I had the great pleasure of speaking to Professor Andrew Wathey CBE, former Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at Northumbria University. A reflective conversation on the journey of his career: from early musical interests, starting out at a comprehensive school in Plymouth, through to research fellow roles in both Oxford and Cambridge, teaching, catching the management bug, through to a strong widening participation motivation in his later senior leadership career .
Professor Andrew Wathey CBE an alumnus of the University of Oxford, with a BA and DPhil in Music, has had a varied academic career. After research posts at both University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Professor Wathey lectured at Lancaster University before an almost 20 year tenure at Royal Holloway with his last five years there as Vice-Principal/Senior Vice-Principal. He was then Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at Northumbria University for 14 years, before retiring in 2022. He has since been busy with roles including External Member of Council at the University of Cambridge and Chair of the Board at The National Archives, UK.
What initially drew you to your field of study?
I spent a lot of time playing the French Horn as a teenager, and the choice of music as a subject for higher education was a fairly natural one. There was a question of music college versus university: in the end I chose the latter, went to university and read music. As an undergraduate and graduate student I became much more focussed on music history, my interests inspired by my university course, and that's what I did professionally as researcher, as a postdoc, and in academic roles as a lecturer, etc.
I went to a comprehensive school in Plymouth where there were lots of people who didn't go to university but probably should have done, and now would. So I’ve always felt strongly about the importance of widening opportunity, and that has been a strong motivator in my later career.
Moving on to your academic career, what have been some of your highlights?
My first job, after research fellow roles in Oxford and Cambridge, was at Lancaster in 1988 and I then moved to Royal Holloway in 1989. At Royal Holloway I worked with several sets of fabulous colleagues: the high points were teaching talented students, which taught me the value of innovation; working on interesting research problems; and in management roles driving excellence across a range of activities, working with colleagues to improve the opportunities for others to succeed. And there's a big piece about the success of your department, unit, faculty, your institution, and that I found energising. All of this is probably shorthand for getting the management bug, and I then moved into that phase of my career.
"In one sense universities are the answer to everything, the greatest European invention of the second millennium, playing an essential role in our society, and in creating opportunities at scale for the next generation."
What role do you think universities and higher institutions play in modern society?
They play a fundamental role. In one sense universities are the answer to everything, the greatest European invention of the second millennium, playing an essential role in our society, and in creating opportunities at scale for the next generation. For individuals they are an escalator to a different place in civic society. For the state they are a source of economic, social and cultural wellbeing and development. The research they produce and the work they do with students transforms lives. In terms of the output of universities, there are various ways of counting the economic impact. But we often overlook the cumulative effect of their graduates, who make many of their most important impacts. The skills that universities give people are a key motor for the economy.
Outside education, what are you passionate about?
I enjoy music and I enjoy walking. Still on the borders of education, I enjoy the ability to be able to do my own research. As you can imagine, when I started as a Vice-Chancellor, and for some years before that as Vice-Principal at Royal Holloway, research took a back seat. But I had the opportunity to pick it up in about 2015 when I was invited to do a paper at a conference - it was a ‘now or never’ moment. And so returning research without a full-time executive role has been a pleasure. Archives, always a place where I went to research, have also become for me an area of high interest.
What advice would you give your younger self?
It's very difficult really, but another version of the question is ‘if you could start again, would you have done differently?’ And there are some things that I think it would be nice to have been involved in this or that area, but actually, in the end, I'm not sure I would have done it very differently. In terms of advising the younger self, I guess most people learn the lessons, and then reflect they probably learned a bit too late, and there listening to others effectively is a key part of the process. More broadly, the realisation that learning just continues is also key.
"Helping students and improving the level of student support and student experience at a large scale is important"
If you could give any advice to anyone coming into the sector, starting their career, what advice might you give?
Focus on the things that matter. And if you're an academic, then really there are two things, which work symbiotically: first education, providing students with the best intellectual formation, and a preparedness for the workplace that lasts not only three-five years but is career-long. And then, second, on the research side, do your best work and get maximum exposure for it, sharing it with others.
What drew you to become a member of Studiosity’s Academic Advisory Board?
I'm excited by the opportunity to take a learning tool to wider audiences. Helping students and improving the level of student support and student experience at a large scale is important, which makes it an access and outreach piece as well. I'm interested and excited by the technology: there will be more in AI, and the world could look really quite different in a decade's time. So being on the front foot with that is vital – and since no one player can do all of this, collaborations and delivering with and through others are important too. It’s also about the people, of course. I knew fellow Academic Advisory Board members Petra and Cliff before, and of course the late Sir Eric Thomas whom I remember fondly.
A huge thank you to Professor Wathey for sharing his academic journey with us. You can read an interview with Professor Cliff Allan, another member of our UK Academic Advisory Board, here.
