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Went by the Ziff today. They’ve done it. It’s been killed almost stone dead. Questioned on the one remaining open door around the back. Only one person in the massive Student Common Room, a couple of people around the Lifelong Learning Centre, no one about anywhere else. No student help service desk. Oh, one lone worker in what was a popular cafe. Def a quiet place to work now! Furniture removed - cafe stripped out. No life or students walking about. The most people I saw was those clustering at the doorway trying to keep people out. They did it all anyway. Fortressed a big building for one person. Killed a student help hub just like that. I understand that Simone Buitendijk, Jeff Grabill and Ann Allen are the key culprits who did it. Remember their names.

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Hahaha -hilarious, we’re it not so tragic and ironic

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Hahaha -hilarious, we’re it not so tragic and ironic

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Just seen the threatening letter sent to climate protestors by the University Secretary, Jennifer Sewel. I quote: ‘There is, however, no right to protest in any way one sees fit, and without regard to the rights of others’.

The absolute IRONY: the University Secretary - the Deputy Vice Chancellor - the Vice Chancellor all might, if they were at all genuinely bothered, consider how locking down the Ziff building and closing it to students without consultation with any students or staff teams, AND doing it in a secretive rushed manner, AND without conducting ANY legally required Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Assessments before they began moving people out, also constitutes a serious disregard to the rights of others. Their behaviour is an infringement of students’ rights.

Kettle. Black. Get these odd people OUT. They bring my workplace into disrepute. The Clowns. Overpaid and out of touch.

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I see that the Conference Auditorium has been occupied.  Wonder whether it will be one rule for that building and another for the Ziff.  Surely it means conference auditorium will be closed to students forever just like the Ziff has been. Unless there is something different about the Ziff? Cant think why one building would be 'protected' more than any other?

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Less than 0.1% of the entire student body at Leeds did some protesting inside the Ziff building for - what? What was it? seven days or so in an entire year?

and the reaction is to shut the entire building - a cafe - social spaces - classrooms - and demand that all staff who help students face to face move out and go elsewhere?

Let’s look hard at the Vice Chancellor and her clique of senior staff enacting this ban and have a good little think about that.

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The fact that services have been removed from the building BEFORE an equality impact assessment has been completed tells us everything about how the University cares about students with disabilities or other needs. They are an afterthought at best - more likely they weren't given a second thought.  Taking actions before the assessment reports back shows the true colours of what equality really means to Leeds University. 

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The fact that services have been removed from the building BEFORE an equality impact assessment has been completed tells us everything about how the University cares about students with disabilities or other needs. They are an afterthought at best - more likely they weren't given a second thought.  Taking actions before the assessment reports back shows the true colours of what equality really means to Leeds University. 

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If anyone would like to walk in the shoes of a student at the moment to find out how hostile this place is to the most vulnerable students on campus, please do try and freely walk into the Ziff Building and see how quickly people swoop down on you and demand to know who you are and what you are doing  - lets hope you have the right answers or you are not making past the door.  What is happening here is DISGUSTING

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If anyone would like to walk in the shoes of a student at the moment to find out how hostile this place is to the most vulnerable students on campus, please do try and freely walk into the Ziff Building and see how quickly people swoop down on you and demand to know who you are and what you are doing  - lets hope you have the right answers or you are not making past the door.  What is happening here is DISGUSTING

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Protest outside Ziff Building on Tues 9th May from 12pm. Come and join

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Protest outside Ziff Building on Tues 9th May from 12pm. Come and join

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We have to try and make our voices heard. None of this is remotely acceptable - I have now talked to so many students and staff who are thinking of leaving and no longer have any place where they feel safe on campus.

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Do staff in the building not deserve a food catering cafe? It’s closed. With so many central support workers in the Ziff why shut their source of decent food and drink? Are they not worth it? 

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Do staff in the building not deserve a food catering cafe? It’s closed. With so many central support workers in the Ziff why shut their source of decent food and drink? Are they not worth it? 

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Such a reactive institution due to inept upper management. Let's be proactive for once, and make it a better place for students and staff.

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Students & campus unions have arranged a protest of the changes to the Marjorie & Arnold Ziff building which severely limit student access to this well-used & accessible part of campus. Gather 12 midday Tuesday May 9th outside the Marjorie & Arnold Ziff building

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Students & campus unions have arranged a protest of the changes to the Marjorie & Arnold Ziff building which severely limit student access to this well-used & accessible part of campus. Gather 12 midday Tuesday May 9th outside the Marjorie & Arnold Ziff building

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Prohibiting students from freely going into their own building is what this is, and it’s horrible. 

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Prohibiting students from freely going into their own building is what this is, and it’s horrible. 

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It’s definitely NOT ‘looking after the student experience’. It is the exact opposite. Such a small proportion of students staged a protest in recent years and during so very few days in an entire year. Make no mistake - the only people who were REALLY inconvenienced by that were a handful of senior executives being asked ‘inconvenient’ questions.

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Backwards is the new forwards, I’m afraid

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Backwards is the new forwards, I’m afraid

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People in charge are lying and obfuscating and deceiving in order to save their own skins and everyone knows it. As long as the most well-paid people remain comfortable and untroubled by legitimate student concerns and worries then that’s now all that counts at the University of Leeds. It’s clear now. It’s the age old dilemma: the old and the rich want to pull up the drawbridge to protect themselves, and the next generation who are the actual future of this planet can go hang. The people who are actually here to make the real differences to our lives are being disrespected and trampled on. So much for education and equity. It is a disgrace that a building housing so many good public services is to be locked down without question at the behest of a self-selected few who sit in the top of it.

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"The key to successfully introducing and embedding change is making sure those who are impacted know what’s happening and why,” she says. “Unless we engage properly with people and involve them as much as possible in the process, we just won’t get the best outcomes from any changes introduced. If people don’t understand why a change is proposed, and aren’t engaged at an early stage, we won’t get the same level of commitment and change is less likely to happen."

https://forstaff.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/8030/the-people-centred-approach-to-managing-change

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The people centred approach to managing change

The formation of the Transformation Office recognised the fact that change is fundamental and ongoing in the University.

Putting people at the centre of change programmes helps them be more successful. That sounds obvious - but what does a people centred approach actually mean?

Joanna Sugden is Head of the People & Change team at Leeds which works across the whole university on change projects, large and small.

The team was established in response to feedback from the last all-staff survey, which flagged that change management was an area of concern for colleagues. It's now part of the People & Culture Directorate and works closely with the Transformation Office to ensure the human element of change programmes is front and centre of the whole process.

"The key to successfully introducing and embedding change is making sure those who are impacted know what's happening and why," she says. "Unless we engage properly with people and involve them as much as possible in the process, we just won't get the best outcomes from any changes introduced. If people don't understand why a change is proposed, and aren't engaged at an early stage, we won't get the same level of commitment and change is less likely to happen.

