One of the first things Graeme Davies did after taking up his appointment on 1 April 1986 was to give an interview to Bob Azurdia on Radio Merseyside. In this interview he set out quite deliberately to present a positive and optimistic view of universities in general, and Liverpool in particular, and to make it quite clear that under his leadership Liverpool would extend its existing links with and involvement in the local community. He intended that there would be a much more ‘open door’ approach to access to the University from outside, and that it would become Liverpool's University, rather than the University in Liverpool. His sense of mission and of commitment to the area was already apparent.

When he arrived, he found there was a lot of work already being done by staff on an individual level linking the University with the community, but the institutional role he was looking for was not there. There was no official link, for example, with the local Chamber of Commerce – though Shane Guy, the Administrative Secretary, was a member; nor with the local authority, following the rise of Militant in city politics. Many of the leading figures in the city had never met the Vice-Chancellor.