Role at UCLan

The Vice-Chancellor is the principal academic and administrative officer of the University and is responsible to the Chairman of the Governors.

As Vice-Chancellor, Graham is responsible for the leadership and management of the University within the principles laid down by the Board of Governors, of which he is an ex-officio member. Graham is supported by the Vice-Chancellor's Group, which includes the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Chief Officers and the Pro Vice-Chancellors.

Graham is a member of Universities UK, a Non-Executive Director of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Chair of Lancashire Innovation Board, Chair of the Maritime Skills Commission, Deputy Chair of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association and Treasurer of MillionPlus.

Experience

Graham returned to UCLan after spending five years as the Vice-Chancellor of Solent University in Southampton.  During that time, the University opened an iconic learning and teaching building, a new indoor sports complex and industry-ready nursing and maritime simulation centres. The University also rose significantly in all major league tables, recorded its highest ever results for student satisfaction, employability and progression and was awarded TEF Silver.  This culminated in being shortlisted for the University of the Year 2019 in the Times Higher Education Awards.

Before joining Solent University as Vice-Chancellor, Graham worked as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UCLan. He joined UCLan's Senior Management Team in 2003 and held posts as Dean of Academic Development and Director for Cumbria.

In 2007/08 Graham was seconded to work as the national skills research director for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority at Sellafield Limited.  In March 2008 he took up the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Skills and Employer Engagement) and was appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) from 1 January 2010 with overall responsibility for UCLan's academic and research activity.

Graham also worked closely with partner institutions, particularly in Hong Kong, China and the Middle East, and he received an Outstanding Foreign Expert Award from Hebei Province, China. During 2014 he was also appointed as Honorary Professor at Hebei University in Baoding, and in 2015 was appointed as a Visiting Professor by the National Academy for Education Administration, Beijing.

Qualifications

• BA (Hons) Sport and Recreation Studies, Madeley School of Physical Education (now Staffordshire University).
• MSc Sports Science, Loughborough University.
• PhD Exercise Physiology, University of Wales, Bangor.
• PGCE, University of Wales.

Committee membership

• Board of Governors
• Chair: Academic Board
• Chair: Senior Management Team
• Chair: Confucius Institute

External bodies

• Non-Executive Director: East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Chair: Lancashire Innovation Board
• Chair: Maritime Skills Commission
• Deputy Chair: Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).
• Treasurer: MillionPlus
• Member: Universities UK

Lynne is Deputy Vice-Chancellor for the University of Central Lancashire. Previously Lynne was Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic and Dean of the Lancashire Law School at UCLan. Lynne is a Director on the LEP Skills and Employment Panel in Lancashire and holds a number of other directorships.

Lynne has many years’ experience of curriculum development, quality assurance and enhancement of student experience across educational disciplines and in legal professional and academic education. She has been involved on panels as a chair or member reviewing quality and student experience in more than 30 international institutions and at many UK universities and colleges, as well as undertaking roles on various Boards of Governors. She is an Assessor of legal education provision for the legal professional bodies in England and Wales. She has participated in national working parties and groups to review and enhance education and policy.

Alongside her academic background, Lynne is a practising lawyer with expertise in Trusts and Property laws and has several years’ experience in private practice. She has a strong professional and academic interest in education law, equality and diversity law and in social issues around improvement of social mobility and access to justice. Lynne has led several externally funded high value research projects, frequently working in collaboration with international partners. She has been involved in developing employer networks, industry Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and social enterprises to help to improve students’ employability and enterprise skills, their resilience and to raise their aspirations.

On a personal level, Lynne is strongly committed to the value of education in transforming lives.  Her personal values align with the University’s mission to deliver high quality learning for all with the potential to benefit regardless of their socio-economic starting point and background.

