Professor Dame Judith Petts DBE retires as Vice-Chancellor

Outgoing VC expresses pride in a university that is confident, courageous and makes a difference
Professor Dame Judith Petts DBE
Today marks Professor Dame Judith Petts DBE ’s retirement, following a 45-year career in higher education, including almost nine years as the University of Plymouth’s Vice-Chancellor.
In a final message to colleagues as VC, Dame Judith thanked them and reflected on her time in Plymouth, as well as looking to the institution's future.
She described arriving in early 2016 to find that the University had "lost confidence and reputation but was nonetheless filled with palpable aspiration and potential."

It has taken the courage of everyone here to become an institution with strategic vision and purpose, international reputation, and financial sustainability. We have achieved this together by taking ownership of the University's past as well as responsibility for its future.

Judith Petts DBEProfessor Dame Judith Petts DBE
Emeritus Professor

Her time as Vice-Chancellor has seen difficulties for the University – not least the most significant global pandemic in a century – but Dame Judith cited colleagues' "knowledge, ingenuity, and compassion" as essential to the University's success in overcoming them.
And she believes Plymouth is well-placed to meet current and future challenges facing higher education, including what she describes as an "unsustainable funding model". Importantly, the University will be able to capitalise on significant opportunities likely to come forward in the region and beyond.
 
 
 

Continued pride in and support for the University

I am intensely proud of the University of Plymouth as a confident, courageous institution that makes a difference, has a significant reputation, and is financially sound. Most importantly, ours is a friendly and caring University.

It has been a huge privilege to lead this institution, but any Vice-Chancellor only ever feeds off the expertise of their colleagues. The University's achievements reflect the contributions and dedication of every one of you. I know that you will welcome and support Professor Richard Davies when he starts work as Plymouth's new Vice-Chancellor, next week. 
Complete retirement after 45 years in higher education is not possible! I become an Emeritus Professor on 1 October, and I will continue to support the University and tell the story of its impact with great pride.

Judith Petts DBEProfessor Dame Judith Petts DBE
Emeritus Professor

InterCity Place at night with view of train in foreground
 

University of Plymouth achievements under Dame Judith’s leadership

February 2016

Professor Judith Petts CBE appointed as Vice-Chancellor

2016/17

  • Refreshed Strategy 2016–20 launched
  • Exeter School of Nursing opened
  • Partnership with Plymouth City Council to realise opportunities for a Marine Technology Cluster

2017/18

  • Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Silver
  • HRH The Princess Royal opened the £15 million Derriford Research Facility
  • Peninsula Dental School first in the UK to be awarded centre accreditation by the Royal College of Surgeons
HRH The Princess Royal opens the Derriford Research Facility

2018/19

  • Strategy 2030 launched
  • University Student Charter launched – a tripartite agreement between the University, its students and the Students' Union.
  • Launch of 10-year £250 million Campus Masterplan
  • Economic and social impact report released detailing the University's socio-economic impact on the city, region and the rest of the UK:
    • c.£900 million output to the UK economy and 8,769 FTE jobs supported by the University.
  • Brain Research and Imaging Centre (BRIC) development began
  • InterCity Place (ICP) and Babbage Building projects announced
  • Civic University Agreement signed
  • Digital Fabrication Laboratory and Immersive Media Laboratory opened in the refurbished Roland Levinsky Building

2019/20

  • A year where the University refused to be defined by the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Our third Queen’s Anniversary Prize, for pioneering research on microplastics pollution
  • Strategic Research Institutes formalised
  • Kirkby Lodge was retrofitted as our new Sustainability Hub
  • £3 million Cyber-SHIP Lab opened
The Prince of Wales presents Professor Judith Petts with the Queen's Anniversary Prize

2020/21

  • BRIC opened, with seven labs, including an MRI suite
  • Sustained improvements in national league tables as well as being ranked in the top 25 institutions globally and 1st in the World for Marine Impact in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings
  • Work on Babbage and ICP began
  • Opening of The Box – Plymouth's new museum and archive – a project supported from its inception by the University
  • Expansion of the Peninsula Medical School at Plymouth Science Park
  • World Oceans Day 2021 saw the announcement of Marine Research Plymouth – a major partnership between the University, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and Marine Biological Association
  • New partnership with the Royal Navy to work closely on innovative projects including marine autonomy
  • Spearheaded the development of a new set of climate commitments endorsed by 140 universities

2021/22

  • Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessed 78% of our research as world-leading or excellent, up from 65% in 2014
  • Twinned with the State University of Infrastructure and Technology (SUIT) and Kherson State Maritime Academy in Ukraine as part of the #TwinForHope campaign
  • Ship Campus at Peninsula College in Malaysia opened
  • CobBauge building opened as a 'living lab' next to our Sustainability Hub
Sunset over the Babbage Building

2022/23

  • Became the UK's second carbon neutral University, meeting our ambitious targets three years ahead of schedule
  • Shortlisted as University of the Year in the 2022 Times Higher Education Awards
  • Signed a partnership with University College Cork to address some of the critical climate and sustainability challenges facing our planet – an agreement inspired by the COP26 summit
  • Established the Centre for Decarbonisation and Offshore Renewable Energy (C-DORE)
  • National Centre for Coastal Autonomy launched by HRH The Princess Royal
  • Maritime Simulation laboratory opened, complete with Dynamic Positioning simulator

2023/24

  • Triple gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) results, reflecting excellence in student outcomes and experience, as well as the University’s overall quality
  • InterCity Place and the Babbage Building opened
  • The health, engineering and design facilities represent a combined investment of almost £100 million in our city centre campus and Plymouth's urban environment
  • Work began on a £14.5 million redevelopment of the Fitzroy Building as the new home for our Plymouth Business School
  • A new partnership was launched to deliver the University of Bath's pharmacy degree here in Plymouth
  • The UK Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Test Facility opened in our Marine Building – a significant upgrade to the COAST Lab
  • University ranked 6th in the World for SDG 12 Sustainable Resource Production and Consumption and top 20 in the world for our marine impact with SDG14, Life Below Water (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024)
  • Professor Judith Petts appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Higher Education and Sustainability.
Professor Dame Judith Petts DBE