The following address was given by the Principal, Sir Muir Russell, at today's Commemoration Day ceremony following the conferment of honorary degrees:

Commemoration Day is a special day in the life of the University of Glasgow, and this is a special Commemoration Day. It is not every day that we inaugurate a new Chancellor ﾖ once every fourteen years is the long run average and this is only the third inauguration in my lifetime! We are proud to have the participation of all those who have joined us today: Chancellors, Principals and other representatives of Scottish Universities and higher education institutions; our hugely distinguished group of honorary graduates; civic leaders; friends of the University; and the biggest academic procession we have seen for many years!

First and foremost, we are celebrating the installation of Kenneth Calman as Chancellor. He is a son of Glasgow, a graduate of this University and has pursued his academic and public service roles with great distinction. It means a great deal to us that he is returning, and I know that all those of us responsible for leading and managing the University will value his support, his experience and his advice.

The Chancellor has outlined some of the where his support, experience and advice may be deployed, and they will resonate well with many of us. Developing our cultural heritage and our links with the city and our accessibility to all its people are, I know, heartland territory for many here today; while creative research and debate about ideas are the defining characteristics of a University such as this, relevant to us all.

And these thoughts are, of course, at the heart of the University's new strategy "Building on Excellence". Of course this builds on our history ﾖ the names of Adam Smith and Kelvin, for example, will always feature largely in what we do ﾖ but it is fundamentally rooted in our capacity to make things happen in the here and now influencing Scotland's future. The keywords for our research and our teaching have to be quality and international excellence, with an increasingly international profile of students and staff; adding increasing value at the postgraduate level; and securing a robust and sustainable future for the organisation. These are our goals; I know the Chancellor will support them, and I look forward to his help in achieving them.

Similar goals are shared by the other Universities in Scotland, and we need to make common cause. As Convener of Universities Scotland for the next couple of years I look forward to working with colleagues to try to win the debate with Government about the operating environment for Scotland's Universities. We have almost limitless ambition, reflecting our capacity and track record, and we are not afraid of competition. But we cannot succeed if we are starved of resources, and that is the message we must all join together to get across.

Today there is one final point that I want to emphasise. For some time now industrial action has placed a question mark over exams, assessment and indeed this year's graduations. That action has now stopped, and I want to pay tribute to the way in which academic and administrative colleagues in this University have worked hard and with dedication to bring us to the point at which we believe that all graduations will go ahead, beginning next week. Whatever the difficulties and stresses of the last few months have been - and I know it has been a difficult time for many - this demonstrates the underlying commitment and professionalism of this University community, in particular the fundamental commitment of staff to their students. I want to acknowledge this outcome and thank my colleagues for it. The world out there can be assured that we have cut no corners in our examinations and assessments. As a result, a University of Glasgow degree obtained in 2006 is indisputably of the same high standard of quality as ever. That is a message that I, and everyone here from this University will be giving out loud and clear in the coming weeks.

In conclusion, I am reminded of a conversation a few weeks ago with a good friend who has had a distinguished career in the Scottish financial sector. He told me that, as he put it, that his world ﾖ a little to the east of here - is full of people who say "I went to the University of Glasgow and it transformed my life" and there seems to be more people from Glasgow who say that than from other Universities. Going to the University of Glasgow certainly transformed my life; it transformed the Chancellor's life; and it is a safe bet that it has transformed the lives of very many of us here today. Let it be our mission, Chancellor, colleagues and friends of the University, to ensure that future generations continue to say "Going to the University of Glasgow transformed my life".

Thank you

Principal, Sir Muir Russell (Principal@gla.ac.uk)

First published: 21 June 2006