Current Responsibilities

• Deputy Vice-Chancellor
• Academic portfolio
• Faculties and Schools
• Academic Registry
• Planning and Insight
• REF Steering Group

Lynne is a Member of the following UCLan Committees

• Vice-Chancellor's Group
• Academic Board
• Research and Innovation Committee
• Academic Standards and Quality Assurance Committee
• Course Planning Committee
• Harris Foundation Trust

Representation on External Bodies

• Preston Inc. Law Society
• Applied Policy Sciences Unit Board
• Lancashire LEP Skills and Employment Panel
• Westlakes Research Limited
• Samuel Lindow Foundation
• West Lakes Multi Academy Trust
• Training 2000 Ltd
• UCLan Dental Clinic Ltd
• UCLan Holdings Limited

Michael has extensive experience of designing and delivering strategic and operational change programmes both within business information systems and in a wider business context.  Michael has 10 years’ experience in technical and engineering roles and 15 years in strategic leadership roles. Michael led a positive period of recruitment growth whilst responsible for Marketing and Recruitment between 2013 and 2016, he then created and had responsibility for the new Student Services function and the University Corporate Operations Service and is currently responsible for Estates Services and Learning and Information Services.

Michael has led the creation and delivery of the £250m Masterplan since its inception. Michael is the Executive lead for Sport, Health and Safety and Climate Change. As part of his regional work Michael is Chair of the East Lancashire Project Group and represents the University on a range of key regional bodies and forums.

Prior to joining UCLan, Michael worked within Bolton Metro (Leisure) as IT & Support Services Manager where he was responsible for creating and establishing the organisation’s IT Services and delivered their first IT infrastructure based on distributed LANs.

Prior to this, Michael worked for Bass Brewers as Head of Production Services where he was responsible for leading and managing the deployment of large production systems at some of Europe’s largest brewing, productions and distribution plants.

Before joining Bass Brewers Michael worked for British Gas North Western, originally in Customer Services before moving onto Productivity Services.

Current responsibilities

Executive Lead for:

• The University Masterplan
• Estates Services
• Learning and Information Services
• Carbon Management and Sustainability
• Health and Safety
• UCLan Sport

Membership:

• Vice-Chancellor's Group
• Centralan Holdings Ltd Board
• Death in Service Trustee
• Honorary Awards Committee
• Masterplan Programme Board
• Safety, Health and Environment Committee
• Climate Change Strategy Board

Ken joined the University in August 2016. He is responsible for ensuring that the University offers a professional, flexible and innovative Human Resources function with responsibility for staff recruitment, administration, engagement and development. His role involves driving the organisational development and culture change to underpin the realisation of the University Strategy.

Ken, who originally hails from Burnley, was HR Director of BBC North from 2008-2016. He oversaw the corporation’s HR agenda during and after the £200m implementation of the new BBC North organisation including the migration of staff to the Media City location and the development of a new creative and collaborative culture. Prior to this he held senior Human Resources and Organisational Development roles at British Aerospace, Halifax and HBOS.

Ken graduated from the University of Oxford with a First Class Honours Degree in Jurisprudence (Law and Philosophy).

Current responsibilities

• Staff recruitment
• Staff development and engagement
• Reward and recognition
• HR service and administration

Committee membership

• Vice-Chancellor's Group
• Staff Experience Steering Group
• Death in Service Trustee

Ian joined the University in September 2014. Prior to his appointment Ian was the County Secretary and Solicitor at Lancashire County Council. In addition to being the Chief Legal and Governance Adviser to the County Council Ian also played a major role in creating and supporting a wide range of partnerships and joint ventures including a number of limited companies such as the Lancashire Economic Partnership, Lancashire County Enterprise Limited and Marketing Lancashire. Ian is Secretary and Legal Advisor to the University Board and Company Secretary to the majority of the University’s subsidiary companies. He also heads up the Legal and Governance team and is a member of the University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Group.

Current Responsibilities

• Corporate Governance (including oversight of compliance with the Office for Students Regulatory regime)
• The provision and procurement of legal advice to the University and its Companies
• Internal Audit
• Oversight of the Corporate Operations Team

Ian is the University’s chief legal advisor and Secretary of the University Board and its Committees and Secretary of the University’s various subsidiary Companies.

Ian is a Member of the Vice-Chancellor's Group.

Professor Andrew Ireland is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students and Teaching), providing strategic leadership across the organisation in the areas of student experience, teaching excellence, curriculum design, and student support services.

