Shelly Asquith, vice-president (welfare), National Union of Students
Shelly Asquith is a vice-president of the NUS, which represents 7 million students in further and higher education in the UK. She was previously president of the student union at the University of the Arts London is a regular contributor to Guardian Students.
Gavin Brown, pro-vice-chancellor (education) at the University of Liverpool
Gavin Brown, who joined the University of Liverpool in June as pro-vice-chancellor for education, is an expert on technology-enhanced learning. In previous roles, he has led on IT initiatives that support the student experience including virtual learning environments, student portals and automated lecture capture. Brown has contributed to a number of national working groups and advisory bodies for the Higher Education Academy, FutureLearn and the Open University.
Paul Boyle, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Leicester
Before he joined the university, Professor Boyle was chief executive of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). During this time he wasinternational champion for Research Councils UK, with responsibility for global strategy for all seven UK research councils. Prior to that, he was head of the school of geography and geosciences at the University of St Andrews. He was director of the ESRC-funded longitudinal studies centre in Scotland, co-director of the ESRC-funded centre for population change, and co-investigator on the Wellcome Trust-funded Scottish health informatics programme.
Rebecca Bunting, vice-chancellor of Buckinghamshire New University
Rebecca Bunting was appointed vice-chancellor and chief executive of Buckinghamshire New University in November 2014, taking up the position in February 2015. Prior to that, she was deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Portsmouth. She is a board director of the Higher Education Academy and sits on Hefce’s widening participation and student opportunity committee.
Bob Cryan CBE, vice-chancellor of the University of Huddersfield
Bob Cryan, vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Huddersfield, received the Guardian Inspiring University Leader award in 2013. He was made CBE in the queen’s birthday honours in 2014 in recognition of his contributions to education. Professor Cryan is a chartered engineer, holds six degrees including two doctorates, and is passionate about the transformational effects of education.
Kim Frost, director of human resources, University of London
Kim Frost has been director of human resources for the University of London, based at Senate House, since 2003, and previously worked in the Department for Work and Pensions and in the defence and engineering sectors. He has been chair of the Universities HR Association since 2014. Frost is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Professor Sir David Greenaway, vice-chancellor of the University of Nottingham
Professor Sir David Greenaway was appointed Nottingham’s sixth vice-chancellor in 2008, having previously been pro-vice-chancellor for both research and infrastructure. The university has over 34,000 students in Nottingham and a further 11,000 at its campuses in China and Malaysia. Greenaway received a knighthood for services to higher education in the queen’s 2014 birthday honours list.
Matt Hiely-Rayner, director, Intelligent Metrix
In 2009 Matt Hiely-Rayner founded Intelligent Metrix, the company that provides the statistics and rankings for the Guardian’s prestigious University Guide. He designed the guide’s unique value-added score, as a means of illustrating the progress of different student groups. Hiely-Rayner is also head of planning at Kingston University.
Alistair Jarvis, director of communications and external relations, Universities UK
Alistair Jarvis is a member of the senior management team at Universities UK with responsibility for communications strategy, political affairs, partnership building, campaigns, digital communications, events and media relations. He is also a board director and deputy chair of wonkhe.com. Alistair was previously director of communications and marketing at the University of Birmingham.
Liz Jolly, director of library and information services, Teesside University
Liz joined Teesside in 2008. Prior to that she was associate director of information and learning services at the University of Salford. In 2014 she became chair of Sconul, the university library directors’ organisation. Jolly is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. She is a member of the editorial board of the New Review of Academic Librarianship and of the British Library Advisory Council.
David Latchman CBE, master of Birkbeck College, University of London
David Latchman, master of Birkbeck, is professor of genetics at Birkbeck and UCL. He continues to publish in the field of genetics and molecular biology and pursues a high level of research activity in addition to his management responsibilities. He serves on a variety of bodies, including Universities UK, the Research Policy Network and the National DNA Database Ethics Group (Home Office).
John Latham, vice-chancellor of Coventry University
Before becoming vice-chancellor, John Latham worked across the university in a variety of roles from a lecturer in computer science to deputy vice-chancellor for business development. Externally he has a number of high profile roles, including membership of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership board and chairmanship of its access to finance sub-group. He has also worked for a number of private sector organisations throughout his career including JHP Group, GEC, GPT and Jaguar and has been awarded a BT research fellowship.
Mark Leach, director and editor-in-chief of Wonkhe
Mark Leach runs Wonkhe, the popular website and think tank at the heart of the UK higher education debate. Journalist, entrepreneur and policy wonk, before founding Wonkhe, Mark worked in HE for the National Union of Students, Hefce, University Alliance, GuildHE and in politics as a special adviser to the former shadow minister for universities and science, Shabana Mahmood.
