Barrow-born academic proud of Cumbria University achievements

The Barrow-born academic will be at each one of the nine graduation ceremonies taking place on July 12, 13, and 14 – three every day.

The celebrations will mark the culmination of his time at the helm of the young university, where he has helped to develop higher education opportunities and much more in his home county, a part of the country where there were few opportunities in the past to embark on such levels of study.

The 67-year-old, who is a former pupil of Barrow’s Grammar School for Boys, will miss seeing students enjoy their hard-earned success after he retires on July 31 – exactly five years on from his first day in charge.

Professor Strike said: “Working with the students, seeing their skills and achievements develop and knowing that many are being taught within Cumbria or are from Cumbria – that is very powerful for someone like me who was born in Cumbria.

“It has added an extra dimension to all of this that is going on and it will not be the same for every (departing) vice chancellor to feel such an attachment to their university.”

“I’ve followed the creation of this university from its first concept with Dale Campbell-Savours and the University of Lakes. That started the ball rolling to what we have today.”

He added: “One of the highlights for me was being at the first graduation ceremony in Carlisle Cathedral where there were no other validating universities, there was just a sea of green academic hoods from the University of Cumbria in front of us.

“That was a powerful statement about how effective and how important the university had become. That was probably in 2012 and the only thing to match that achievement will probably come in two years time when we’ve got research degree awarding powers.”

The University of Cumbria will submit its bid for those next April. If successful, it should be 2018 when the university can begin to award its own PhDs and other higher-level awards.

“Getting research degree awarding power status is an indication of maturity of a higher education provider,” explained Professor Strike.

Professor Strike arrived in 2011, after the University of Cumbria had been through a turbulent time. Its £30m financial crisis had been tackled by interim vice chancellor Graham Upton, who helped secure its sustainability and rebuild its academic reputation. Professor Strike’s appointment, heralding the start of a new era, was to build upon those shoots of recovery.

Five years on and the University of Cumbria is branching out into new academic areas, is financially strong enough to invest millions into its campuses across the north west of England, and is well on its way to being able to award its own postgraduate awards.

Professor Strike said: “The challenge was taking what we had been given in 2007 and turning it into the university that Cumbria deserves. I think we’re taking a lot of the right steps to do that and it is a job that’s not yet finished. We’ve got to keep pushing for what we want.”

Developments at the university during the Barrow professor’s time in charge have included the rejuvenation of its Ambleside campus in the heart of the Lake District.

It had been mothballed in the cuts and there still fears for its long-term future. “Ambleside was a really big decision for this university,” the vice chancellor said, “and we’re delighted at how that operates now.”

It now boasts a bustling student body of around 500 undergraduates, who are enjoying courses largely in areas of outdoor studies and forestry. Ambleside also houses the university’s leadership institute, which has an international reputation.

Its Grade II-listed Scale How building could possibly be redeveloped as part of the emerging plans to create a Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas in partnership with the Lake District National Park Authority. The university’s largest site, in Lancaster, is also seeing a multi-million pound upgrade.

Professor Strike said: “When you take a step back and look back at what we’ve achieved we’re pleased, but there’s still a long way to go. The University of Cumbria is not yet the finished article, but I hope I’m leaving it in good shape.”

He added: “What has been nice, particularly this year, has been the bringing back of the Institute of the Arts name into play. It reminds people that we’ve got an outstanding arts provision here in Carlisle and Cumbria.”

The Brampton Road campus of the university in Carlisle was one of its predecessor institutions, known as the Cumbria Institute of the Arts prior to the university’s creation in August 2007. Cumbria University’s step into science is also something that pleases the professor, who is an internationally-renowned geneticist.

It is offering new courses as it looks to build its science, technology, engineering and maths portfolio of courses and facilities, which include a £3.5m investment at the Fusehill Street campus in Carlisle. The University of Cumbria is also working closely with Sellafield Ltd on a project management academy, with support from the University of Manchester.

The university is playing a pivotal role in the creation and running of the National College for Nuclear too. But there are challenges ahead, none more so than the proposed scrapping of bursaries for those on NHS courses.

The public purse currently picks up the tab for the training of many students at the University of Cumbria, be it those hoping to become nurses, midwives or other leading healthcare professionals. Professor Strike fears such a move could hit student numbers.

Cumbria University experienced a similar situation when it was forced to adapt when major reforms to teacher training were introduced. The number of places on university PGCE courses were slashed as schools were given the responsibility of recruiting and training student teachers under the School Direct scheme.

The removal of a cap on student numbers is also going to be a threat to smaller universities like Cumbria, Professor Strike believes.

He said: “This government has not been in any way helpful to smaller, regional institutions.

“We must maintain the local focus and make sure that people in our county have access to higher education opportunities so that they do not have to travel too far away.”

Professor Strike’s career has included 28 years of research and teaching at the University of Liverpool. He was also vice principal at Edinburgh Napier University and deputy vice chancellor at both the University of Northumbria in Newcastle and the University of Sunderland.

And retirement isn’t a word which comes easily to Professor Strike, who lives near Hexham with his wife and leading British psychologist Professor Dame Vicki Bruce. He has plans to return to the University of Cumbria in the autumn, doing some teaching in its science labs in Carlisle. He is also going to remain on the board of the city’s Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery.