My first year as Vice Chancellor at Loughborough University has been exciting and extremely enjoyable. It is a privilege to be working with such high quality staff and students who are working at the cutting edge of their disciplines. It has been another year of great success for the University and everyone is proud of Loughborough’s achievements and its recognition as a centre of the highest quality research and education.

Right across the campus there is a tangible commitment to excellence that has led to the highest quality learning environment from which our students benefit enormously. Whether you look at our teaching and learning programmes or our research partnerships, you see evidence of this high quality and an involvement with issues that are of direct relevance to industry and society.

At the University’s heart is the ‘Loughborough Experience’ – a tangible element of life at Loughborough, which is experienced by staff and students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, and which continues to be developed by our alumni right across the world. We are very proud indeed of our award from the Times Higher Education Supplement for Best Student Experience which confirms what all at Loughborough already knew – that Loughborough is special.

Throughout the campus there flows a great team spirit that contributes to, and grows from, an atmosphere of achievement, and this desire to succeed permeates all aspects of Loughborough’s activities. I was fortunate to join the University just prior to the Commonwealth Games and shared the excitement of our athletes’ phenomenal success. Their achievement is a credit not just to the students themselves, but also to the commitment and hard work of the University’s staff.

Success like this reflects consistently high quality performance right across the University. I would like to record my particular appreciation of Loughborough Students’ Union and its members. Their dedication to student guidance and welfare, their exceptional achievements in fundraising, in work in the community and in sport, and their wholehearted involvement in all aspects of campus life make Loughborough a special place for all of us.

There are real challenges ahead and we must find ways to anticipate and influence these changes to keep us at the forefront of excellence. Loughborough has a great history of adapting to change and using this to its advantage. I am sure that will remain the case and I am proud to be part of this next phase of the University’s development.

Professor Shirley Pearce
Vice Chancellor