Muriel Gray is to stand down as chairwoman of Glasgow School of Art, three years after a second fire engulfed the building.
Ms Gray said it has been “the greatest honour” to help with governing the institution but that it is time for a “fresh, energetic, and long-term committed person” to take over the role.
The world-renowned Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed Mackintosh Building at the art school was extensively damaged by a blaze in June 2018 while it was undergoing a £35 million restoration following a previous fire in May 2014.
Ms Gray will stand down as chairwoman of the Board of Governors at the end of this month.
Glasgow School of Art was consumed by fire in 2018
She said: “The privilege of assisting with the governance of this magnificent institution, my alma mater, has been the greatest honour.
READ MORE: Architect accuses GSA bosses of 'despicable' treatment of students
“With the board having reached a number of key milestones, including successfully recruiting and appointing a highly qualified and experienced new director, assisting the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with their investigation into the 2018 fire, setting in motion the process to decide the future of the Mackintosh Building, and supporting our hard-working senior management and staff in negotiating the obstacles created by the terrible pandemic, I feel that we are now in a considerably more positive place.
“Having given this a great deal of consideration I believe that as I enter the final year of my third term as chair the time has come to introduce a fresh, energetic, and long-term committed person to the role who can take the GSA forward to the next exciting phase.”
Glasgow School of Art (GSA) said it will announce an interim chairperson as soon as possible, and begin the process for election of a new one in the coming weeks.
The building was extensively damaged
A GSA spokeswoman said: “Over the past eight years Muriel has been a committed and enthusiastic chair, and a staunch advocate for the value of creative education.
READ MORE: New film explores the scale of loss felt by students of the fire-ravaged Glasgow School of Art
“While her tireless support for the school will be hugely missed, we are sure that she will remain a much-loved supporter of our students, graduates and staff.”
In June the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said that the investigation into the 2018 fire is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel