THE vice chancellor and principal of The University of Edinburgh, Peter Mathieson, has been paid out £881,789 in salary and expenses in just two years.
Figures obtained by the Daily Record shows that the university has shelled out tens of thousands of pounds in travel expenses on top of the reported £418,000 salary he currently receives.
The university paid £42,456 on flights to far-flung destinations such as South Africa, South Korea, Hong Kong and the United States between March 2022 and May 2024.
These revelations come amid reports that Edinburgh University is facing existential threats to its financial stability and may have to cut as much at £140,000 from the university budget.
This means voluntary and compulsory redundancies as well as cuts to less popular programmes and modules.
In a message to staff in February, Mathieson stated: “To make these recurrent savings, we need radical university-wide actions, which will lead to a smaller staff base and lower operating costs.”
At the time, the University and College Union (Scotland) called this news “shocking” as it pointed out that Edinburgh University possesses assets worth £3.1bn – assets which could be used to plug gaps and avoid cuts.
Earlier in the year, Mathieson was also called to appear before an Education, Children and Young People Committee to explain how he plans to make cuts to the university’s operating costs and what effect they will have.
Mathieson confirmed during the committee that he was awarded a 5% pay rise last year and a 2.5% pay rise at the beginning of this year.
Mathieson is widely reported to be making £418,000 per year in his role at Edinburgh University, but at the committe meetings, he told MSPs that he “doesn’t scrutinise” his payslips and “doesn’t know the exact figure” that he’s paid.
The Daily Record also reported expenditures on Mathieson’s expense account of £3,059 on accommodation and £1,336 on transport in Milan, London, Brussels, Warsaw, and Hong Kong from September 2023 to July 2024.
These expense come amid greater scrutiny of finances in Scotland’s universities after Dundee University was bailed out to the tune of £40m by the Scottish Government.
At the end of May, Edinburgh University’s top academic body declared “no confidence” in the university executive’s handling of the financial crisis.
An Edinburgh University spokesperson today said: “The University of Edinburgh makes a substantial contribution to the UK economy, generating £7.5bn annually.
“The salary of the principal, as the university’s most senior leader, is determined by a remuneration committee.
“The property provided as part of the role was generously donated to the University in 2015, and it is maintained accordingly.
“Every international visit and associated expense is tied to strategic projects and partnerships, many of which are the result of years of work by our academic and professional staff.
“Senior leadership presence at such events is vital to supporting our continued ambition to be a global institution and our ongoing commitment to working with partners to deliver positive change worldwide.”