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 CBE 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, overseeing the Faculty of Culture and the Creative Industries and the Faculty of Science and Technology. In November 2019 Andrew took up his current role as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students & Teaching).

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. In 2004 he became a National Teaching Fellow in the “Rising Stars” category 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 leadership of teaching excellence, learning, teaching and assessment, graduate achievement and success
• Ensuring a superlative student experience
• Providing strategic oversight of the Institution’s response to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)
• Providing strategic leadership to the Centre for Collaborative Learning
• Chair of the Student Experience Programme
• Overseeing the Student Services provision of the University

Committee Membership

• Academic Board
• Vice-Chancellor's Group
• Student Experience & Engagement Committee
• Academic Quality & Assurance Committee

Representation on External Bodies

• National Teaching Fellow
• Member of the Harris Capital Project Steering Group

Professor Crean was appointed as Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise in December 2019, having been Pro Vice-Chancellor for Clinical, Health and Research since 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.

StJohn gained a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Surgery (BDS) from University College London 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 UCL in 2000 and a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from the University of Cambridge. He has recently been awarded LLM (Medical Ethics and Law) with the University of Edinburgh.

Beyond the University, StJohn is an Honorary Consultant at East Lancashire Hospital 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 has held 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.

Current Responsibilities

• To prepare and optimise the submission for REF 2021.
• To prepare an optimise future submissions for the KEF
• To integrate Innovation and Enterprise in to Research and Innovation.
• To provide leadership and oversight across the University for clinical and medical activity.
• To identify and lead on new initiatives relating to future developments in clinical and medical education.
• To ensure the smooth and successful operation of the AUC partnership from the clinical/medical delivery perspective.

Committee Membership

• Academic Board (AB)
• Academic Leadership Group (ALG)
• Centralan Holdings Ltd Board
• College of Professors and Readers Committee (CPRC)
• Ethics and Integrity Committee (EIC)
• Honorary Academic Awards Committee
• Joint Academic Negotiation Committee (JANCC)
• National Centre for Remote and Rural Medicine (NCRRM)
• One Health Leadership Group
• One Health Strategy Group
• Research and Innovation Committee
• Research and Innovation Committee (Cyprus)
• Senior Management Team
• UCLan Hong Kong
• UCLan Technology Shenzhen
• University Business Services Limited (UBSL)
• University Mental Health 5-year Strategy Group
• Vice-Chancellor's Group (VCG)

Research

• Animal Welfare and Ethics Review Board (AWERB)
• Environment Working Group (Chair)
• Human Tissue Working Group - HTWG
• PVC Research Strategy Group
• REF Equality and Diversity Subpanel
• REF Steering Group
• Research and Innovation Committee
• Research and Innovation Committee – Cyprus (RICC)
• Research Governance IRAS review panel
• University Research and Innovation Committee

External

• Academic Health Science Network (AHSN)
• AKS Local Governing Body
• Alder Hey
• AUC
• BDA (Fylde section) and NW Branch Council
• Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council
• Copeland Borough Council
• East Lancashire Hospital Trust
• Healthier Lancashire
• Innovation Agency
• Lancashire Care Foundation Trust
• Lancashire Digital First Primary Care
• Lancashire HEI and BEIS
• Lancashire Teaching Hospital
• LLS UTC Governor
• Million Plus Research and Innovation Network
• Myerscough College
• Northern Health Science Alliance(NHSA) Associate Member/UCLan Representative
• Northern Schools Trust - UTC LLS Trust Governor
• Royal College of Surgeons England Faculty of Dental Surgery
• Sellafield Sites
• St. Catherine’s Hospice
• West Lakes Multi - Academy Trust Board
• Westlakes Research Limited (WRL)

Representation on External Bodies

• General Association of Dental (and Medical) Educators in Europe, (ADEE, AMEE)
• Home Office – Establishment License Holder

Ebrahim is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business Development and Partnerships).  His relationship with UCLan is a long-standing one and he has held a number of positions since 1997 including Senior Lecturer, Ambassador for Students and Provost (Burnley Campus).  Ebrahim has also served as a member of the University Board and the Board’s Nominations Committee.