"Getting people involved as early as possible means they can take ownership of the process, shaping the way the changes are implemented and how they impact on teams. This makes change more sustainable, because it becomes part of the established way of working."
What are the key issues?
"Putting people at the centre means having clear answers to the questions, 'Why is this happening? How will it affect me? What's in it for me?'" explains Joanna.

The 'traditional' approach - where people perhaps got an email the day before something happened - isn't designed to engage them in the process.

"A process or system upgrade may seem straightforward, but if the impact on the end user isn't considered as part of the process, it can easily result in confusion and resistance: 'Why do we have to upgrade the system? Why can't I just stay on what I'm on at the moment?'" says Joanna. "Explaining the reason for the change, in a practical way that makes sense to those impacted, is important if there is effort needed to implement the change."

If you're impacted by change but not involved in it, it's understandable to be resistant to it, Joanna continues.

"It's a big issue for the University right now because there's a lot of change happening all at the same time. And it's vital to understand fundamental things like whether people have the capacity to introduce that change at that time, based on everything else that's happening.
How and why the people centred approach works
"We've been trying to build a picture of who the stakeholders are in the big change programmes, what the right engagement should be and mapping out where the touch points are with different stakeholders along the journey," explains Joanna.

"Once that's all built into the project plans, we can see when the same stakeholder groups will be impacted by different programmes - we call this a 'heatmap'. This way we can ensure the engagement is coordinated, efficient and effective and we're not overloading the same people with too much information at the same time."

Leaders of change programmes and projects are realising the difference a people centred approach makes. Engagement is improving as people being impacted start to understand that their concerns are being listened to, and realise they can co-design the solution.

We're learning lessons and sharing good practice with other programmes, including highlighting people and cultural change in strategic communications, creating work streams within projects to focus on the needs of those impacted by the change, and integrating change management practice into project planning and governance by including People & Change elements, such as change impact assessments, change readiness decisions and risk assessments.

We're working closely with project leads to advocate for, and empathise with, the people impacted by change, and proactively engaging with a diverse range of colleagues to understand the impact on them and their needs.

It's already making a difference:

"We are currently delivering a significant change initiative in our planning process, which involves the implementation of new technology and significant process re-design," says Shelley Tyson, Head of Student Number Planning in the Strategy, Planning & Performance Team.

"Having a colleague from the People & Change team embedded within the project team, with a clear focus on ensuring our stakeholders are brought along with us on this journey, has been essential both in terms of the engagement needed to deliver, but also in providing a voice and a vehicle for capturing input and improvement ideas from the wider community."

The People & Change team has evolved from being a pilot team embedded in two programmes, to a core function within the People & Culture Directorate . We're not just here for the big strategic programmes: some of the tools available can help teams develop their own approach to locality-based change projects. Our approach is now available via the Transformation Office Hub, including 'How to' guides and simple to use templates for all staff to access.

For more information, contact Joanna Sugden at J.R.Sugden@adm.leeds.ac.uk.

Posted in: University news

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the formation of the transformation office recognised the fact that change is fundamental and ongoing in the university.

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The people centred approach to managing change

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The formation of the Transformation Office recognised the fact that change is fundamental and ongoing in the University.

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Innovation and digital IS great, however…

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Innovation and digital IS great, however…

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you can’t get your head stuck so far up the digital that you go and neglect the PERSONAL. There is no substitute for human warmth and peer support and one to one customer service.

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Your friendly reminder that while the messaging appears to be that no final decisions have been taken, the cafe is permanently closed, the west entrance remains locked, teaching rooms have been moved to other buildings, students have been told the services are moving. What is happening is a deliberate hiding and denial. The closure is continuing at pace in secret. No updates to staff. No questions to have to answer. Just a stealthy building closure and only once it done and it's locked will anyone likely hear a thing. This whole thing continues to be a disgrace. The suggestion that no final decision has been made is a lie. There is no 'listening'. 

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Your friendly reminder that while the messaging appears to be that no final decisions have been taken, the cafe is permanently closed, the west entrance remains locked, teaching rooms have been moved to other buildings, students have been told the services are moving. What is happening is a deliberate hiding and denial. The closure is continuing at pace in secret. No updates to staff. No questions to have to answer. Just a stealthy building closure and only once it done and it's locked will anyone likely hear a thing. This whole thing continues to be a disgrace. The suggestion that no final decision has been made is a lie. There is no 'listening'. 

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After this decision I have absolutely no trust in the university's values or priorities. Simone just wants to earn her 300k+ paycheck in peace!

Although they've apologised, plans are still going ahead next year according to the latest email.

What's more, they are introducing further barriers to a dialogue with the VC by paying someone up to 43k to answer her emails in a new corporate correspondence manager job: https://jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=CSCOM1135

The job description says this this person will have to ensure correspondence is responded to in line with the university values. Sounds like a tough job when actions of senior leadership are completely out of whack with values of integrity, compassion, collaboration and inclusivity.

The lack of respect for our community shown by Simone and Jeff is really upsetting because it goes against everything we say we care about.

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Dear students,

We are writing to update you on the proposed changes to how we use the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building. It’s clear that aspects of these plans have caused distress to some of you, and we want to apologise for that.

The plans for the Ziff building are part of a broader review of how we use campus and are also a response to concerns about student experience and the security of everyone who uses the Ziff. This context has made the issue more pressing for this building. Every time the building is compromised, student experience suffers, which in itself impacts on wellbeing.

However, we appreciate that this situation emerged quickly, meaning it has felt rushed and lacking consultation and collaboration. This was never our intention.

Our intention was always to listen. We have now listened and as a result of your feedback we will be slowing down the pace of the work to ensure our solutions take account of what staff and students need – both now and in the future.

To those who have participated in productive and passionate conversations about student and staff engagement, thank you. We will work together with you over the coming months to shape how we grow the sense of belonging this space and our campus clearly provide for so many in our University community.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out through our Ziff questions inbox: sescommunications@leeds.ac.uk

Best wishes,

Professor Simone Buitendijk

Vice-Chancellor and President

Professor Jeff Grabill

Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Education

What this means in the short-term:

Lifelong Learning Centre and international students who currently use the student common room will continue to be able to access it until at least the end of this academic year, and we will work with those students to ensure they have common room space that supports them in the long term

The LLC resource centre in Ziff will remain open for drop-ins until all relevant assessments have been completed

Student consultation space on the ground floor will remain open for appointments

Drop-in appointments will be available in Parkinson Court – detailed timings of when this will commence will be confirmed shortly

The Student Information Point will relocate in early May and we’re considering options in both Parkinson Court and Beech Grove House

Café Maia has been closed for Easter and alternative study spaces and cafes will be signposted to students. The current proposal is for vending machines and microwaves to be installed and to create informal breakout space as well as for meetings and workspace for staff in the building. There are plenty of alternative cafes and study spaces to use across campus

Teaching previously timetabled in Ziff will move to Blenheim Terrace from the start of the summer term, and if you’re affected, you’ll be informed by central timetabling

What this means in the longer-term:

The Student Information Service will continue to look at its full offer to ensure its on-campus support services meet the changing needs of our students

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) assessments will continue, to assess the needs of teams such as Lifelong Learning Centre staff, reviewing the space at Beech Grove House to ensure it meets the team’s needs

We’ll continually review how any new arrangements are working to ensure our spaces continue to support students’ needs

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so much SPIN. ‘We are opening up new student information points…’ Erm, yes …because Simone Buitendijk and her Executive Team simply will not tolerate any more students gathering in what she thinks is HER personal Ziff building. And has demanded the perfectly good, large purpose-designed student information point must close due to a bout of severe paranoia and her inability to tolerate student presence. Let’s complete the story, eh? Such fakes. Such inspirational kindness.

