Getting to know his new charge

HOLDING THE REINS: Professor Stuart McCutcheon.

The University of Auckland's new vice-chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, is getting to grips with running an institution three times the size of the one he left.

McCutcheon, the vice-chancellor of Victoria University for four years before he took up the reins at Auckland at the start of 2005, replaced John Hood, who was appointed head of Oxford University in Britain.

Preparation of the university's new strategic plan, which is expected to go before the university council for approval by June, in time for setting next year's budget, is helping concentrate McCutcheon's mind as he gets to know his new charge.

Three features of Auckland's university have already struck him. First has been its size. It is the country's largest university, with double the roll - 40,000 students - of Victoria.

As vice-chancellor, he is chief executive and, with turnover from all revenue sources of $640 million, it's like running a large business.

In addition to the arts, sciences and law faculties he's familiar with from Wellington, Auckland has medical and engineering schools, making for what McCutcheon says is a comprehensive range of courses.

Also noteworthy, he says, is Auckland's commitment to research, which he was already aware of when it was ranked first of the country's tertiary institutions for research performance in a table compiled by the government last year.

The rankings are significant as a new formula for university grants, performance-based research funding, is phased in.

The formulation of the strategic plan poses a number of questions for the university. How it wants to be ranked internationally is one. So, too, is the extent to which the university wants to continue to grow, where it should be looking for future revenue and whether there is a need to limit access to any courses that don't already have a cap on their size.

Stakeholder views are important in deciding the way ahead, McCutcheon says. His predecessor made strides in bringing the university and business community closer together by such innovations as creation of professorships sponsored by companies. McCutcheon's vision of the university's role in the city is to be close to "the many communities it serves''.

Among those are students and their families, local bodies, research communities, a "whole variety'' of ethnic groups and schools.

Not to mention other institutions, of which there is one just across the other side of Wellesley St - AUT.

McCutcheon says he has met his AUT counterpart, Derek McCormack, on a number of occasions to talk about relations between the two universities.

"I don't think there's any reason why the two universities can't co-exist and what we need to talk about are the common interests we have and work together on those, while also acknowledging that the university system is fundamentally competitive.''

The shared interests include having a say on government policy, the vehicle for which is the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee, chaired by McCutcheon.

Others are working with Auckland's local authorities on issues such as city infrastructure and, potentially, doing something to increase the rate of university enrolment by Maori and Pacific students and those from schools in poor neighbourhoods.