Finance

Wendy Alexander 'was asked to leave' Dundee uni role claim over finance questions

Published

8 months ago

June 25, 2025

Wendy Alexander 'was asked to leave' Dundee uni role claim over finance questions

PA A woman with short dark hair and a dotted top speaks into a microphone — Baroness Alexander was vice principal international at the university for almost a decade

Former MSP Wendy Alexander claims she was asked to leave her senior post at Dundee University after asking “uncomfortable” questions about the institution’s finances, MSPs have been told.

Alexander was the university’s vice principal international for almost a decade but retired last year rather than accept what she said was the offer of a “package and trips.”

She said “cakeism, profligacy and hubris at the very top” led to “a failure to reign in expenditure” and that she “chose not to be bought off”.

She said former principal Prof Iain Gillespie, who was heavily criticised in a recent damning report into the university’s finances, “made clear” he wanted her to leave last October.

Prof Iain Gillespie resigned as Dundee University principal in December last year

University of Dundee Prof Iain Gillespie in a blue suit and brown tie and wearing glasses, leans on a wall outside a university building — Prof Iain Gillespie resigned as Dundee University principal in December last year

Alexander’s comments were made in a statement submitted to Holyrood’s education committee.

Gillespie resigned with immediate effect in December after telling staff the previous month that job losses were “inevitable”.

He is expected to give evidence in person at the committee on Thursday.

The university currently faces a £35m deficit and has said it must cut 300 jobs through a voluntary redundancy scheme.

The independent report, published last week, said university bosses and its governing body failed multiple times to identify the worsening crisis and continued to overspend instead of taking action.

In her statement, former Labour MSP Alexander said: “I personally, was progressively frozen out of meetings, my objectives changed, data withheld and when I challenged the absence/adequacy of financial information in Sept (20)24, I was then asked to leave.

“I declined the offer of overseas trips at the university’s expense to be followed by a generous settlement payment.

“Quite simply, it seemed unethical and morally wrong.”

Alexander, who now sits as a baroness at the House of Lords, said she felt “punished for speaking out” and that the university “failed to fix the roof when the sun shone”.

She said international fee income had quadrupled over eight years to 2023, but the university was “barely breaking even”.

She said that international income plateaued in 2023/24 and fell the following year.

Alexander said there was a “misguided” shift away from a “laser-like focus on international student recruitment to a new globalisation strategy”.

She added that the university “deprioritised international student recruitment when it mattered most” and left the university “poorly equipped to deal with the downturn”.

The education committee is currently hearing evidence from the university’s former director of finance Peter Fotheringham, former chief operating officer Dr Jim McGeorge, and former chair of court Amanda Millar.

Alexander submitted her evidence rather than appearing in person due to a prior family event abroad.

It was announced on Tuesday that the university will receive an extra £40m from the Scottish government as the institution continues to tackle its financial crisis.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the decision would place specific conditions on the funding which will be paid over two academic years.

The university received £22m from the Scottish Funding Council in February as part of funding to support universities facing financial challenges.

Finance

Cornell Administrator Warren Petrofsky Named FAS Finance Dean | News | The Harvard Crimson

Published

45 minutes ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Cornell Administrator Warren Petrofsky Named FAS Finance Dean | News | The Harvard Crimson

Cornell University administrator Warren Petrofsky will serve as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ new dean of administration and finance, charged with spearheading efforts to shore up the school’s finances as it faces a hefty budget deficit.

Petrofsky’s appointment, announced in a Friday email from FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra to FAS affiliates, will begin April 20 — nearly a year after former FAS dean of administration and finance Scott A. Jordan stepped down. Petrofsky will replace interim dean Mary Ann Bradley, who helped shape the early stages of FAS cost-cutting initiatives.

Petrofsky currently serves as associate dean of administration at Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

As dean, he oversaw a budget cut of nearly $11 million to the institution’s College of Arts and Sciences after the federal government slashed at least $250 million in stop-work orders and frozen grants, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.

He also serves on a work group established in November 2025 to streamline the school’s administrative systems.

Earlier, at the University of Pennsylvania, Petrofsky managed capital initiatives and organizational redesigns in a number of administrative roles.

Petrofsky is poised to lead similar efforts at the FAS, which relaunched its Resources Committee in spring 2025 and created a committee to consolidate staff positions amid massive federal funding cuts.

As part of its planning process, the committee has quietly brought on external help. Over several months, consultants from McKinsey & Company have been interviewing dozens of administrators and staff across the FAS.

Petrofsky will also likely have a hand in other cost-cutting measures across the FAS, which is facing a $365 million budget deficit. The school has already announced it will keep spending flat for the 2026 fiscal year, and it has dramatically reduced Ph.D. admissions.

