North Highland College UHI principal signals plans to step down next month
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THE principal and chief executive of North Highland College UHI is set to retire at the end of September.
Donald MacBeath, a native to Caithness, has held a number of positions across the college, starting as a lecturer in the mid 1980s and progressing to assistant principal and vice principal before accepting his post as college principal in June 2014.
During his tenure, North Highland College UHI has achieved a number of notable firsts across Scotland.
Those include delivery of the country’s first professional golf degree -ased in Sutherland, and establishing a formal partnership with the Professional Golf Association (PGA). That has led to recognition of this degree by the PGA and enabled the first delivery of training for PGA golf professionals in Scotland
In association with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, it also established Scotland’s first Newton Room on the college’s Thurso Campus.
And in a tie up with the Caithness Chamber of Commerce, it supported the creation of the first Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) regional group in the Highlands, one of the first in Scotland.
An instrumental figure of the establishment of both Argyll and West Highland College UHI which North Highland College UHI continues to share a close link, Mr MacBeath is the current Chair of the partnership planning forum of the University of the Highlands & Islands (UHI).
Chair of the North Highland College UHI board of management, Blair Sandison, said: “Donald has been an exemplary leader and advocate for the college and the role it plays supporting the educational and social ambitions across the large community that it serves. In these difficult times, Donald’s energy and enthusiasm has been instrumental in ensuring the college continued to deliver professional, high quality education throughout the Covid19 crisis. Donald will be missed by us all and we wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement”.
The North Highland College UHI, Board of Management will oversee the process to appoint a successor to Mr MacBeath. The post will be advertised in due course after consultation with college staff, students and external stakeholders.