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The closure of the Ziff building to students (without an arranged appointment) is a huge step backwards for the University of Leeds and contrary to its values of collaboration, compassion, inclusivity and integrity.
There are many different groups of students who use the Ziff building and it has become a place where people feel they belong and matter to the university. It is a friendly and welcoming centre for many students from under-represented communities and is a fantastic asset to the university. Much outreach work is done from the Ziff building and groups, who may never have had opportunities to consider higher education in the past, are made to feel welcome and that they could belong and thrive at a university like Leeds. This is because they see and meet university students in the Ziff building who may be from similar backgrounds to them. The message this sends is incredibly powerful and the University of Leeds is seen as a centre of good practice for outreach and support of under-represented students, amongst its peer universities.
Staff work with and alongside students, building up strong partnerships and co-creating work through collaboration and inclusivity. This expertise has been developed over the years and is due to the fact we are with our students in the same building. Removing students’ ability to drop in to the building removes so much successful work and potential for future good practice.

The Ziff building was opened in 2008 as a student facing central hub. The University's website explained the key purposes of the building...and that senior management would be located there. This current action by senior management has ignored these key aims completely.
".... The new £15m six-storey building will consolidate key student administrative services under one roof, bringing into one place, functions currently carried out at six separate locations across the University, providing a 'one-stop shop' to offer improved and integrated support to students.

..... Its light, airy foyer will offer an open and welcoming environment - and it will stay open late, allowing part-time and continuing-education students to be taught in an accessible, secure environment as part of the 'evening campus initiative' to make better use of the University facilities later in the day  .....
..... The Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building will also provide a quality suite of offices for the University's senior management team

https://manchesterhistory.net/architecture/2000/ziffbuilding.html

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"We will enable our students to thrive through a sense of belonging."

Lol.

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Wow! Says it all. After centralising and then forcing our student facing support staff to work from home, they are now abolishing the one central building that students could go to without an appointment. 

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Wow! Says it all. After centralising and then forcing our student facing support staff to work from home, they are now abolishing the one central building that students could go to without an appointment. 

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Sorry, have I got this right. Lifelong Learning Centre students and the other mature students from other faculties that use their service will now have to book appointments, go to a locked building and be taken to and from those appointments? That cant be the case surely?

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99.9% of University of Leeds students didn’t occupy or protest in a building

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99.9% of University of Leeds students didn’t occupy or protest in a building

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… less than 0.1% did.

But let’s lock all students out of that vital building full of easy to access services anyway, *just in case*.

That’s how ridiculous this situation is.

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The reason communicated internally (to some) is that it's to stop students protesting in the Ziff and disrupting the VC

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The reason communicated internally (to some) is that it's to stop students protesting in the Ziff and disrupting the VC

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So, 16 days on from finding out on the grapevine that Ziff was closing, I'm still waiting to be told officially. Can't management even manage the fairly simple task of updating staff on something that is already very, very public knowledge? Don't they owe us that, at least? What are we supposed to tell the students we frequently direct to Ziff for all manner of support?

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Nice words from the University in it's Access and Participation Plan:

"Students are core to what we do at Leeds and our ambition is to be a place where all students feel they belong and matter to the university.  We have a moral and ethical obligation to our students: our students invest in us, we should be investing in them.  We have adopted a whole-university approach to access and student success and as such, our Access and Student Success Strategy  is one of the key supporting strategies that feed into University’s 10 year strategic plan"

...misses out the bit about kicking students out of their spaces of belonging, locking doors behind them and only letting them in with an escort. Those morals and ethics seem to be in short supply when it actually matters.

Much like our much trumpeted 'values' that have now been so clearly set on fire it looks like this Access and Participation plan is similarly not really worth the paper it was written on?

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No community, collegiality or conversation. No values.

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No community, collegiality or conversation. No values.

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https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/education/university-of-leeds-slammed-for-outrageous-decision-to-restrict-student-access-to-ziff-building-after-protests-4101999

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University of Leeds slammed for ‘outrageous’ decision to restrict student access following protests

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Staff and students at the University of Leeds have criticised the “outrageous” decision to greatly limit access to a building in light of recent protests.

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Such a shame that such a useful resource will close for such dumb reasons!

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Such a shame that such a useful resource will close for such dumb reasons!

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It really does feel that the VC is sitting at the top of her tower yelling "get off my lawn you crazy kids"

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The Times Higher Education Conference is at Leeds 17-20 April

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The Times Higher Education Conference is at Leeds 17-20 April

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Is a demonstration being planned? Can we organise something? https://www.timeshighered-events.com/digital-universities-uk-2023/agenda

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Join us on 17-20 April 2023 for Digital Universities UK. We will bring together leaders from higher education, industry and policy to present the latest challenges and opportunities of digital-first higher education along with cutting-edge start-ups and ideas that will reshape the future, forever.

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https://www.change.org/p/discrimination-against-marginalised-students-by-a-russell-group-university?recruiter=false&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=share_for_starters_page&recruited_by_id=43352610-d2df-11ed-83c2-311d6e038ef0&share_bandit_exp=initial-35901872-en-GB

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The university of Leeds senior leadership team is unilaterally throwing students out of the homebase of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, we the undersigned, urge the Vice chancellor and their officers to reverse this harmful decision.

Underrepresented groups, within the top performing universities in Britain, have always been marginalised and this is due to get worse. The Lifelong Learning Centre work with a significant percentage of disabled, mature, disadvantaged, and ethnic minority students (greater than the wider university community) providing a 'physical' home for them. The University claim they are trying to widen participation from diverse backgrounds, yet those of us who have fought the system so far are not being listened to. The Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building, on one floor alone, is home to the Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC), who support mature students, foundation year students, apprenticeship students (approx. 550 students), plus a further 3000+ wider community of mature students, including postgraduates and a resource room. The support system provided by the LLC and other departments located in the building have been a lifeline to so many of us. They truly are the only people who provide us with some sense of belonging on campus. We use this space as students to carry out work in a safe environment as our student community has larger issues with belonging and representation (an already marginalised group, who enter university education through non-traditional routes). Our groups therefore do not traditionally feel 'at home' in the other spaces across campus.