Ebrahim is currently the Chair of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.  Until recently, he was also the Deputy for Economic Strategy for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and a Board Member of the Growth Company.

Ebrahim has a national and international profile.  He is Rapporteur at the Council of Europe, a former Commissioner on the Commission on Integration and Cohesion and a former Independent Expert Adviser to the Audit Commission.

Current Responsibilities

• Responsibility for the Burnley Campus and East Lancashire
• Chair – University Research Ethics and Integrity Committee
• Chair – Lancashire Apprenticeship Levy Payers Network Group

Committee Membership

• Vice-Chancellor’s Group
• Academic Board
• Academic Leadership Group
• Student Experience Committee
• Research and Innovation Committee
• ASQAC
• Equality and Diversity Executive Group
• Burnley and Westlakes Strategic Group

Representation on External Bodies

• Chair – Lancashire Teaching Hospitals
• Lancashire NHS Provider Collaborative
• Bolton Council
• Eden Boys’ School Governing Body

Role at UCLan

As Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Ruth is responsible for advancing the University’s reputation as a world-leading and life-changing educational institution across the globe.

Ruth joined UCLan as Executive Director of Strategic Marketing in 2018 and was appointed to the Vice-Chancellor’s Group as Chief Marketing Officer in 2019, reporting directly to the Vice-Chancellor.

The CMO is the executive leadership role which has responsibility for an extensive portfolio of activity which help define and shape the University brand and raise its profile through extensive engagement on a regional, national and international level.

Experience

Prior to joining UCLan, Ruth was Chief Executive at Marketing Lancashire for six years, charged with enhancing the county’s national and international profile, showcasing its strengths as a thriving economic region and driving inward investment. Prior to this, Ruth was Managing Director at Shearings Leisure Group and Sales and Marketing Director at Gold Medal Travel Group.

An alumna of the University of Central Lancashire, Ruth was named as one of the Top 12 influential business women in the North West by Insider Media and received the ‘Contribution to Lancashire’ Award at the Lancashire Business Awards.

Chief Marketing Officer Portfolio Responsibilities :

• Marketing and Alumni
• Communications, Events and PR
• UK Recruitment and Partnerships
• International Recruitment and Partnerships
• Widening Participation and Public Engagement
• Admissions
• Regional Engagement
• External Relations and Public Affairs

Qualifications

• BA (Hons) European Business and Languages, UCLan
• Postgraduate CIM Advanced Certificate in Marketing, University of Salford.

Committee membership

• Vice-Chancellor’s Group
• Academic Board
• Student Experience Strategy Board
• Enhancing the Applicant Experience Board

External bodies

• CBI Northwest Regional Council Member
• Vice Chair Preston Town Deal Board
• Preston Partnership Board Member

George joined the University in February 2018 as Interim Deputy Finance Director (FP&A) and was recruited as Chief Finance Officer in December 2019. He is responsible for strategic leadership over the University’s financial management ensuring its financial sustainability.

George has over 20 years’ experience of providing effective financial management in large, complex and multinational organisations. Before joining UCLan he was the Director of Finance (FP&A) at Ingeus, a leading global provider of employment and training services. He then set up his own financial consultancy to provide commercial expertise to both private and public sector companies.

George is a graduate of Oxford Brookes University and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Current responsibilities

• Ensuring effective governance and controls over the University’s financial operations, including the setting and monitoring of departmental budgets.
• Managing the University’s purchasing activities in order to deliver legal compliance and value for money.
• Ensuring that appropriate financial information systems, policies and procedures are robust and fit for purpose.
• Ensuring the efficient use of the University's financial, physical and intellectual assets in support of its investment plans.

Committee membership

• Vice-Chancellor’s Group
• Death in Service Trustee
• Lancashire Forensic Science Academy Strategy Group
• Treasury Management Group
• Fraud Response Group

Board Member

• Centralan Holdings Limited
• UCLan Overseas Limited
• UCLan Cyprus Limited
• UCLan CY IPS Limited