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Colin Riordan

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Colin Riordan
CBE FLSW
Professor Riordan in 2019
Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University
In office
September 2012 – August 2023
Preceded bySir David Grant
Succeeded byWendy Larner
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex
In office
October 2007 – 2012
Preceded bySir Ivor Crewe
Succeeded byAnthony Forster
Personal details
Born (1959-07-27) 27 July 1959 (age 66)
Paderborn, Germany
NationalityBritish
Children2
ProfessionAcademic, Higher Education administrator
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Manchester (PhD)
ThesisThe Ethics of Narration: Uwe Johnson's Novels from Ingrid Babendererde to Jahrestage (1986)
Academic work
DisciplineGerman language, German studies
Sub-disciplinePost-war German literature and culture
Institutions

Colin Bryan Riordan CBE FLSW (born 27 July 1959) is a British academic who was formerly President and Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University from September 2012 to August 2023.[1]

Education

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Riordan obtained his PhD from the University of Manchester in 1986.[2]

Career

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Riordan taught English as a foreign language at Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg in Germany (1982–84). He was Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer in German at Swansea University from 1986 to 1998.

He became Professor of German at Newcastle University in 1998, later being appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in August 2005.[3]

In October 2007, he took up the post of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Essex.[4] On 1 September 2012, he became Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University.[5]

In 2013, he was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.[6]

In 2015, under his purview as Vice-Chancellor, Riordan announced that Cardiff University would launch five new flagship research centres, each focusing on a world issue. These include resolving chronic diseases; the scarcity of water; the prevention of crime; studying big data; and creating smarter energy systems.[7]

Riordan was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to higher education.[8]

It was announced in January 2023 that Riordan would step down as Vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, with his successor Wendy Larner taking up the role from the following academic year.[9]

In February 2024, Riordan was announced as the next chief executive of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, an organisation that represents over 400 universities within the Commonwealth of Nations.[10] In the same year, Riordan was also appointed as a lay council member of Newcastle University, his former institution.[11][12]

Controversies

[edit]
See also: 2013 United Kingdom higher education strike and 2018–2023 United Kingdom higher education strikes

Riordan's tenure at Cardiff University was marked by challenging industrial relations, with multiple rounds of strikes called by staff unions due to issues over pay, pension, and working conditions.

In December 2013, members across three staff unions on campus, University and College Union (UCU), Unison, and Unite, took part in a strike action over the university's pay offer, described by some staff members as "poverty wages". The university was criticised for only offering ordinary staff a 1% pay rise while senior managers had their wages raised by 8%[13].

In February 2018, another round of industrial action was called by the UCU due to disputes over the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension scheme. UCU members opposed the proposed changes to the USS pension at the time, which would put academics' pension fund in a more volatile position compared to previously[14]. The same pension dispute led to a further round of strike in November 2019 - the second time in two years[15]. The 2019 strike also cited disputes over salaries, unreasonable workloads, precarious employments (especially by early career academics and doctoral students), and inequalities in salaries such as the gender pay gap[16]. These disputes continued into 2020, with further pickets between February and March[17]. As universities across the UK face financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic[18], industrial relations at Cardiff University under Riordan's leadership remained tense, with staff voting in favour of striking and other types of industrial actions several more times up until the very end of Riordan's tenure in 2023[19].

Riordan's leadership during these strike actions were criticised by union members as well as the press. While staff and their union argued that academics and other workers face significant real term pay cuts[13][16], Riordan's high salary was the subject of much criticism, with Wales Online consistently listing him among the highest earners in Wales[20][21][22]. Similarly, Riordan's expenses were under scrutiny during this time. His reported expenses of "£26,000 on oversea trips in five months" (according to The Tab) and "£21k on air fares and £6k on hotels" (according to Wales Online) were deemed unjustifiable, especially in light of Riordan's previous comments highlight his concerns over Cardiff University's financial position[23][24]. Riordan's high salary and expense bills were a marked contrast to the financial precarities faced by his employees on strike over the years.

Under Riordan's leadership, Cardiff University was also condemned for punitive actions against striking staff members. In particular, staff who took part in the 2023 marking and assessment boycott (a form of industrial actions) were threatened with a 50-100% pay cut[25]. This move was condemned by Professor Tom Bartlett, who called the pay deduction "ethically questionable" in his letter of resignation from his honorary professorship at the university, addressed to Riordan himself[26].

