Provost blog: One year on
As Provost, Warwick’s academic strategy sits with Professor Emma Flynn. One year into her role, Emma shares her experience of being at Warwick, including some highlights and what she’s looking forward to in the near future.
"I have been on campus, now, through a year of seasonal changes, and I think autumn may be my favourite. I have seen the campus move from a luscious green to the golden of fallen leaves, then from the steely grey of winter to shoots of yellow, purple and blue as wild flowers poke through the spring soil. The end of my first year has given me an opportunity to reflect on what I have learnt since arriving at Warwick, and with this comes the celebration of what we have achieved, as well as championing the plans that we begin to lay out for the way ahead.
As with all new roles and locations, I have spent much of my first year getting to know people, places and procedures. I have immersed myself in our culture, and found out what it really means to be a member of Warwick staff. I have visited all the academic departments and seen the magnets, lasers, laboratory benches, and maker spaces. I have seen creative spaces for plays, poetry, sculpture and multimedia displays.
I have listened to case studies of how we have changed the lives of communities within and beyond our parameters, nationally and globally. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our community for welcoming me so warmly into our activities and our spaces.
My role has taken me beyond the academic community, working closely with other teams who enable what we do: finance, governance, HR, estates, admissions, community safety, recruitment as well as research, education and innovation. One of the wonders of universities is our variety of purpose; that we can pull so much under one roof and deliver impact of such quality. To do this we need multi-agency teams who bring different kinds of voices, experience and expertise to the table, and respectfully co-create solutions to our internal and external challenges. I have witnessed this in abundance over this year. I present three such examples here:
Graduation
There is nothing in a university’s calendar that tops the joy of graduation. The hope that resonates with the celebration of success, the gratitude for support, and the expectations for the future. We come together as a family, drawing in the families of our graduates. My highlight for this year was, by far, being able to preside over the graduation ceremonies, watching the dancing, the high fives, the kisses and most importantly the cheering. My cheeks ached from smiling, but it was a joyous aching.
Connect Programme
In October, we launched the Connect Programme. An ambitious £700million investment that will facilitate a step change in our offer to the world – whether through new innovative courses, research collaborations or knowledge translation. To deliver this unprecedented opportunity we need representation from many teams across the University, with the coproduction requiring a sophisticated level of coordination, empathy and nuance. All of this effort will deliver something wonderful for our students and staff, but critically also for the wider world.
60 years of Warwick
As we approach our 60th year I am always astounded by what the University has achieved in that time. And as we begin the coordination of our philanthropy campaign, I am in awe of the ambitious ideas that multiagency teams have proposed, alongside the external partners who are willing to aide us in the delivery of these ideas. We have much to celebrate, and the 60th year gives us a good excuse to do so.
As I reflect on this first year, it is clear that there is so much to look forward to, so much that we have worked hard to achieve, and so much fun to have in collaborative, purposeful endeavour. Thank you to all of you for making it so."
Want to hear more about Emma's role? Watch her vlog.