As of the end of April 2023 this will no longer be the case. The staff are to be segregated from the students. Students will be expected to frequent a dilapidated and un-resourced building that is only partially accessible. Yet mature students represent the highest proportion of disabled students. The decision has been made without consultation of the students and staff affected. The University of Leeds does not respect the marginalised groups that it "has to take on" to not break the law. It is only concerned with its image and not the students who pay the Vice-Chancellors wages. The proposed reason for this change is because the University Executive team feel unsafe with on-site protests and occupations. If this is truly the reason, then there is a misunderstanding of free speech and what a university campus represents. Protests have been a significant part of university life for many decades now.

We are sure that it would be more resourceful for the University Exec team to inhabit an office with additional security than lock down a whole building for their pleasure. The displacement of 3000+ students for the safety of less than 20 people is illogical, unresourceful and represents a complete lack of regard for the services the build offers.

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The university of Leeds senior leadership team is unilaterally throwing students out of the homebase of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, we the undersigned, urge the Vice chancellor and their officers to reverse this harmful decision. Underrepresented groups, within the top performing universities in Britain, have always been marginalised and this is due to get worse.

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Marginalised people will be missing out all the more

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Marginalised people will be missing out all the more

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So who does the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building support the most?
-  students who’ve received university emails and who are confused or need help and advice in person with real humans face to face
-  students with visa problems
-  international students unfamiliar with their host country, who are isolated and far away from home
-  working class students
-  students in crisis requiring immediate pastoral support
-  foundation year students who have been offered a chance to follow their passion after being rejected by mainstream services
-  adult learners retraining to develop their careers in nursing, management, business, child and family support, and teaching
-  part-time local commuting students
-  people who at school were told ‘education is not for you’ because of autism and undiagnosed Specific Learning Differences
-  passionate people determined to return to education to make their lives and pay packets better
-  students having computer issues with their online registration and ID checks
-  a high percentage of disabled and marginalised people keen to study just like their peers and friends
-  people who want to make a difference to our communities here and around the world

And you would shut the big glass doors on these people? Escort them around on entry and exit only after they have asked for ‘permission to come in’ for they are ‘not to be trusted’ in the same building as a few directors who are many floors upstairs, working behind already locked office doors?

That’s the reality of this and the impact it is having on the university’s reputation. That’s what people arriving at locked ‘University of Leeds’ buildings at ground level are now going to feel and see. 😔

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Staff loved working in the Ziff cafe. Friendly staff and students and friends would drop by and it was really buzzing after the big refurbishment we had. A lively place. Catering team went into work at the beginning of the week before Easter and was told it was shutting. Shutting at the end of that week for good. Not returning after Easter. Imagine how that feels. Staff weren’t even warned. It makes no sense at all. Unless they simply don’t even like students gathering in there. 

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Staff loved working in the Ziff cafe. Friendly staff and students and friends would drop by and it was really buzzing after the big refurbishment we had. A lively place. Catering team went into work at the beginning of the week before Easter and was told it was shutting. Shutting at the end of that week for good. Not returning after Easter. Imagine how that feels. Staff weren’t even warned. It makes no sense at all. Unless they simply don’t even like students gathering in there. 

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Newspapers are now contacting students and looks like the YEP may be reporting on this shortly.

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How undemocratic a notion, to demand a building be locked against students in a mere four weeks. There are processes and analyses to be done when such a thing affects so many services ways of working. The impact on customer support is huge. The impact on student and staff wellbeing is huge.

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This needs urgently stopping until a meaningful consultation has taken place with students, stakeholders and staff. Without it, the reputational impact both internally and externally is going to be massive. What were they thinking handling something so significant as poorly as this. Even if it's temporary, the brakes need urgently putting on.

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Large Student Common Room in Ziff used to support vulnerable Leeds groups plus International students and Foundation Year and mature students…

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Large Student Common Room in Ziff used to support vulnerable Leeds groups plus International students and Foundation Year and mature students…

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the well-used student common room on level 12 of Ziff building hosts our International Office buddying sessions and language practice events - always really busy and fun popular sessions! Great to run these adjacent to our offices. Also a relaxing student hub out of those times where people come to study quietly in the large spaces, and gather to meet friends and eat packed lunches together etc. Student groups use it to attend group online seminars. The space is booked out by the LLC for ad hoc events and is integrated into their work supporting mature student socials, students’ family events, and dozens of large local community outreach events: day and evening workshops throughout the year. Refugee groups, people in recovery from life challenges, people hoping to make a fresh start and return to education, college students from all around West Yorkshire - all come to learn and be supported at events in there. It is valuable integrated space for both Lifelong Learning support work, and International integration support work too. This is what the Ziff means to us.

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I’m sorry but this is incredible. Locking students out of their parent school? Having to escort them in and back out of their own building to ensure they leave? No trust? 

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I’m sorry but this is incredible. Locking students out of their parent school? Having to escort them in and back out of their own building to ensure they leave? No trust? 

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I work in the School of Physics and Astronomy and I can tell you now if our hands were forced and we had to lock our lovely STEM students out of their own department there would be an outrage. It is an outrage. No way is this ok.

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The Ziff café is one of my favourite places to pop into and meet colleagues from the Michael Sadler building. Lovely staff and so bright and fresh in there, especially with all the lovely new planting and greenery. It’s a lovely place for us to meet. This is very sad.

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This is about as big a lesson for the university as it gets and I hope it's listening and learning, but I doubt it. What an unbelievably bad handling of something that could have been completely avoided: have a meaningful conversation with the staff and students that use a significant building to bring them along as partners on any changes that you are considering, get buy in, and even if you don't get that buy in, work carefully and closely with them to ensure that their needs are met. Instead what we have here is "speak to no one, chuck everyone out, deliberately try to hide it, lie to the student union, wilfully ignore accessibility issues, crash it all through with disdain for staff and students, make staff unwell, set fire to the last remaining dregs of goodwill of staff across the university as well as the reputation of the university itself, drag down the NSS scores more, alienate those mature students that are already feeling totally othered by senior leaders, cause outrage that one of the most respected services institutionally and nationally can be so significantly set back years by such poor judgement, international students who wander the building seeking help and safety every day now turfed out".  The list goes on. Just wow. If this is how bad they are getting the simple stuff, what on earth is happening with the stuff we don't see????

