Joel joined the University in 2010 as Director of Marketing and Communications. He currently serves on the leadership team as Pro Vice-Chancellor (External Relations) with responsibility for external engagement and policy shaping.

A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, where he read Economic History, Joel spent the first 14 years of his career working in marketing roles and at advertising agencies across a wide range of clients, including Marks and Spencer, Rolls-Royce and the Royal Bank of Scotland. His transition into the higher education sector followed two years working with the Open University’s marketing agency as their Client Services Director and an adviser on brand and direct marketing.

A passionate strategic marketer, communications expert and senior leader, Joel has a strong understanding of brand and communications planning, and has executed both across myriad media including television, direct marketing, press, outdoor, internal communications and an array of online formats. Joel is a multiple HEIST Gold Award winner.

Current responsibilities

• Regional and national political, cultural and business engagement
• Policy shaping

Committee membership

• Academic Board
• Honorary Awards Committee

Representation on external bodies

• Marketing Lancashire Board
• University Alliance Communications Network Group
• National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship Board
• Preston Cultural Framework Board
• Fylde Coast Academy Trust Board
• (Chair) Cockerham School Board of Governors

Scott joined the University in October 2016. The corporate development remit is broad and varied but the core responsibility is to lead the development and monitoring of UCLan’s corporate planning at strategic and operational levels. Scott will work in partnership with key stakeholders including academic and professional services colleagues and the Student Union to ensure their active engagement.

Scott has held senior roles in operations, project and programme management for more than 20 years in the UK, Singapore and New Zealand. His experience extends to the private sector, local and central government, but most of this time has been spent in universities including Robert Gordon, Salford, Glasgow, Bradford, Brunel and most recently East London. He has a strong track record of developing strategy and galvanising the commitment of large teams around a shared purpose.

Between 2013-2016, Scott served as Director of Zendu Consulting Limited, an independent business he founded with the aim of enhancing the contribution of professional services within Higher Education by delivering operational excellence and effective change.

Scott graduated from the Robert Gordon University with a MSc in e-Business.

Current responsibilities

• Corporate planning and KPIs
• Organisational change

Committee membership

• Senior Leadership Team

Representation on external bodies

• Fellow of the Association of University Administrators
• Member of the Association for Project Management

Rachel joined UCLan as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) in 2017. She is responsible for the ongoing development of UCLan’s teaching and learning strategy, ensuring that we deliver an outstanding student experience in a modern learning environment.

Rachel works closely with senior colleagues at UCLan to help shape, develop and deliver UCLan's strategic aims, delivery plans and key objectives and to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the University.

Prior to joining UCLan, Rachel worked with the Open University, where she held the position of Director of Strategy, Planning and Resources. She had strategic responsibility for enhancing student employability and career progression.

As well as her experience within higher education, Rachel has delivered major change projects in other sectors. In her role as Head of Curriculum Design and Development for the Police Service, Rachel managed the redevelopment of the national police curriculum and led the work to develop the world’s first professional body for policing, the College of Policing, on secondment to the Home Office.

Rachel brings invaluable leadership skills and experience in large-scale change to the Executive team and is strongly committed to UCLan values and its mission. Together with senior colleagues, Rachel will work in partnership with students to realise our ambition to be sector leading for the quality of our teaching and the student experience.

Rachel has degrees and qualifications from Durham University, Oxford University, South Bank University and the University of Bradford.

Current responsibilities

• Delivering an outstanding student experience and high levels of student satisfaction
• TEF development
• The sustained achievement of high quality teaching and research in a modern learning environment.
• Degree Apprenticeships
• Strategic Lead for the Lancashire Forensic Science Academy

Committee membership

• Student Experience Committee (Chair)
• Academic Board (member)
• ASQAC (member)

Andrew joined the University in September 2013 as the Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication. In 2014 he was appointed to the position of Executive Dean as the University restructured into Faculties. He then led the Faculty of Culture and the Creative Industries for four years; in that time it won the Times Higher Education Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts and Professor Lubaina Himid MBE won the prestigious Turner Prize among other highlights. In March 2018 Andrew was promoted to a new Pro Vice-Chancellor role to provide strategic cross-institutional leadership and vision for the digital and creative industries.

Prior to working at the University of Central Lancashire, Andrew worked in the broadcast industry and held a number of academic posts in television production before moving into academic management in the Media School at Bournemouth University. He became a National Teaching Fellow in 2004 for his HEFCE-funded work in group work assessment in media practice.  His research interests include broadcast historiography and re-enactment techniques.

Andrew graduated from Bournemouth University with an Honours degree in Media Production. He achieved a SEDA accredited PG Cert in Professional Development and was awarded a PhD in 2012 entitled Conditions of Time and Space: A Re-enactment Experiment with the British TV Series Doctor Who.

Current Responsibilities

• Strategic academic leadership of digital, creative industries and innovation
• Developing a Digital and Innovation Strategy

Committee Membership

• Academic Board
• Senior Executive Team
• Research and Innovation Committee

Representation on External Bodies

• Member of the HE Academy
• National Teaching Fellow

Professor Crean was appointed as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Clinical) in July 2017. He previously served the University in a number of senior academic roles including Executive Dean of the Faculty of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Director of Dental Research and Knowledge Transfer, and Dean of the School of Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.

In his current role, Professor Crean is responsible for building productive networks and relationships with key stakeholders to ensure that the University is well positioned to implement new and innovative opportunities in clinical health business, education and research. By building on the outstanding reputation of the University’s dentistry, medical, nursing and pharmacy programmes, he is ensuring that the University is able to play a major role in combating health inequalities and fostering an integrated approach to the provision of health and care across the North West.

StJohn gained a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Surgery (BDS) from University College London Hospital in 1981 before attaining an MB BS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) from University College London and Middlesex School of Medicine in 1992. He later gained a PhD from the University of London in 2000 and a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from the University of Cambridge. He is currently studying an LLM (Medical Ethics and Law) with the University of Edinburgh.

Beyond the University, StJohn is an Honorary Consultant at Blackpool Victoria Hospitals Trust and the University of Morecambe Bay Hospitals Foundation Trust. He is currently the Robert Bradlaw advisor in the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Editor-in-Chief of the Faculty Dental Journal (FDJ). He also holds the posts of President of the North West Branch of the British Dental Association and Chairman of the Fylde Section.

His ongoing research interests include the safe management of medicalised patients in dentistry and the role of oral bacteria in systemic disease, with a focus on neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.  He has over 100 peer reviewed publications and receives regular invitations to speak to learned societies and conferences.

Professor Crean is a member of the following external bodies:

• General Association of Dental (and Medical) Educators in Europe, (ADEE, AMEE)
• British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS)
• British Dental Association (BDA)
• Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP)
• General Dental Council (GDC)
• General Medical Council (GMC)
• Royal College of Surgeons (England) (RCS, Eng).