Leeds Beckett University today announces that Professor Peter Slee will be its new Vice Chancellor when the current Vice Chancellor, Professor Susan Price, retires at the end of August this year.
Professor Slee is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Huddersfield. He is responsible for strategic planning and delivery, finance and resources, marketing, PR, and development and has helped drive major improvements to student satisfaction, research outcomes, and the University’s league table position.
Professor Slee was educated at the University of Reading, gained his PhD in Modern History from the University of Cambridge and was a postdoctoral fellow at Manchester and Durham. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and is widely published in modern history and higher education strategy and management. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an award winning teacher and trainer.
Professor Slee has held a number of senior roles in higher education management at Northumbria, Durham and Aston universities and at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) where he was Head of Education Policy. He took up his current role at the University of Huddersfield in 2010.
David Lowen, Chair of the Board of Governors at Leeds Beckett, said: “We are delighted to appoint Professor Slee to the role of Vice Chancellor from September. He has a wealth of experience in the sector and an in-depth knowledge of the local and regional environment within which our University operates. He also has an excellent track record of senior leadership across similar institutions notable for achieving success and transformational change; his leadership and vision will be critical in developing our next strategic plan.
As Chair of the Board, I would like to congratulate Professor Price on all her achievements and thank her for her dedication to Leeds Beckett University over the last five years. Susan has led a transformation of Leeds Beckett University and remains committed to putting our students at the heart of everything we do. Her vision and success in leading this vibrant and sustainable University will be built upon further by Peter when he joins us in September.”
Professor Slee said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be appointed as the next Vice Chancellor of Leeds Beckett University. I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues, our students and stakeholders in this great city. Under Professor Susan Price’s inspiring leadership the University is now very well placed to take advantage of the new opportunities the city of Leeds will gain from greater regional decentralisation. I am proud to be joining a University which makes such a powerful and positive contribution to the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of the communities it serves, and through its commitment to world class learning transforms the lives of lives of so many people”
Professor Price announced her intention to retire from Leeds Beckett in September last year and has guided the University through some of the most significant education policy changes in UK history.
Against this challenging backdrop, Professor Price has led a major repositioning of the University and change of name. She has increased student satisfaction scores by more than 10% across the five years; taken the University from financial deficit to a multi-million-pound surplus; led the achievement of the Customer Service Excellence and Investors in People accreditations, making Leeds Beckett the only university in the UK to receive both accolades.
http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/news/0515-leeds-beckett-university-appoints-next-vice-chancellor/