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Property developers planning contracts with the University of Leeds BEWARE -!-!! - Current leaders cannot be trusted

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Property developers planning contracts with the University of Leeds BEWARE -!-!! - Current leaders cannot be trusted

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Property builders and architects reading this — you may have great plans to create civic people-focused buildings with the University of Leeds. Serious Words of Caution: Google the names of the University of Leeds Executive council. Do not trust these people, for they speak with forked tongues. Your property company may create fantastic feature properties - BUT it counts for little in the eyes of the Executives there on that list. Look at that list carefully. Are you dealing with any of these figures? They have the power and whim to shut down your future building just like that. Shut down its student help centre and claim the building for themselves instead. I understand that current Majorie and Arnold Ziff building users will lose access to it in as little as four weeks. Students will no longer be allowed in unless they ask permission. These Executives have demanded the building be locked and all services changed inside it in just four weeks time! And apparently with NO CONSULTATION with any of the buildings users.??! Any grand statements you wish to make with your cutting-edge, service-user focused  designs for the University of Leeds can be trashed in as little as a month by these people. The current Executive do not care for anyone but themselves. They speak with forked tongues. Consider your business choices carefully and work with people you can trust. Imagine your entire project’s function being trashed within a month at the whim of a handful of powerful people, against the wishes of most.

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I went to university campus this week after some time away with illness. What’s happening there??!? I’m told a building I used to be in every week is shutting me out suddenly in just three weeks? It’s a great place! ??!!!! 

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I went to university campus this week after some time away with illness. What’s happening there??!? I’m told a building I used to be in every week is shutting me out suddenly in just three weeks? It’s a great place! ??!!!! 

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Would it be worth getting the Mayor, MPs or local council involved in this? 

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Would it be worth getting the Mayor, MPs or local council involved in this? 

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I do not feel especially qualified to do this myself but I know that Tracey Brabin in particular appears on campus regularly and I wonder how she (or other local politicians on a cross-party level) would react to the news that vital student services were being closed off in response to protests. While I personally lack the knowledge on specific impacts required to do justice to this, I wondered if someone more experienced might be interested in pursuing this avenue to reverse this terrible mistake.

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Don't the University's older students largely remain in Leeds outside of term time rather than returning to family around the country (generalising - sorry)? Let's hope a significant mass of them don't do a peaceful protest outside the Times Higher Education conference on campus the week before the Ziff gets locked.  It would be quite embarrassing for external colleagues to see behind the curtain and glimpse what Leeds is really like for marginalised students.  Nice day out for the students though if the weather is nice: Bring the family. Have a picnic in the park afterwards. Optics on that would look good :)

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https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpSrsS_DxuY/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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A post shared by The Good Mornings | Rise and shine (@goodmornings.life)

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Please unlock the doors of this jewel...

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Please unlock the doors of this jewel...

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The Ziff building is a jewel in the crown. A purpose built student services building - serving our most vital asset and housing some of our most hard to reach students. The symbolism of widening participation students being in a flagship building, those amazing moments where Leeds mature students and international students collided, a modern building yet still steeped in history through the donation of its namesake, a symbol of who we are and who we strive to be. Unlock the doors, shout from the rooftops that students are welcome. Open your office doors, share the spaces with them, hear their passion. See the joy of staff and students together.  There has been some understandably angry messages here but instead I beg any senior managers reading this to step back, understand what this building means to so many of us. Let it mean the same to you. Let it's grey silvery weirdly heated breezy amazingness and the amazing diversity of students bring joy to your days.  Ok if the cafe wasn't making money, maybe just go with the vending machines (though we miss the staff there already and we're all near to tears on their last unannounced day and we'd still want them back). But throw the doors back open and tell everyone that this is a university that is open to everyone no matter their background and that this is a leadership that values students. It's not too late. Hear the cries.

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It'll be the schools who will get put under a microscope when inevitably the sense of belonging score on the NSS drops. Absolutely no accountability will be taken from senior management. With the NSS being public facing data, they'll be moaning throughout their fully catered meetings about about how the University isn't scoring 100% across the board. No clue whatsoever about the reality of student belonging and wellbeing.

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Firstly, reading these comments it's clear to see the volume of support against this decision.
I obviously hope there is a U-turn however, I feel the damage from this will remain. It's exposed even more how the people making these decisions think about staff and students. It's now even clearer why so many of the staff have been on strike in the last year. It really feels like a 'them up top' and 'us below' kind of University. As support staff across the University we work so hard behind the scenes to fight for student belonging and wellbeing, that won't change. We aren't on the same page as the people in charge. It's really sad to see this happening.

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Much has been said elsewhere on this padlet that reflects my position on this:

1. Actions such as this, directly opposing our University values, undermine everything the University community is doing to uphold those values.

2. Ditto the opaque, unconsultative, topdown manner in which this decision has been made.

3. The widening gap between the values the Senior Leaders purport to hold, and their actions is completely destroying trust in their competence. This includes but is not limited to the VC's stance on EDI, which we have to get right.

4.  I have worked here under several VCs and am most disappointed in the current administration, after having such high hopes in Simone’s original messages. We were the envy of the sector for her progressiveness.

5. The toll on University leaders (e.g. Deans, ProDeans, Directors, Heads of School, etc.) will be heavy as they scramble to hold a unified, coherent line.

6. Many are affected, but it is the LLC and their amazingly progressive, inclusive work that is the biggest sacrifice in this decision.

I hope we see a U-turn soon, or at least a statement that explains - authentically - what's going on re the closure of the Ziff and the wider issues detailed in this padlet.

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Chancellor Jane Francis - it's time for 'no confidence' votes

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Chancellor Jane Francis - it's time for 'no confidence' votes

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Chancellor Jane Francis - I was so pleased when you gained your position as Chancellor here, after all of your tremendous work and research. Proud when you headed our university. These people alongside you are an embarrassment and are significantly losing their way - we can all see it! How can such a decision to lock up a purpose-built student help centre even be tenable and tabled? It is time for NO CONFIDENCE VOTES in these people. It's outrageous that my students are to lose such a resource as the Ziff Centre.

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I cannot believe this decision has been made in the first place. Banning students from a building specifically designed to be the student services building. I'm sorry??! Are leadership actually ok?!

But then to make this decision, communicate it to students, but not share with all staff absolutely blows my mind.

Our leaders have learnt nothing. Their priorities are their best interests, not the students and certainly not ours.

I'm so saddened by the way this has been handled and I feel so disheartened for the number of staff members and students who have been so upset about this.

We keep this university running, and have done during incredibly difficult times. Time and time again our leaders show us who they are and what they think of us. We are not valued, we are not respected, we are silenced. I cannot even express the impact that working here has had on my mental health, it's so sad.

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The closure of Ziff to students was due to be announced in an update to staff in eNews today (5th April). However this has been taken out following the death of Marjorie Ziff yesterday. The information will now appear w/c 17th April.....so the university clearly understands how insensitive this is....but it isn't enough to make them change their plans. They will just wait until they can slip it through a bit later!

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The closure of Ziff to students was due to be announced in an update to staff in eNews today (5th April). However this has been taken out following the death of Marjorie Ziff yesterday. The information will now appear w/c 17th April.....so the university clearly understands how insensitive this is....but it isn't enough to make them change their plans. They will just wait until they can slip it through a bit later!

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I understand that Marjorie Ziff has passed away this week. What sort of headline would "Russell Group University closes student support building the same week that benefactor dies" make?

