Stirling Principal living in luxury as 17 staff sacked

Stirling University’s Principal is living a life of luxury whilst 17 staff lost their jobs – but we’re not allowed to take a look.

In total the University has spent £138,000 fixing up the swanky crib, but secretive Gerry McCormac doesn’t want students to see how the money was spent.

His PA has not replied to The Tab’s request to look around 1 Airthrey Castle Yard to check that the money was spent sensibly.

In May 2010, when Gerry McCormac became Principal, the university began £93,000 of refurbishment to the inside of the property – then, months later, they sacked 17 staff.

Compulsory redundancies were made because the university was facing a £1.4m deficit, but that didn’t stop another £45,000 being splashed out to landscape the garden around the Principal’s luxury pad.

The Principal is contractually obliged to stay in the on-campus residence, and a university spokesperson said that it “Other than routine maintenance, this was the first major refurbishment of the house after a number of years of minimal expenditure.”

We have no photographs of what the Principal’s house looks like now, but the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland has an extensive library of photographs of the building from 2007 which we can share with you. Even though it looks quite nice then, that did not stop the spending on refurbishments.

Money was spent on:

• Kitchen materials
• Repairs to wardrobes
• Underfloor insulation
• Bathroom tiles and products
• Washing machine and tumble dryer
• New radiators
• Lighting
• Floor coverings
• A new alarm system
• An entrance ramp for improved access