Dame Glynis Marie Breakwell DBE DL FRSA FAcSS (born West Bromwich, 26 July 1952) is a British social psychologist, researcher and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath. In January 2014 she was listed in the Science Council's list of '100 leading UK practising scientists'.[1] Her tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath was marred by controversy over her remuneration, culminating in her dismissal.[2]
Breakwell has been a Fellow of the British Psychological Society since 1987 and an Honorary Fellow since 2006. She is a chartered health psychologist and in 2002 was elected an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences.[3]
Breakwell was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to higher education.[4] She is also a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Somerset.[5]
Breakwell was born on 26 July 1952 in West Bromwich, England. She graduated from the University of Leicester with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1973, the University of Strathclyde with a Master of Science (MSc) degree in 1974, the University of Bristol with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1976.[6] Her doctoral thesis was titled "The mechanisms of social identity".[7] Later, in 1995, she was awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) degree, a higher doctorate, by Nuffield College, Oxford.[6]
In 2002, she lived in a five-bedroom house at Lansdown Crescent. After her dismissal from the Vice-Chancellorship, the house was then up for sale for £3,000,000.[8]
In 2016, former education minister Lord Adonis called for an inquiry in the House of Lords as he criticised the "serious controversy" of salary increases awarded to Breakwell as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath. A pay rise of 11%, well above the 1.1% cap on pay for non-managerial staff across the higher education sector, took her yearly earnings to £451,000. "Put all that together, and Glynis Breakwell is paid almost exactly half a million pounds, more than three times the prime minister’s salary" said Lord Adonis.[11]
It was also reported around the same time by a freedom of information request submitted by Bath councillor Joe Rayment that Breakwell claimed an extra £20,000 in domestic expenses despite living in a grace-and-favour property owned by the university.[12][13][14]
In protest against Breakwell's pay package, four MPs resigned from the university court (advisory board) for the University of Bath: Darren Jones, Kerry McCarthy, David Drew, and Andrew Murrison.[15] Critics speculated that the controversy surrounding Breakwell's salary had led to a decline in applications; the university suffered an 18.5% drop in applications from non-EU applicants for the 2018 entry, and an overall 6% drop against an 11.5% jump in applications for Bath's six closest competitors.[16]
A freedom of information request by the Bath Chronicle revealed Breakwell secured a further 3.9% pay rise in the 2016–2017 academic year, raising her total wages and benefits to more than £468,000.[17] This led Adonis to refer to her pay rise – awarded whilst she herself was a member of the remuneration committee that set her salary – as a "disgrace" and to call for her to resign. In response, Breakwell issued a statement saying "The university is committed to the highest standards of governance and treats very seriously any complaint made."[17] Breakwell stepped down from the remuneration committee in October 2017 during a series of reforms described as "largely worthless" in a joint statement from unions.[18] One month later, University of Bath students overwhelmingly passed a motion of no confidence in the university's governance in relation to Council and Remuneration committee.[19][20]
Addressing the issue of her salary in a 2015 interview, Breakwell stated: "I’m worth it...I’ve been in the job a long time and you do tend to get increases over time in most jobs. Frankly, I don’t think that there is anything I could say that would stop people saying that I earn too much and vice-chancellors earn too much, so I cannot engage in a conversation because I don’t think there is a way through."[21]
On 28 November 2017 Breakwell announced that she would step down as vice-chancellor on 31 August 2018, at the end of the 2017–18 academic year, and take a fully paid sabbatical semester before formally retiring on 28 February 2019.[22][23] As part of the terms of her resignation, the university wrote off the interest-free loan for her £31,000 car which she kept.[24]
Andrew Adonis called the terms of her resignation "outrageous" and that she was the worst case of "fat-cat pay", saying the sabbatical meant that she would be paid £700,000 to go.[25] A joint statement from trade unions representing staff at the University of Bath urged for Breakwell's resignation to be effective immediately, citing concerns over Breakwell continuing to exercise authority which generated a "climate of fear" on campus.[26] On 16 January 2018, the university court voted in favour for the immediate dismissal of Breakwell.[27]