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I understand that Marjorie Ziff has passed away this week. What sort of headline would "Russell Group University closes student support building the same week that benefactor dies" make?

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This decision has left me speechless and very sad. Fear provides bad counsel. Students and their needs have to come first. All the issues around vulnerable students made by others  concern me deeply and the impact on outreach work for the Lifelong Learning Centre will also be devastating. The Ziff buiding, strategically close to the parkinson steps provided a venue for welcoming people who had never set foot into the university without getting lost, easing them into a space where they thought they did not belong. Now they will feel confirmed that they did not belong afterall.  I also want to mention the impact on another group of user of the building: Team Unity, the chaplaincy. The Ziff was a venue allowing them to bring people together across campus and they too find themselves without their usual event space. Seeing how deeply divided our community appears to be now, we need all efforts to hold us together more than ever.

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"The members of UEG we met with stated that no final decisions have been made regarding the Ziff building, and that LUU and students will be engaged in further discussions following the Easter break."

https://www.luu.org.uk/news/2023/04/05/update-ziff-building/

The fact that the official and detailed Comms have been confirmed to all Ziff based students now and that all university of Leeds students have had it confirmed tells you that this statement is not truthful. A final decision has been made and that decision has been confirmed to students:

"Changes at the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building: As part of an ongoing review of campus, the university will be changing how it uses the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building. This will include closing the Student Information Point and Café Maia and splitting student support appointments across Beech Grove House and Ziff. You’ll start to see changes from the start of the summer term, and we’ll share details of what that means to you as soon as we can. Look out for signage in and around Ziff directing you to alternative study spaces, cafes and sharing how to access support."

Very worrying if UEG in that meeting are either a) lying b) oblivious to the final decision that has been made.

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how dare students on every corner of this campus be disrespected as much as this.   How dare our collective work be so rubbished and devalued.  How dare our values be torn up in front of our eyes.  This is a resigning matter.  This is not about a building being closed to students.  This is about so much more. Our good work is being dragged through the mud.  Senior leaders need to be replaced as a matter of urgency before this gets any worse.

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While I don't endorse personal attacks on any individual, I have yet to see any evidence of a genuine threat that could possibly justify the measures taken. Students have a right to express valid concerns, and the leadership's refusal to engage with their concerns is far more disturbing than their protests. I have the privilege in my role of hearing from vulnerable and marginalized students who are among the most talented, determined and committed of any on campus, with potential to transform our university and society for the better. We need them, and we owe them the facilities and consideration that have now been so dramatically withdrawn. I'm furious and gutted on their behalf, and on behalf of the LLC and other Ziff staff.

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Feedback from the University’s Mature Student Advisory Board which represents mature students from every faculty of the university makes for pretty damning reading:

“I think this has been done with a total lack of integrity, It’s not inclusive at all because there is no consultation.  There is no compassion. No collaboration at all”

“I cannot remember the last time I have been so upset and angry”

“I feel like I will probably drop out now”

“I’ve had sleepless nights and done no coursework for two days now”

“Has there been any risk assessment done about the risk to students, on services, on mental health and wellbeing?”

The timing is highly convenient. Did the management assume we wouldn’t get wind of this before the end of term and not say anything?  Forcing a fast change is very poor management. As customers we deserve better. Whose services are next???”

….suffice to say trust seems to have been irrevocably broken. What a shame that those careful, trusting relationships that have taken years to nurture with mature students seem to have been shattered into pieces by the University in less than a week.

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So it’s true then? As a member of staff why on earth have I not yet been informed? Students appear to have been told but we haven’t?! Do we not deserve to know? Im disgusted.

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For avoidance of doubt it is not just LLC staff or even staff who work in ziff concerned about this. I actually personally hardly ever go in the building but I still know how important it is and am horrified by this decision.

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University of Leeds management - how does this decision fit with your stated Mission and Values?

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University of Leeds management - how does this decision fit with your stated Mission and Values?

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I have given my view on these changes in connection with the current university mission and values.

Our mission

Through collaboration, we harness our expertise in research and education to advance knowledge, transform lives and shape a better future for our communities, our region and the world.

The Lifelong Learning Centre exists as part of the University of Leeds with a complementary aim of reducing social inequalities and increasing social justice in Leeds communities and beyond. We work to support students and potential students who might otherwise not have an opportunity to enter higher education and use their skills and experience to flourish. Our students come from a range of backgrounds and face many issues relating to inequalities. The person-centred approach of the LLC reduces these in many ways, leading many of our students to act as ambassadors for the University of Leeds and education more broadly within their communities. Having a physical ‘home’ is crucial for these students who live within the Leeds community and do not have the opportunity to come together in student halls.

Our values

Collaboration: We work together to achieve our goals and ambitions.

There has been no consultation with students or staff about this dramatic change ahead of the decision. The decision has been made with very little consideration for the impact on our work and how to mitigate this damage. Staff are physically being separated from students – who will be met only by prior arrangement in different buildings and kept out by locked doors. This is not conducive to collaboration. LLC students have not been given a new common room or allocated an LLC-only space for them to collaborate informally.

Compassion: We are caring and considerate in our words and actions.

I feel that no care or consideration has been given to LLC students or staff through this process. It feels as though our way of working is discounted or not acknowledged, that we are not seen as mattering. Staff whose roles will dramatically change due to the changes will be fearful about what will happen to their jobs.

Inclusivity: We are a community where everyone is welcome and belongs.

To lock students out of buildings says a lot about how welcome our students are and disenfranchises them.The other day in the study space, a student initiated a conversation with me about how they felt about the decision, ‘We’re not wanted.’ ‘This is our home and they are taking it away.’

Integrity: We are open and honest in our words and actions.

Locked doors and a refusal to speak to students about their concerns do not signal openness and honesty.

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Email sent round to Postgrads yesterday - some key points

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Email sent round to Postgrads yesterday - some key points

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University reviewing how we use different spaces, starting with Ziff after the Spring break. Student engagement that occurred in the Ziff will now occur in Beech Grove House opposite LUU. Student Visa Advice and the LLC will hold apts in Beech Grove or will meet you at the door in Ziff to take you to your meeting...    oh and the Ziff Café Maia on floor 10 is closing to make space for food prep space and vending machines for staff working in the building.

Funny how the news starts from: email to undergrad students at the bottom of a long email on Fri 31st, yesterday April 4th an email to postgrad students, yet no email to staff. All seems very mismanaged (on purpose?).

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I'd like to see a written rationale for this decision.
I'd like for the UEG to be moved somewhere else, perhaps to a building that isn't even on campus.
I'd like to see students' needs being put first
I'd like to see the Legal department getting involved (assuming the Uni has one?). This is a breach of the Equality Act 2010.

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The university of Leeds senior leadership team is unilaterally throwing students out of the homebase of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, we the undersigned, urge the Vice chancellor and their officers to reverse this harmful decision.

