Professor George Boyne, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, has announced that he will retire in December 2025 after reaching his 70th birthday and completing the seven-year term he began in 2018.
Julie Ashworth, senior governor (chair) of the University’s governing body, University Court, expressed her “deepest thanks for outstanding service”.
Professor Boyne took up the leadership when the University had more modest placings in higher education rankings. Now Aberdeen is ranked 12th by the Guardian - up from 46th in 2018 - and 15th by the Times and Sunday Times - up from 40th in 2018 - in their most recent assessments of over 120 Universities across the UK.
The University, which has a strong reputation for helping students from every background reach their full potential, is also ranked second in Scotland and 15th in the UK in the prestigious National Student Survey.
Professor Boyne has led the organisation, which dates back to 1495 and is the 5th oldest in the UK, through challenging times such as the global pandemic, the impact of Brexit on universities, the cost-of-living crisis and unprecedented financial challenges for the higher education sector.
He said: “It has been the honour of my life to be the internal advocate and external ambassador for the extraordinary range of very high-quality work that is carried out in the Schools and Professional Services at the University of Aberdeen. It has also been a privilege to lead the development of our academic and financial strategies during this eventful time in higher education.
“We have made very strong progress on a wide range of activities including student recruitment, student employability, research funding, research impact, and regional and global partnerships; and most fundamentally, the creation of new knowledge and scientific discoveries.
“I will miss the University very much but the time is now right to pave the way for a successor. In December I will be five months beyond the seven-year term of office as Principal that I accepted in 2018, and two months beyond my seventieth birthday. The sevens in my professional and personal life are in close alignment.”
As is customary when Principals retire, Professor Boyne is offering advance notice so that the University has sufficient time for the recruitment process and the notice period that the new Principal may be required to give their current role.
The Senior Governor added: “I would like to express my deepest thanks to George for his unwavering commitment to the University. He has achieved an enormous amount in seven years and clearly leaves the University in a very strong position to attract outstanding candidates. Our financial position is stable, our research awards grew by 30% last year, student satisfaction is consistently among the best in the UK, and we have achieved our highest ever UK rankings. I wish him the very best for the rest of his tenure.”