Retirement Event for Professor Ann Smyth
General Council Secretary thanked for her “outstanding” Service.
The Principal, Professor Peter Mathieson, was among many guests who assembled in the Playfair Library on 17 June to say a heartfelt thank you to Professor Ann Smyth as she approached the end of her term as Secretary of the General Council. Addressing those present, Professor Mathieson paid tribute to the outstanding service Professor Smyth had rendered to the University, not just as the Council’s Secretary but in various different capacities throughout her life.
Presenting Professor Smyth with a gift on behalf of all those members of the Council and University staff attending, the Convener of the General Council’s Business Committee, Sir Philip Mawer, praised Professor Smyth for the “imagination, desire for improvement and dedication” she had brought to her unpaid, voluntary role. “Building on the foundations laid by her distinguished predecessors,” he said, “she has used the opportunities presented to her and the Council to underline the contribution alumni in general and the Council in particular can make to the overall wellbeing of the University.”
In her valedictory remarks (the full text of which is available at the bottom of this page), Professor Smyth said:
“For me it is not only education I value from this University but also its ethos that I hold dear. My role as General Council Secretary has been my opportunity to repay my own and my family’s indebtedness for that. …. This large, complex, dynamic University is made up of a great many truly exceptional people, whether in academe, professional services or the other essential roles that make the University function as it does: talented, committed, hard-working, kind people…. I and the General Council hold you in high esteem for what we know you do for this University. This is my chance to say a heartfelt thank you to each of you for your engagement with the General Council. “Our forebears who created the General Council understood that those who had benefitted from education here would go on caring about the wellbeing and prosperity of the University and that academic staff too, should have a voice through the General Council.”
Professor Smyth has been working closely in recent months with Dr William Duncan, formerly CEO of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, who will take over from her on 1 August. Wishing his predecessor well, Dr Duncan commented:
“Ann has been an outstanding Secretary to the General Council. With much insight, good humour and unflagging dedication, she has ensured the seamless operation of the Business Committee and established excellent relationships with University staff at all levels. For all this I’m most grateful. She will truly be a hard act to follow, but it is a huge privilege to be given the opportunity to do so.”
