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John G. Hughes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John G. Hughes FCBS FLSW (born 28 August 1953)[1] is a former president of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Ireland[2] who served from 2004 to 2010 and Vice-Chancellor at Bangor University, Wales, from 2010 to 2018.[3][4][5]

Early life and career

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Professor Hughes was born and raised in Belfast, educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School and at Queen's University Belfast where he obtained a BSc with First Class Honours in Mathematics and a PhD in Theoretical Physics.[6]

Following appointments at Queen's and at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, he became Professor of Information Systems Engineering at the University of Ulster in 1991. There he held a range of senior academic positions and was actively involved in promoting research and technology transfer initiatives which attracted substantial funding to the university. He sits on the boards of a range of public and private sector organisations. Under his presidency at Maynooth, the institution suffered severe financial problems.[7]

Hughes has international links in Europe, the US and Asia. He has initiated a large number of research collaborations with prestigious institutions including the Max-Planck Institutes, Carnegie Mellon University, MIT and Tsinghua University in Beijing.

In 2013, Hughes was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.[8]

Criticism

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Hughes was criticised for appointing his then wife to a high-paying position at Bangor,[9] and the purchase and refurbishment of his house by the university (costing the institution £750,000)[9][10][11] as well as for a number of other scandals and for being a non-Welsh speaker.[12] Under Hughes's leadership, Bangor University faced severe financial problems, resulting in several reductions of staff. From his takeover in 2010, when Bangor University made a £4.2 million profit, to 2017, the university's nominal income had risen by 12 per cent, but their expenditures by 19 per cent with the university's interests and finance costs soaring by 747 per cent.[13][14] In 2017/18, the university had to spend £10m in interest payments on its debts. From 2013/14 to 2017/18, Bangor University cut staff numbers from 1777.7 to 1608 FTE (minus 9.5 per cent). During the same period, student numbers grew from 10.646 to 11.156 (plus 4.8 per cent), increasing income from student fees.[15] In early 2019, an accountant who studied the university's finances on behalf of trade union criticised that the figures suggested spending had been diverted from staff costs to financing building projects.[16] When a new financial crisis as well as allegations of racist and sexist harassment against his ex-wife were revealed in late 2018, Bangor University announced Hughes's resignation by December 2018, eight months ahead of his ordinary retirement.[17][18][19]

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References

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  1. ^ "Birthdays". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media. 28 August 2014. p. 35.
  2. ^ "NUI Maynooth> About NUI Maynooth > President's Greeting". 20 April 2006. Archived from the original on 20 April 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Bangor University appoints non-Welsh speaker as head - BBC News". BBC News. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Bangor University appoints high-flyer from Ireland as new vice-chancellor". Wales Online. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Professor John G. Hughes | About the University | Bangor University". Bangor.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Maynooth University Office of the President". President.nuim.ie. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Jobs freeze looms as pay cuts 'panic' grips colleges - Independent.ie".
  8. ^ Wales, The Learned Society of. "John Hughes". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b Martin Shipton (18 October 2010). "Union criticises job for university head's wife". Wales Online. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Bangor University to buy £475,000 house for new head - BBC News". BBC News. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  11. ^ Bennett, Rosemary (7 August 2017). "University chief living in luxury as staff face the axe". The Times. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  12. ^ "The legacy of Bangor University vice-chancellor John G. Hughes (2010–18)". 27 December 2018.
  13. ^ Bangor University. "Bangor University Annual Accounts | Finance Office | Bangor University". www.bangor.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  14. ^ "University cuts staff as it faces £10m a year interest bill". 17 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Facts and Figures | Corporate Services: Strategy, Projects and Planning". Bangor University. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  16. ^ Wightwick, Abbie (17 January 2019). "University cuts staff as it faces £10m a year interest bill". walesonline.
  17. ^ "Calls for urgent meeting over Bangor University redundancies threat". 13 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Bangor Uni head 'harassment' allegation revealed". BBC News. 20 December 2018.
  19. ^ Turner, Camilla (21 December 2018). "University vice-Chancellor 'boasted' to ex-wife's new husband: 'I had her in her youth and beauty'". The Telegraph.
Academic offices
Preceded by President of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth
2004–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice-Chancellor of Bangor University
2010–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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