Glynis Breakwell has agreed to step down from role at Bath University but says her salary reflects a competitive jobs market

The vice-chancellor of Bath University has said she is not embarrassed by controversy over her £468,000 pay package, insisting her salary reflects a competitive international jobs market.



Dame Glynis Breakwell, the UK’s highest paid vice-chancellor, agreed to step down on Tuesday following months of criticism surrounding her remuneration, but has faced more condemnation after it was revealed she will still be paid her full salary after leaving the post.

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Breakwell announced on Tuesday that she would take a sabbatical at the end of the current academic year before retiring in early 2019, meaning the vice-chancellor will receive around £600,000 from now until her retirement.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme on Wednesday evening, Breakwell said: “I think the controversy has been something that I would have wished to avoid but I’m not embarrassed by the fact people who have actively determined my salary did so in the way that they did.

“I don’t actually think that the university’s reputation is being damaged by this, I think we recognise the value and significance of the university.”



Pressed on whether her pay package was excessive, she told the programme: “I think that we have a situation where we are in a globally competitive market for talent in higher education, that is particularly true in terms of the leaders of higher education.”

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Breakwell narrowly survived a no-confidence vote at the university senate last week, but insisted the recent criticism did not reflect the full picture.

“I think that it is undoubtedly the case that some people are angry and disillusioned, I don’t think that the majority feel that.

“I think that there is a recognition that leadership in a university is of tremendous importance and the success of the university in its entirety then allows those people who are part of this community to fulfil their potential and allows these students to go on to great things,” she said.

Campus protests against the vice-chancellor are planned for Thursday by staff and students.