Yunus Becomes Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University
Yunus Centre Press Release (1 July, 2012):
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has been chosen as the Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University, a public university in Glasgow, Scotland.
In her letter, Professor Pamela Gillies, the Vice Chancellor invited Professor Yunus to become the Chancellor and provide creative and insightful direction towards the growth of the University. Professor Gillies states- “It would be a great honour indeed for me to serve you as your Vice Chancellor. Together I believe we could reinvent the notion of a University for the modern age. Universities which harness their intellectual, social and emotional capital and collaborate with others for the common good, can demonstrate the significant impacts that may be made upon the most difficult challenges in societies around the world. Glasgow Caledonian University is proud of its commitment to its social mission and to promoting educational opportunities for talented young people from the most difficult of circumstances, a commitment I know to be dear to your own heart”
Caption: Professor Muhammad Yunus with the Principal of Glasgow Caledonian University Professor Pamela Gillies ( to the right of Professor Yunus), Sally Magnusson and the outgoing Chancellor Lord Gus Macdonald during the Magnusson Lecture at Glasgow Caledonian University.
In 1992, The Secretary of State for Scotland approved the merger of Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow to form Glasgow Caledonian University, which opened on 1 April 1993.The University established the “Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health” and created “Yunus Chair” in 2010. Leading health economist Professor Cam Donaldson is the present holder of Yunus Chair. This centre leads a research programme studying the impact of social business creation on the lives and health of disadvantaged communities in Glasgow and overseas.
The Glasgow Caledonian University has already partnered in a social business in Bangladesh by establishing Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing that aims to offer world class nursing and midwifery education in Bangladesh through the highest quality education and research.
In 2010, the University was ranked among the top 400 universities in the world. In the Architecture and the Built Environment unit of assessment, the university's research was ranked in the top twenty in the UK. Currently the University has a total of 17,045 students.
The former Chancellor, Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, Gus Macdonald who served for five years as a UK government minister and now sits on the Prime Minister’s advisory committee on business appointments stepped down as the Chancellor after five years in office.. The Nobel Peace Laureate has accepted to become the Chancellor of the University.
Source: Yunus Centre
Updated Date: 4th January, 2017