Joanna Newman, vice-principal (international), King’s College London
Dr Newman joined King’s in February 2014, having been director at UK Higher Education International Unit (IU) which represents the sector internationally. She was responsible for driving the delivery of the UK higher education’s international agenda by shaping national policy, identifying and providing opportunities, and delivering programmes and research-based policy analysis. Prior to her role at the IU, Dr Newman was the head of higher education at the British Library from January 2007 to March 2011. In 2014, Newman was awarded an MBE in recognition of her work in promoting British higher education internationally.
David Ruebain, chief executive, Equality Challenge Unit
In June 2010, David took up the post of chief executive of the Equality Challenge Unit, a policy and research agency funded to advance equality and diversity in universities in the UK and colleges in Scotland and England. Prior to that, he was a practicing solicitor for 21 years. He was director of legal policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission of Great Britain and before that a partner at Levenes solicitors.
Jenny Shaw, head of HE engagement and student services, Unite Students
Jenny Shaw, head of HE engagement for the student accommodation company Unite Students, also chairs the Unite Foundation. The foundation is a charity which seeks to transform the lives of young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, by giving them access to higher education and employment opportunities. Jenny has worked for several universities and HE sector organisations, specialising in partnerships, engagement and widening participation. She has written for the Guardian HE network and the Wonkhe blog, and has published a number of scholarly articles on widening participation and diversity in higher education.
Ben Sowter, head of division, QS Intelligence Unit
Ben Sowter leads the QS intelligence unit, which is responsible for the operational management of all QS research projects including the QS world university Rankings. Sowter has a BSc in computer science from Nottingham University. He spent two years working in the UK national office of international student charity, Aiesec, of which he was ultimately elected national president. He travels widely and is a regular speaker on the conference circuit.
Tim Pryce, head of public sector, Carbon Trust
Tim Pryce leads the Carbon Trust’s work with the public sector, providing technical and strategic support to help organisations cut carbon emissions and lead the way on climate change. Through his team the Carbon Trust has helped over 3,000 public sector bodies in the UK, Mexico, Malaysia and China to identify savings in excess of £2.5bn. Pryce is a chartered accountant, and plays a key role in defining the financial as well as the environmental case for carbon reduction.
Peter Reader, former director of marketing, University of Portsmouth
Peter Reader has over 40 years of marketing and communications experience gained in six UK universities and has led professional organisations in the UK, Europe and the Commonwealth. He has given numerous presentations and writes for the professional press. Peter is also a member of the Guardian University Guide review group.
Pam Tatlow, chief executive, million+
Pam Tatlow has been chief executive of the university think-tank million+ since 2007. A qualified teacher, she has worked in education, health, public and parliamentary affairs and has served as a lay judge on the Employment Appeal Tribunal since 2002.
Mike Thomas, interim vice-chancellor, University of Central Lancashire
Professor Thomas joined UCLan in the summer of 2014 from the University of Chester where he was pro vice-chancellor (academic) for four years. A graduate of the University of Manchester, where he studied healthcare, he also holds a master’s in law from John Moore’s University, gained a PhD in psychotherapy from the University of Nottingham and is an alumnus of the Said Business School, University of Oxford. Professor Thomas is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Society for the Arts and a member of the British Psychological Society.
Kevin Van-Couter, higher education adviser at the British Council
Kevin is senior higher education adviser for internationalisation at the British Council. He advises on higher education policy, specialising in the areas of transnational education (TNE) and partnerships. For over a decade Kevin has been regularly asked to author articles on UK TNE and student mobility and has presented at conferences on the subject all over the world.
Andrew West, university secretary, University of Sheffield
Dr Andrew West is director of student services at the University of Sheffield. His remit has a wide scope covering the student lifecycle – including recruitment, admissions, registry, learning and teaching strategy and a broad range of support services. Andrew was chair of Amosshe, the student services organisation, in 2010-12, and he is currently a member of the executive of Iasas, a global student services organisation.
Andy Westwood, politics professor at Winchester University
Andy Westwood is professor of politics and policy at Winchester. He splits his time between the Universities of Winchester (two days per week) and Manchester (three days per week), where he is the associate vice president for public affairs. Westwood is president of the OECD Forum on Social Innovation and an OECD expert author in the local employment and economic development (Leed) programme. He is also a senior adviser to ministers at the department for communities and local government and the UK Treasury and a specialist adviser to the House of Lords committee on digital skills.
Source:Guardian University Awards 2016: the judges