Professor Green leaves university at heart of the city

The biggest change will come next year with the opening of the new Sheffield Institute of Art and Design, replacing the old Psalter Lane arts centre in Nether Edge.

The only suburban campus to remain will be on Collegiate Crescent, off Ecclesall Road – an important ‘green’ outpost for the university, according to Prof Green.

She said: “I like to feel Hallam is at the heart of this city – a body like the Cutlers’ Company at one time didn’t see the relevance of Hallam to someone like them. Now we have a very strong relationship.

“I’ve been involved with a lot of organisations and it’s meant a lot of dinners, but that work has created close ties with the Chamber of Commerce, for example.”

Prof Green has also worked to forge better links with Hallam’s trade unions – the university is the most heavily unionised in the country and her early days in office often saw conflict.

She said: “They were very wary of me to begin with. I did want to change the way things were done.

“But I was keen to emphasise I was not anti-union and I’m part of the partnerships that have been created in the last few years.

“We now have a well-established system of consultation that has successfully managed this period of change.”

Prof Green may be leaving Sheffield, but she’ll be back at least every six months – to see her dentist!

She said: “I’ve persuaded him to keep me on his books, and I have so many friends I’ll be back here to see.”

That isn’t all. Diana is keeping her place on the board of the city’s Galleries and Museums Trust, the body which masterminded the rebirth of Weston Park Museum.

But her expertise will also be utilised by a new higher education think tank titled Agora, while she will also be involved in a regeneration organisation Centre for Cities, and the Guild for Aviation Pilots and Navigators.

All these posts are voluntary, but Prof Green admits she is looking for a paid position of some kind too.

She said: “I want it to be outside my comfort zone, perhaps to work with a body that helps company start-ups or helps transform existing businesses.

“I shall miss Sheffield. The people here are quiet, but protective of their city. They don’t shout about their successes, not as much as they should.

“But I feel I have been embraced by the city, both as a person and as a professional. I have made a huge amount of friends and Sheffield is now an important part of my life.”