Research and publications

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He has published on post-war German literature and culture,[27] including editing books on the writers Jurek Becker, Uwe Johnson and Peter Schneider.[28]

Personal life

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In November 2017, shortly after missing Bisexual Visibility Day, Riordan came out as bisexual in a monthly email to staff.[29] The BBC quoted him as saying, "Only a few vice chancellors have spoken out about being gay or lesbian and none about being bi, as far as I'm aware."[30] He has two daughters from a former marriage.[31]

Memberships

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In 2013 he became chair of Higher Education Wales, the body which represents the interests of Higher Education Institutions in Wales.

Bibliography

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Riordan, Colin. 1989. The Ethics of Narration: Uwe Johnson's Novels from Ingrid Babendererde to Jahrestage, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 28 (MHRA)

References

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  1. ^ "News Centre - New Vice-Chancellor for Cardiff University". Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  2. ^ "NewsLink - Press Office - Newcastle University". Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  3. ^ "NewsLink - Press Office - Newcastle University". Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Wyvern : People : March 2007". Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  5. ^ "News Centre - New Vice-Chancellor for Cardiff University". Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  6. ^ Wales, The Learned Society of. "Colin Riordan". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Cardiff University research centres to tackle major world issues". BBC News. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  8. ^ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N10.
  9. ^ Wightwick, Abbie (31 January 2023). "Head of Cardiff University leaves £289,275 a year job". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  10. ^ "Professor Colin Riordan CBE appointed as the ACU's next Secretary General and Chief Executive". www.acu.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Minutes of Newcastle University Council Meeting (8 July 2024)" (PDF). Newcastle University. 8 July 2024. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Colin Riordan | Executive and Governance Office | Newcastle University". www.ncl.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  13. ^ a b "Cardiff University lecturers walk out in pay protest". Wales Online. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  14. ^ "University lecturers held strike over pension deadlock". BBC News. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  15. ^ Wightwick, Abbie (6 November 2019). "University staff will strike for eight days later this month". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  16. ^ a b "Welsh universities strike over pensions and pay". ITV News. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  17. ^ Wightwick, Abbie (4 February 2020). "University staff in Wales are going on strike again - this time for 14 days". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Coronavirus: Cardiff University 'could lose £110m in income'". BBC News. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Cardiff University industrial action: Here's what you need to know". Cardiff University. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  20. ^ Barry, Sion (28 December 2015). "The big earners in Wales who take home more than Prime Minister David Cameron". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  21. ^ Evans, Gareth (9 April 2014). "Outrage as universities in Wales told: 'Justify six-figure vice-chancellor pay'". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  22. ^ Clements, Laura (5 March 2023). "The highest-paid public sector bosses in Wales". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  23. ^ Mulford, Joshua (29 January 2025). "Cardiff University's former vice-chancellor spent £26,000 on oversea trips in five months". The Tab. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  24. ^ Evans, Gareth (16 March 2015). "Anger as Wales' vice-chancellors spend £21k on air fares and £6k on hotels". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  25. ^ Pal, Adwitiya (23 April 2023). ""Bullying Behaviour" - Cardiff University Email Threatens Union Members With Full Pay Deductions -". Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  26. ^ Nixon, Sophie (13 August 2023). "Honorary Cardiff University Professor resigns due to university's handling of industrial action". The Tab. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  27. ^ "Newcastle University ePrints".
  28. ^ Williams, Rhys W.; Parker, Stephen; Peitsch, Helmut; Riordan, Colin (1992). German Writers and the Cold War 1945-61. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719026621.
  29. ^ "Cardiff Uni boss: 'Why I told colleagues I'm bisexual'". BBC. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Cardiff Uni boss: 'Why I told colleagues I'm bisexual'". BBC. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  31. ^ "£288k-a-year university boss bravely comes out as bisexual in email to all staff to help those feeling 'invisible'". Mirror Online. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  32. ^ a b "UK Board". Universities UK. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  33. ^ "Board". Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Edge". Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  35. ^ "NARIC - UK NARIC Advisory Council". Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  36. ^ "Board of Trustees". 6 October 2014.
  37. ^ "Board members — Equality Challenge Unit (ECU)". Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  38. ^ "International Education Council".
  39. ^ "International Education Council".