C OURIER THE
Issue 1227 Monday 7 March 2011 www.thecourieronline.co.uk
THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF NEWCASTLE STUDENTS
EST 1948
FREE
No expense spared • •
University’s top execs splash out almost £150,000 since June 2008 Students foot the bill for five star hotels, first class travel and fine dining
• Money, money, money: globe-trotting Vice-Chancellor Chris Brink, who earns £240,000 a year, splashed out £39k on expenses since June 2008 including a £300 withdrawl from a cashpoint at Haymarket and £673 on a bed for his house on the outskirts of the city
Simon Murphy News Editor University chiefs have blown a staggering £148,922 on expenses, The Courier can reveal. At a time of unprecedented cuts to higher education, the Executive Board have lavished the six-figure sum on fine dining, first-class travelling and luxury five-star hotels since June 2008. As the University expects to lose as much as £7 million in funding, the colossal expenses total could have paid a year’s tuition fees for
almost 50 underprivileged students. The figure also dwarfs those at rival North East institutions such as Sunderland University, where bosses claimed only £26,121.41 and Northumbria, which totalled £115,108.35 over the last three years. Newcastle’s Vice-Chancellor Chris Brink, who earns £240,000 a year, was responsible for the largest chunk of the claims, totalling £39,600.66, including £1.40 for a metro ticket. The other major claimants were Deputy Vice-Chancellor Ella Ritch-
ie, whose tally totals £20,713.76, Director of the University’s Institute for Research on Sustainability Paul Younger, who has racked up an expenses bill of £24,468.43, and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Medical Sciences Chris Day, who has claimed £22, 453.16. Among the Vice-Chancellor’s claims were £673 for a bed and a £358.70 shopping spree at Ikea to deck out his home on the outskirts of Newcastle, which is supplied by the University. He does not have to pay any rent to the University for
Vice-Chancellor claims £39,000 including £1.40 for a Metro ticket
his Ponteland property despite his huge salary. Globe-trotting Brink has also racked up an astonishing number of stays at luxury hotels, including the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore, Hyatt Regency Johor Bahru and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Malaysia, and the Sofitel Plaza in Xiamen, China. Meanwhile, South African Brink – who has been Vice-Chancellor since 2007, has entertained guests at the exclusive Raffles Hotel in Singapore and Jesmond Dene House, which
once served as the temporary home of former Newcastle United star Andy Carroll. The University’s Finance Director Richard Dale told The Courier that he expected members of the Executive Board to look for value for money. “My experience with the Executive Board is that they’re very scrupulous in the way they behave. I am aware at times when we’ve used Raffles and sometimes the University does that for alumni events which are major fundraising Continued on page 4 and 5 stress-