King's College London newsletter
IClearly on the Move A year of ignificant achievement and improvement. The College ha had to fa e mas ive hange over the pa t three years, but by working together, often in difficult circum tances, those ch nges have been well managed and turned into positive movement forward. Thi wa the Principal' clear me sage as he addressed staff a t the start of thi se ion. He paid tribute to the spirit of common purpo e that had made development and improvement po sible and empha i ed how high the College's reputation now tood. Academic achievement The highest standard of teaching had quite obviou Iy been ustained. Degree result for 1988 showed yet another improvement upon the previous year with the num ber of firsts and upper seconds rising to a remarkable 54.88%. This was a marvellous result and applied right across the College. Profes or Sutherland cited a few examples of excellence to indicate the level of tandard achieved. The English Department had an outstanding year: ou t of 34 candidates 12 gained fir ts and 15 upper econds. History produced 3 first and 24 upper seconds from 3 I candidate . I n Biotechnology there were 3 fir ts and I I upper second from 17 candidate and in Pharmacy 4 firsts and 17 upper seconds from 29 candidates. Out of 24 athematics candidates 8 achieved firsts and 7 upper seconds. cademic achievement is the heart of what we are, our fundamental rai on d'etre, and these re ults are a testament to the continued quality of our teaching and support ervice and to the high quality of our student population. Financial achievement A year ago the financial ituation had looked pretty gloomy. ow the Principal was able to give us ome good news. Although there was no cause for any great euphoria, as indeed there was none in the university system as a whole, he was able to report that the College had turned its financial situation around and at the end
of 7/ 8 had a small urplu . This included adding to the College' A ademic Development Fund and laying aside £250k. for re earch development. urplus wa also predicted for / 9 although the College till ha to make inroad into its umulative deficit of £4.5m. However ther was even some good news attached to this: through excellent financial management the deficit wa not actually costing
the College money. The skill and dedication of the Finan e Offi er and hb staff have played a ital role in helping the College regain a rea onably ound financial footing. significant taff re tructuring ha also contributed enormou Iy to this. 109 taff have taken ome form of voluntary severance. 54 of -the e a ademic, I I academic related and the remainder clerical and technical po ts, bringing u clo e to the planned staff numbers. King' i balan ing it book and this i not ~ome thing that all univer ities an clalln. I t would be wrong to sugge t that ·times of plenty' had arrived but we have been On!.
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The first MSc in Gerontology 111 the country got off to a good start at Kmg' la t week. Students at the ge oncern Institute of Gerontology, based at 552 King's Road, are dr wn trom a variety of backgrounds, including doctor, social worker, a dentl. t, a nurse and an ergonomist, piu other involved in adult education and voluntary \\ ork. The students are pi tured here with Mr David Hobman, hairman of the Advi ory ouneil of the Age Con ern In titute of Gerontology. If you would like further details about the new MSc cour e, please contact the In titute on Chelsea 3626.