Underrepresented groups, within the top performing universities in Britain, have always been marginalised and this is due to get worse. The Lifelong Learning Centre work with a significant percentage of disabled, mature, disadvantaged, and ethnic minority students (greater than the wider university community) providing a 'physical' home for them. The University claim they are trying to widen participation from diverse backgrounds, yet those of us who have fought the system so far are not being listened to. The Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building, on one floor alone, is home to the Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC), who support mature students, foundation year students, apprenticeship students (approx. 550 students), plus a further 3000+ wider community of mature students, including postgraduates and a resource room. The support system provided by the LLC and other departments located in the building have been a lifeline to so many of us. They truly are the only people who provide us with some sense of belonging on campus. We use this space as students to carry out work in a safe environment as our student community has larger issues with belonging and representation (an already marginalised group, who enter university education through non-traditional routes). Our groups therefore do not traditionally feel 'at home' in the other spaces across campus.

As of the end of April 2023 this will no longer be the case. The staff are to be segregated from the students. Students will be expected to frequent a dilapidated and un-resourced building that is only partially accessible. Yet mature students represent the highest proportion of disabled students. The decision has been made without consultation of the students and staff affected. The University of Leeds does not respect the marginalised groups that it "has to take on" to not break the law. It is only concerned with its image and not the students who pay the Vice-Chancellors wages. The proposed reason for this change is because the University Executive team feel unsafe with on-site protests and occupations. If this is truly the reason, then there is a misunderstanding of free speech and what a university campus represents. Protests have been a significant part of university life for many decades now. We are sure that is would be more resourceful for the University Exec team to inhabit an office with additional security than lock down a whole building for their pleasure. The displacement of 3000+ students for the safety of less than 20 people is illogical, unresourceful and represents a complete lack of regard for the services the build offers.

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The university of Leeds senior leadership team is unilaterally throwing students out of the homebase of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, we the undersigned, urge the Vice chancellor and their officers to reverse this harmful decision. Underrepresented groups, within the top performing universities in Britain, have always been marginalised and this is due to get worse.

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A VC who is afraid of students. Mind boggling and extremely pathetic. Quit already, Simone, you’re out of touch and out of your depth.

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If there was nothing to hide then they would not be hiding. Where is the VC? DVC? Deans? Heads?  Surely they should be lauding this announcement and telling us how wonderful and much needed it is. How staff, students, trade unions, student union, our external partners, petition etc  have all got it horribly wrong. Silent. Complicit. They bring the good name of this university into disrepute each one of them.  No staff member will ever be able to take anything any of them say seriously again. This isn't about a building closure. This us about who we, and most importantly they, are. I'm ashamed of this and them.

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Very sad news. All the more poignant given this current situation. May she Rest in Peace. She formally opened the Ziff Building on the occasion of her 80th birthday. Her family gave the university £15 million for the Student Centre and Admin hub. If the family knew of the debacle ensuing there now.

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This is a decision clearly made to protect senior leadership, not to enhance the student experience. As a precious partnership award winner I'm utterly appalled at the approach senior leadership are taking, and feel that the value of my hard work, and the hard work of my colleagues, is undermined. I'm ashamed to work at this university right now.

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Safety of other staff and students ignored

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Safety of other staff and students ignored

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I have worked here for less than a year and am based in a different building. In that time there have been a number of genuine security/police incidents with members of staff threatened and harassed by members of the public, who were able to get in the building because anyone can. There has been absolutely no effort to make any changes to our building and there has never been a security presence. Why doesn't the VC care about the safety of other staff and students?

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I just wanted to pop a note of thanks to everyone who has sent messages of support to us in the Ziff from across the University as here in the building the word 'gaslit' has bounced off the walls. How validating to hear that it's not just us that knows this is a disgrace (a word that seems to be repeated many times on this padlet).

Thank you everyone. This is OUR university and we have a duty to protect it from these stains on our hard earned reputation. Speak up. Call this out for what it is. Do not be cowed. Do not be told to look the other way.   Hold a light up to what is happening here so everyone can see the truth.

Your solidarity has been validating and much needed to us.

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Been at Leeds a long time. I've never been so ashamed. What have we turned the university into?

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"Student Services Building Closed to Students" sounds like a parody headline.  

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"Student Services Building Closed to Students" sounds like a parody headline.  

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I am deeply saddened by the move to close the Ziff building. The decision to do so is frankly baffling - it's very hard to see who it will benefit (even the VC must have foreseen the backlash to this, surely?) while being disturbingly easy to see all the people it will hurt. I used the Ziff countless times as a student for both services and the cafe, using it for language exchange sessions as an undergraduate since it was quiet and comfortable. I sincerely hope that the VC reverses this mystifying, parodyesque decision.

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We’re turning the ziff from the centre of student support into a fortress. I’d ask what we gain for this, given the cost. We cannot move the student help centre without a new one being ready to go.
All this says is that we’re scared of our students and the VC is now locked in a tower to avoid dealing with their legitimate concerns.
Additionally, I’m really disappointed with how this has played out so far. The locking of the doors without so much as a sign? The security guard on the door asking “what are you here for?” to students seeking help. The comms going out late at night at the end of term. It’s totally the wrong approach and not one I can support when students ask me about it.

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The original planning application: ⁠“As a central resource for the entire student population of the University and the first port of call for all students, the development’s aim is to provide a welcoming facility within a prominent landmark building meeting the 21st century needs of the university.”

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A REMINDER: PLEASE ENSURE YOU ARE LOGGED OUT OF PADLET / USING A PRIVATE BROWSING WINDOW IN ORDER TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS

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I don't think this is quite what Marjorie and Arnold Ziff had in mind when they so generously donated for the benefit of students at this university.

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I don't think this is quite what Marjorie and Arnold Ziff had in mind when they so generously donated for the benefit of students at this university.

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Another attempt at driving a wedge between students and staff. These division tactics being employed by the university recently are deplorable.

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Another attempt at driving a wedge between students and staff. These division tactics being employed by the university recently are deplorable.

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The university's values are not about exhalting a few senior management individuals into positions of power where they cannot be challenged or be seen.  It is about serving our community of students.  Without the students we have no university.  Why are our students being shut out of their learning spaces?  Many LLC students already have significant barriers in place to accessing learning and feeling a part of the university.  This is just another kick in the teeth for them, right before their crucial end of year assessments.  The rest of the university was not even consulted about this change or the implications that it would have on staff and students.  The VC's self-importance has over-ridden any useful function she might have had.  Leadership is not about building an ivory tower and hiding in it, it is about having the courage to face challenge, to serve the university community and support the most vulnerable within our community.  She has failed at all of these values.  The time for a vote of no confidence is long overdue.

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Another example of totalitarianism at Leeds

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Another example of totalitarianism at Leeds

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Instead of engaging with students (the core of the university) management has decided to literally lock them out? As well as being intensely cowardly this move makes accessing student support harder and will isolate students most in need. Additionally, post grads use this building a lot and will now be denied the space as students while the uni relies on their hourly labour as staff.
This decision is ridiculous beyond belief.

