The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council will be expected to meet the transitional costs of the merger between Moray House Institute and Edinburgh University planned for August 1 next year.
Announcing agreement on the details after nine months of talks, the principals of the two institutions indicated that they hoped for a major slice of the funding council’s annual budget of more than Pounds 10 million for amalgamations.
Gordon Kirk, Moray House’s principal, will become dean of the faculty of education which will include pre-service and in-service teacher training from Moray House and the university’s Institute for the Study of Education and Society and its teaching, learning and assessment centre. Social work at Moray House will merge with the university’s activities. Asked about his own intentions after the merger, Professor Kirk said: “I may be shy but I am not retiring.”
Full integration will take four years during which the Cramond campus of Moray House will be sold, as revealed in The TES Scotland two weeks ago. On a conservative estimate it will make Pounds 6.5 million. A site for physical education and sport, with a swimming pool, is being sought in the city centre.
Sir Stewart Sutherland, Edinburgh’s principal, said: “Our combined institution, the largest of higher education in Scotland, will be of great benefit to Scotland and to Edinburgh in particular.”
Professor Kirk said: “The new faculty will be formidable in research strength as in teaching.”
comment, page 19 H 3 TES JUly 11 1997 gerry mccann
