Prof Boyne said of his seven-year tenure, which saw him lead the ancient University through the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and sector-wide financial challenges, \u201cIt has been the honour of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally appointed until 2028, the UoA chief decided to retire earlier than planned following reports<\/a> of staff bullying. Previously, the Aberdonian Principal had drawn criticism for messaging<\/a> colleagues that staff on strike should feel \u2018pain along the way\u2019.<\/p>\n Both Professors Boyne and Leydecker were behind missteps<\/a> in targeting language courses and jobs to tackle a budget deficit, which sparked protests and international attention.<\/p>\n Student campaigner Rhiannon Ledwell said she was \u201cthrilled to rid ourselves of the top individuals behind last year’s horrid cuts to languages,\u201d adding that the Celtic Society, which she presides over, \u201cis celebrating.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gaelic student accused SMT of \u201crunning the University like a business rather than a charity.\u201d<\/p>\n On April 17th, UoA announced<\/a> a pause to all staff promotions and a continued hiring freeze.<\/p>\n Since the announcement, Prof Leydecker had been away from work with no email replies and absences from key meetings, according to multiple sources.<\/p>\n An anonymous staff member told The Gaudie<\/i> about \u201crumours of a major row between Karl Leydecker and George Boyne over the decision to cancel the current promotions round – a decision it is believed that Karl thought was a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Three months into Prof Leydecker\u2019s absence, The Gaudie <\/i>requested an update on his job status, and his resignation was announced later the same day.<\/p>\n A UoA spokesperson said on the matter, \u201cwe don’t [comment] on individual staffing matters.\u201d<\/p>\n In a memo sent to staff, Prof Boyne thanked Prof Leydecker for his \u201cunwavering support and commitment,\u201d highlighting his role in developing Aberdeen 2040, environmental goals, and academic reputation.<\/p>\n Ex-student officer Rhiannon shared, \u201cI am hopeful that Boyne and Leydecker’s replacements will show initiative to work with students and staff, rather than taking a top-down approach.\u201d<\/p>\n The University has been searching for a new Principal, but told staff yesterday that their preferred candidate withdrew due to \u201ca change in circumstances,\u201d leading officials to \u201cpause and refocus\u201d their headhunt for UoA\u2019s new leader.<\/p>\n The Students’ Union (SU) shared a statement from Student President Christina Schmid:<\/p>\n “We\u2019re sorry to see Prof Leydecker leave and reflect positively on our working relationship. Following the Save UoA Languages campaign, we valued his willingness to engage with students and the SU.<\/p>\n “We also thank Principal Boyne for his leadership during a challenging period for the higher education sector. His role in navigating the University through financial pressures and his engagement with the SU have been appreciated.<\/p>\n “As we look ahead to the appointment of a new Principal, we\u2019re hopeful that the successful candidate will prioritise building a strong relationship with the student body and will place the student experience at the heart of their leadership to cultivate an inclusive University community.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Senior Vice-Principal Karl Leydecker has become the fourth senior manager to announce their departure from University of Aberdeen (UoA) this academic year. Secretary & COO Tracey Slaven left for Cumbria University in November, prompting UoA to split her job into two positions. Meanwhile, Director of People Debbie Dyker left in May after 33 years serving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":5740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":746,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[254,1271,1324,200,1293,252,1325,1232,1323,1280,380,678,1320,1317,1318,1316,679,1277,1319,201,412,1326,183,1321],"wf_post_folders":[181],"class_list":["post-5734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-aberdeen","tag-aberdeen-university-students-association","tag-acedmic-promotions-pause","tag-ausa","tag-debbie-dyker","tag-fred-byrne","tag-gaelic","tag-george-boyne","tag-hiring-freeze","tag-karl-leydecker","tag-leadership","tag-modern-languages","tag-principal","tag-resignation","tag-retirement","tag-rhiannon-ledwell","tag-save-uoa-languages","tag-senior-management-team","tag-staff","tag-students-union","tag-su","tag-tracey-slaven","tag-university-of-aberdeen","tag-vice-principal"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Fred Byrne","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/marketing\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Left-to-right-Karl-Leydecker-George-Boyne-Debbie-Dyker-Tracey-Slaven-Source-University-of-Aberdeen-modified-300x169.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["News<\/a>"],"unlinked":["News<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Aberdeen<\/a>","Aberdeen University Students' Association<\/a>","acedmic promotions pause<\/a>","AUSA<\/a>","debbie dyker<\/a>","Fred Byrne<\/a>","Gaelic<\/a>","george boyne<\/a>","hiring freeze<\/a>","karl leydecker<\/a>","leadership<\/a>","modern languages<\/a>","principal<\/a>","resignation<\/a>","retirement<\/a>","rhiannon ledwell<\/a>","save uoa languages<\/a>","senior management team<\/a>","staff<\/a>","Students' Union<\/a>","SU<\/a>","tracey slaven<\/a>","University of Aberdeen<\/a>","Vice-principal<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Aberdeen<\/span>","Aberdeen University Students' Association<\/span>","acedmic promotions pause<\/span>","AUSA<\/span>","debbie dyker<\/span>","Fred Byrne<\/span>","Gaelic<\/span>","george boyne<\/span>","hiring freeze<\/span>","karl leydecker<\/span>","leadership<\/span>","modern languages<\/span>","principal<\/span>","resignation<\/span>","retirement<\/span>","rhiannon ledwell<\/span>","save uoa languages<\/span>","senior management team<\/span>","staff<\/span>","Students' Union<\/span>","SU<\/span>","tracey slaven<\/span>","University of Aberdeen<\/span>","Vice-principal<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"2","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 16 July 2025","modified":"Updated on 18 July 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 16 July 2025 19:35","modified":"Updated on 18 July 2025 10:11"},"featured_img_caption":"Left to right: Karl Leydecker, George Boyne, Debbie Dyker, Tracey Slaven (Source: University of Aberdeen)","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5734"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5753,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5734\/revisions\/5753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5734"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=5734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"#SaveUoALanguages](\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-16-at-20.02.341-1024x768.jpeg\")