Oxford University’s new vice-chancellor says that as a local she hopes to be a ‘bridge’ between the university and the city.

Speaking at her Admission Ceremony on Tuesday (10/1), Professor Irene Tracey spoke of her pride at being asked to lead her hometown University where she has studied and worked as an internationally-renowned neuroscientist.

Addressing the audience in the Sheldonian Theatre, she said: "I stand here today, as surprised as no doubt you are, that after a lengthy global search this university, my university, elected a local girl - in every sense of the phrase - to be your next Vice-Chancellor.

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"To be entrusted with this role fills me with immeasurable pride. I am privileged and honoured to serve my hometown University that has nurtured me since my undergraduate days."

Professor Tracey grew up in Kidlington, the youngest of six, and attended St Thomas More RC Primary School and Gosford Hill School.

She said under her tenure engagement with the local Oxford and Oxfordshire communities are a key priority and she will work on ‘demystifying what Oxford is’.

She said: “As a local person, I really care about our role in the city.”

She said the University’s Department for Continuing Education was seeing "thousands of older people in the city" attending courses and talks although she added “we could do more.”

“I’m a real believer in lifelong learning," she said. "It’s not just about that brief window of school, or school plus university, if you go to university, and that’s it.”

She said this would be even more important for the next generation “who are likely going to have to reskill and relearn. The one job for life model is largely over".

She said the opening of The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in Jericho would greatly expand the University's outreach and public engagement activities.

“The whole of the ground floor will be open space for the public and the city to come into,” she said.

She added: “We are mindful of the challenges of our presence on the city people as well in terms of housing and other aspects.

"Being a local girl it’s important to me that we are a good neighbour and a good part of the city and a good steward of the city and there are ways we can work together because I have got that local sense of what the community wants.”

The University, which is the county's largest employer, experienced several days of strikes in November and continued non-strike action such as working to contract and refusing to volunteer.

Prof Tracey said she would commission an independent analysis of pay and conditions for the university's staff.

She said: “I understand why people are striking. Obviously we are still in discussion phases of that.

“I’ve commissioned an independent report so we can look at all aspects of people’s jobs. That would include pay, it would include other aspects to make their working conditions here easier for them. That could be from simple things like parking provision to bikes, it could be nursery provision – all these things that just make the job a little bit more manageable.

She said “as a living, breathing academic, raising a family" she understood the issues around the strikes.

“We are always very mindful of our duty to our students in terms of not disturbing their education but completely appreciate that people have a right to strike and the important thing for me is to listen and learn and to take forward what it is we are able to take forward.”

Prof Tracey said traffic in Oxford “is a really interesting issue”.

The University of Oxford wrote to the leaders of Oxfordshire County Council in support of their proposed traffic filters in September 2022.

She said: “I hope to be really active in discussions about how we do that well.

“I think we all have the aspiration to minimise the use of cars but there are practical consequences of that.

"So this is something in my new role, obviously I’m only a week in, it will be great to take forward some of those discussions with the city so we can make sure we put the right set of decisions in that achieve the goals that we want to achieve around reduced traffic, the pressure of that on the city and the CO2 and the environment, so that it works for people and there’s a balance to be struck there.

“That’s where we want to go. It’s how we get there. We need to think about what is our public transport system looking like. Is it fit for the job? I think these are all very live issues.

"It’s one of the really hot topics in the city and we have a part to play.”

Prof Tracey, who lives in Oxford city, has four siblings who live in Oxfordshire in Abingdon and Witney.

Her three children attended a state primary and then independent schools in Oxfordshire.

But for the internationally renowned neuroscientist Oxford University was not always the ambition.

“It was suggested to me throughout school that Oxford would suit you – you’re smart and you like academics – but it wasn’t something I was strongly moulded into going in to. But my parents were always really proud," she said.

“They came from Liverpool originally and they were very proud of Oxford and when they moved here they became full backers of the city.

"They were thrilled about the fact we had this big university here.”

 

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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris

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