In her email, Hoekstra praised Petrofsky’s performance across his career.

“Warren has emphasized transparency, clarity in communication, and investment in staff development,” she wrote. “He approaches change with steadiness and purpose, and with deep respect for the mission that unites our faculty, researchers, staff, and students. I am confident that he will be a strong partner to me and to our community.”

—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at amannsm.38. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.

Finance

Where in California are people feeling the most financial distress?

Published

13 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Where in California are people feeling the most financial distress?

Inland California’s relative affordability cannot always relieve financial stress.

My spreadsheet reviewed a WalletHub ranking of financial distress for the residents of 100 U.S. cities, including 17 in California. The analysis compared local credit scores, late bill payments, bankruptcy filings and online searches for debt or loans to quantify where individuals had the largest money challenges.

When California cities were divided into three geographic regions – Southern California, the Bay Area, and anything inland – the most challenges were often found far from the coast.

The average national ranking of the six inland cities was 39th worst for distress, the most troubled grade among the state’s slices.

Bakersfield received the inland region’s worst score, ranking No. 24 highest nationally for financial distress. That was followed by Sacramento (30th), San Bernardino (39th), Stockton (43rd), Fresno (45th), and Riverside (52nd).

Southern California’s seven cities overall fared better, with an average national ranking of 56th largest financial problems.

However, Los Angeles had the state’s ugliest grade, ranking fifth-worst nationally for monetary distress. Then came San Diego at 22nd-worst, then Long Beach (48th), Irvine (70th), Anaheim (71st), Santa Ana (85th), and Chula Vista (89th).

Monetary challenges were limited in the Bay Area. Its four cities average rank was 69th worst nationally.

San Jose had the region’s most distressed finances, with a No. 50 worst ranking. That was followed by Oakland (69th), San Francisco (72nd), and Fremont (83rd).

The results remind us that inland California’s affordability – it’s home to the state’s cheapest housing, for example – doesn’t fully compensate for wages that typically decline the farther one works from the Pacific Ocean.

A peek inside the scorecard’s grades shows where trouble exists within California.

Credit scores were the lowest inland, with little difference elsewhere. Late payments were also more common inland. Tardy bills were most difficult to find in Northern California.

Bankruptcy problems also were bubbling inland, but grew the slowest in Southern California. And worrisome online searches were more frequent inland, while varying only slightly closer to the Pacific.

Note: Across the state’s 17 cities in the study, the No. 53 average rank is a middle-of-the-pack grade on the 100-city national scale for monetary woes.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Finance

Why Chime Financial Stock Surged Nearly 14% Higher Today | The Motley Fool

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Why Chime Financial Stock Surged Nearly 14% Higher Today | The Motley Fool

The up-and-coming fintech scored a pair of fourth-quarter beats.

Diversified fintech Chime Financial (CHYM +12.88%) was playing a satisfying tune to investors on Thursday. The company’s stock flew almost 14% higher that trading session, thanks mostly to a fourth quarter that featured notably higher-than-expected revenue guidance.

Sweet music

Chime published its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results just after market close on Wednesday. For the former period, the company’s revenue was $596 million, bettering the same quarter of 2024 by 25%. The company’s strongest revenue stream, payments, rose 17% to $396 million. Its take from platform-related activity rose more precipitously, advancing 47% to $200 million.

Image source: Getty Images.

Meanwhile, Chime’s net loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) more than doubled. It was $45 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a fourth-quarter 2024 deficit of $19.6 million.

On average, analysts tracking the stock were modeling revenue below $578 million and a deeper bottom-line loss of $0.20 per share.

In its earnings release, Chime pointed to the take-up of its Chime Card as a particular catalyst for growth. Regarding the product, the company said, “Among new member cohorts, over half are adopting Chime Card, and those members are putting over 70% of their Chime spend on the product, which earns materially higher take rates compared to debit.”

Today’s Change

(12.88%) $2.72

Current Price

$23.83

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$7.9B

Day’s Range

$22.30 – $24.63

52wk Range

$16.17 – $44.94

Volume

562K

Avg Vol

3.3M

Gross Margin

86.34%

Double-digit growth expected

Chime management proffered revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for full-year 2026. The company expects to post a top line of $627 million to $637 million, which would represent at least 21% growth over the 2024 result. Adjusted EBITDA should be $380 million to $400 million. No net income forecasts were provided in the earnings release.

It isn’t easy to find a niche in the financial industry, which is crowded with companies offering every imaginable type of service to clients. Yet Chime seems to be achieving that, as the Chime Card is clearly a hit among the company’s target demographic of clientele underserved by mainstream banks. This growth stock is definitely worth considering as a buy.