Cardiff University senior staff have claimed over £43,000 in expenses since 2020

The Vice Chancellor spent over a year’s tuition fees in just two months


If you are studying a three year course, by the time you graduate, minimum, you will have paid £27,000 to Cardiff University. By the amount of strikes that have happened, we know that our money isn’t primarily going towards the lecturers that teach and mark our work, its seems fitting to report on where our funds are going.

This week Cardiff University released to its website the uni’s senior staff member’s expenses and travel costs since January 2020, and some of them are shocking. They include flights, hotels, meals out and even a phone bill. If you fancy having a look yourself at what else has been spent at the expense of the university then keep on reading:

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Rudolf Allemann – £23,435.99

From May to July 2022 alone, Pro Vice-Chancellor Allemann spent just short of £11,000 in university expenses. This included flights to Kuala Lumpur in July which cost the university £6,104.96.

According to Google’s flight comparison, Allemann most likey claimed a business or first class ticket on the university, when economy was available and costs approximately 70 per cent less than what the university paid for.

In the same period, Allemann also travelled from Vienna to Denver, costing £3,879.48. Once again, the flights in economy are considerably cheaper, charging under £1,000.

Most shocking, Rudolf Allemann has been claiming his mobile phone bill from EE on the university expenses ever since 2017. From February 2020 to March 2022, this expenditure has cost over £1,100. He is the only staff member on the expenses report to claim a phone bill.

One of many phone bills found on Rudolph Allemann’s expenses report

Not only this, but Allemann has claimed Cardiff University expenses at Regency Hotels, a two-night stay in Chicago costing £464. This amount of £464 was claimed back twice as the Chicago over the period of two months, first on 8th April 2022 and then on 1oth July 2022.

In total, since January 2020, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Rudolf Allemann has expensed £23,435.99. This doesn’t just include flights and his phone bill, but also multiple hotel stays, an Apple.com purchase, and parking.

Vice Chancellor, Colin Riordan – £19,920.76

Look, we wanted to be nice, we really did. But Colin Riordan is recorded to have spent over £12,000 in just two months from May to July 2022. This included a trip to India which totaled £10,579.36 in June, the reason for which was stated as VC Delhi Delegation.

After some research, it looks like Riordan applied to an open call from the British Council to create a relationship with research partners in India. The costs for accommodation and Visa are claimed on the expenses, but then a £9,525.72 and £343.90 charge have also been incurred titled VC Delhi Delegation 6th to 10th June 2022. The specifics of what was received are unclear and have cost the university more than a year’s tuition fee for a UK undergraduate student.

The VC Delhi Delegation was reported to be on 6th to 10th of June 2022, however, the Vice Chancellor also claimed hotel accommodation in Bangalore, India from 8th to 11th June 2022.

Not only this, but in November 2021, Colin expensed a first-class return trip to London from Cardiff ready for his big trip to the USA. Although it was recorded he got the luxury of premium economy and business class for the long-haul flights, any internal flights he took were economy, what a considerate queen.

The £19,920.76 spent by Colin Riordan also included multiple business dinners where he ate at Bellinis, Zizzi and a “business dinner” (which we are also assuming was Italian).

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Claire Morgan – £286

As students, we get a lot of emails from Claire, so naturally we were intrigued about what she spent, and all that was recorded was a standard return train ticket for £286 from Cardiff to Leeds in March 2022 for a PVC Russel Group meeting. Shout-out to Claire.

A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “The expenses and travel costs of members of the University Executive Board incurred on official University business are recorded quarterly and made publicly available on our website. All costs are claimed in accordance with the University’s financial regulations.

“These rules apply to all staff and are reviewed and approved regularly by the University’s governing Council. Individual UEB members have different roles and functions. Some roles are focussed mostly within the University, while others are required to engage more widely beyond the University, Wales, or the UK. This is clearly reflected in the differing levels of expenses and travel costs claimed.

“We are conscious of the need for value for money and to reduce our carbon footprint, where possible. Staff at all levels use email, telephone or video conference and other methods to ensure that they can engage with a wide range of people and organisations while reducing the amount of travel they do.”

Featured images before edits via Facebook and Twitter.

Related Articles Recommended by this writer:

Welsh student arrested and charged after defacing Captain Tom’s memorial with faeces

Two Cardiff Uni students left homeless after being forced to leave mouldy Keylet flat

Do you want to be the voice of Welsh students? Come write for The Tab Cardiff