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A deeply concerning revocation of student equality, equity and accessibility provisions, in what has yet again proven to be par-for-course in this VC's regime. How dare she claim to speak in our name in this injustice against those we've dedicated our careers to support.

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This decision will have a significant negative impact on many of our most vulnerable students. 

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This decision will have a significant negative impact on many of our most vulnerable students. 

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The University likes to talk about how it supports inclusiveness and diversity - but this decision is in complete contravention of these principles.

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VC must resign. We cannot let this appalling leadership continue. 

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VC must resign. We cannot let this appalling leadership continue. 

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I've always been proud to work at the University, ever since I started here, but I feel deeply ashamed after this decision. How can the University claim to put inclusivity first, or show compassion, when they are demonstrably hostile to students? Simone has to go. Nobody can respect her after this.

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https://chng.it/BkTjChtSGS

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The university of Leeds senior leadership team is unilaterally throwing students out of the homebase of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, we the undersigned, urge the Vice chancellor and their officers to reverse this harmful decision.

Underrepresented groups, within the top performing universities in Britain, have always been marginalised and this is due to get worse. The Lifelong Learning Centre work with a significant percentage of disabled, mature, disadvantaged, and ethnic minority students (greater than the wider university community) providing a 'physical' home for them. The University claim they are trying to widen participation from diverse backgrounds, yet those of us who have fought the system so far are not being listened to. The Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building, on one floor alone, is home to the Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC), who support mature students, foundation year students, apprenticeship students (approx. 550 students), plus a further 3000+ wider community of mature students, including postgraduates and a resource room. The support system provided by the LLC and other departments located in the building have been a lifeline to so many of us. They truly are the only people who provide us with some sense of belonging on campus. We use this space as students to carry out work in a safe environment as our student community has larger issues with belonging and representation (an already marginalised group, who enter university education through non-traditional routes). Our groups therefore do not traditionally feel 'at home' in the other spaces across campus.

As of the end of April 2023 this will no longer be the case. The staff are to be segregated from the students. Students will be expected to frequent a dilapidated and un-resourced building that is only partially accessible. Yet mature students represent the highest proportion of disabled students. The decision has been made without consultation of the students and staff affected. The University of Leeds does not respect the marginalised groups that it "has to take on" to not break the law. It is only concerned with its image and not the students who pay the Vice-Chancellors wages. The proposed reason for this change is because the University Executive team feel unsafe with on-site protests and occupations. If this is truly the reason, then there is a misunderstanding of free speech and what a university campus represents. Protests have been a significant part of university life for many decades now. We are sure that is would be more resourceful for the University Exec team to inhabit an office with additional security than lock down a whole building for their pleasure. The displacement of 3000+ students for the safety of less than 20 people is illogical, unresourceful and represents a complete lack of regard for the services the build offers.

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Discrimination against marginalised students by a Russell Group University!

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The university of Leeds senior leadership team is unilaterally throwing students out of the homebase of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, we the undersigned, urge the Vice chancellor and their officers to reverse this harmful decision. Underrepresented groups, within the top performing universities in Britain, have always been marginalised and this is due to get worse.

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It’s hard to believe this is happening in a open civic university, banning students from getting close to leadership is hugely symbolic of an insular culture that increasingly distances itself from engaging with staff or students

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To use the VC's own words, is it really that terrible to have to be confronted with the consequences of your decisions?

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To use the VC's own words, is it really that terrible to have to be confronted with the consequences of your decisions?

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We've had one, completely peaceful process in the building, with one other, completely peaceful protest in an entirely different building. Quite frankly, given the state of the University's decision making from the top, and the wider political and economic situation at the moment I find it staggering there hasn't been more.

Even by the current low expectations I have of the university leadership though, this is a genuinely unbelievable decision. Had the news broken a couple of days later I would have assumed it was a weak and obvious April Fool's joke at the expense of Simone's leadership.

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When I first heard about this I thought it was a joke. Now it's actually happened and I still can't quite believe what a foolish, thoughtless, selfish move this is. Why is this entire building being changed because of a student occupation that... hasn't even happened in the Ziff Building? If the senior exec feel unsafe then they should be the ones to move, and leave this building for the students it was built for.

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This one incident may not be enough to warrant such a strong reaction, however I believe that it is indicative of a truly backwards attitude towards students, staff, and the university as a whole.
A Vice Chancellor who is willing to make such a terrible decision as to deny students access to a building which was built with the primary purpose of housing student services is not fit to be the Vice Chancellor. This is a person who does not value students, staff, or their best interests and is willing to cause a huge amount of disruption, anger, and upset (during a time when there is plenty of this for all of us anyway!) just to 'protect' themselves (and from what?). This person is self-serving, weak, and making a mockery of the university's values - values that they themselves are so keen to parrot. Good luck 'collaborating' from your locked, guarded office

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How do we get institutional decisions so wrong?

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How do we get institutional decisions so wrong?

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This is clearly a bad decision for students and the university. It's not at all inline with our values to work in partnership with students.
But what i really don't understand is the naivety of the decision. This feels like it could really do damage to VC's reputation. The narrative will go, she not only needs to lock her floor off from everyone, but she needs lockdown entire building (that was designed for students) for her 'protection' from her students. Isn't this going to just allow all VC’s detractors to portray her as weak and out of touch. It seem like a very poor strategic decision. How did our decision makers get this so wrong!

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unbelievable denial of students as the centre of the university

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unbelievable denial of students as the centre of the university

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Contrary to claims that students, their experience and their 'sense of belonging' are central to the university, these closures, bordering and policing of access demonstrate how students with agency are to be feared by senior management.

Why would securitisation make any sense if indeed the leadership did care about students, took their concerns seriously? What if The senior leaders recognised that our raison d'etre is students - not only as their landlords and creditors - but as their educators?

This is a cowardly, populist move designed to shore up power and reject the potential participatory democracy 'risked' by student presence.

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Which of our buildings is next? Parkinson? LUBS?, Baines? This is a chilling turn of events, done without consultation, deliberately flown under a radar and with the sole purpose of removing students from a student building. Staff and students see in broad daylight what is happening. This isn't just about international or mature students (though their treatment here is disgusting) it's about the fabric of who we are as people and as an institution. I have never felt so ashamed.

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This does not align with any of the university's four values. If it goes ahead as planned then there will be a complete erosion of trust and a complete abandonment of those values. No staff member again could ever be asked to work towards those values. No staff member could ever again believe that the university is committed to these values. Every staff member would feel complete embarrassment every time those values were ever mentioned with a straight face. This cannot be allowed to happen. If we cannot trust in our leadership to carry out our values then either those values need changing, or better still the leadership needs changing. This is an utter disgrace and an institutional embarrassment.

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Crazy to move everything out instead of the VC.

A student-led petition was mentioned, anyone got a link?