by former Glasgow Caledonian principal Pamela Gillies.
Ms Gillies and investigators from international audit firm BDO have been carrying out their investigation since April 10.
It was commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
The institution, braced for significant criticism, will reveal the findings publicly at 3pm.
And the contents of the report are highly guarded, with Ms Gillies determined the university community will hear the details first.
Conversation