Committees

Malcolm Peckham, JP, BA (Hons), CertEd, DipEdAdmin, FRSA (Pro-Chancellor)

Malcolm has been on the University Council since 2004 and was appointed as Deputy Pro-Chancellor in 2008 and Pro-Chancellor in 2012. Malcolm has significant experience within the field of education as a former teacher and Director of Education at the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead LEA and currently provides Education Consultancy Services. In addition, Malcolm is an active member of the local community in High Wycombe as a Rotarian and will become President of the club in 2014. He retains numerous interests in local educational matters and is also a Justice of the Peace in West London.

Malcolm Chaired the University’s Strategic Planning Committee from 2008 to 2012 and currently, as Pro Chancellor, Chairs Council, Approvals Group, Senior Remuneration Committee and Nominations Committee.

Eileen Manley, BSc (Deputy Pro-Chancellor)

Prior to her retirement in 2007, Eileen was the Chief Executive of Connexions Staffordshire, having moved to Staffordshire from Kent in 1992 to head up the careers service.  She has been a member of Keele's Council since 2007 and was appointed as Deputy Pro-Chancellor in 2012.  She is also a trustee of two charities, one dealing with alcohol dependency and the other homelessness and domestic abuse.  As Chair of the Stoke Supported Lodgings Panel she is able to continue her interest in young people who are unable for whatever reason to live at home.  She is an active member of Soroptimist International, an international women's organisation which aims to improve the lives and status of women and girls across the world.  

Eileen is the Chair of the University's Strategic Planning Committee and is a member of the University's Equality and Diversity Committee, the Joint Committee for Honorary Degrees, Nominations Committee and Council Approvals Group.

Professor Alistair Ulph, FRSA (Deputy Pro-Chancellor)

Alistair joined Keele University Council in September 2011 and was appointed Deputy Pro-Chancellor in 2012. He is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee and the Nominations Committee. Starting in 1970, his career has been as an academic economist, principally in the field of Environmental Economics, but he has also been a senior academic manager, notably Deputy Vice-Chancellor University of Southampton (1995-2001) and Vice-President and Dean of Humanities University of Manchester (2004-2010).

Since retirement from that role in September 2010 he continues to work part-time at the University of Manchester, leading a Research Institute, and playing a number of other roles. He also plays a national role in issues related to funding of Universities through his membership of two sector-wide groups representing universities and their funders. In his spare time he plays bridge and golf.

David Webster (Treasurer)

David graduated from Paisley University, Glasgow with a BA(Hons) Business Economics.  He is the Chief Executive of The Hanley Economic Building Society and was elected Chairman of the Building Societies Association in 2010, being re-elected to the position in May 2012.  

David joined Keele University Council in 2010 and was appointed Treasurer in 2012.

Professor Nick Foskett, MA, PhD, PGCE, FRSA (Vice-Chancellor) 

Professor Nick Foskett has been Vice-Chancellor of Keele University since August 2010.  Previously he was Dean of the Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Southampton, where he was also Professor of Education and, previously, Head of the School of Education. 

Professor Foskett is a Geographer and Environmental Scientist by background and after graduating from Oxford University he taught Geography and Geology in secondary schools and sixth form colleges before his career took him into higher education.  He still retains a strong interest and engagement in environmental issues and sustainability and continues to publish and research on the nature and role of field studies, outdoor activities and education for sustainability within primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Rama Thirunamachandran , MA (Cantab) (Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost)

Rama Thirunamachandran became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Keele University in June 2008 and has overall responsibility for the academic activities of the University. He is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership for academic planning, budgeting and delivery through the oversight of the three Faculties. He has specific responsibility for leading the University's Internationalisation Strategy.

He was Director for Research, Innovation and Skills at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) from 2002 with overall responsibility for the strategic direction of HEFCE's research, knowledge transfer, and employer engagement and skills policies with budgetary responsibility for some £1.5 billion per annum. His responsibilities included oversight of the operation of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the development of the Research Excellence Framework (REF). He was a senior officer at HEFCE between 1999 and 2002 variously taking responsibility for the South East region, for overseeing the whole funding operations of the Council, including the distribution of student numbers, the strategic development fund and HEFCE's regional and international policies.

Educated at Cambridge in Geography and Natural Sciences, Rama worked on a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded project carrying out research on the effects of flooding in Bangladesh bringing together his geographical and statistical expertise. His current interests are in higher education and public policy. He was on the Editorial Board of the higher education journal 'Perspectives' and has written and presented widely on a range of higher education issues.

He is currently Director and Trustee of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and Director and Trustee of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Before joining HEFCE he was Head of Research, Enterprise and External Relations at Royal Holloway (University of London) and Director of Royal Holloway Enterprise Ltd. He has also held posts at the University of Bristol and King's College London.

Dr William Kirk (Appointed by the Senate)

William Kirk was appointed as a Lecturer at Keele University in 1987 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2005.He is the Director of Learning and Teaching in the School of Life Sciences. He has been on Senate since 2005 and Council since 2010 and is also on the Equality and Diversity Committee. Current teaching areas include ecology, entomology and statistics. His main research interests are the biology and ecology of thrips, with a view to exploiting this knowledge to develop novel means of managing thrips as pests in agriculture and horticulture. He is on the Council of the International Bee Research Association, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, a Life Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, and Vice-President of the North Staffordshire Beekeepers' Association.

He obtained a BA (Hons) in Applied Biology from Cambridge University in 1981 and then went on to complete a PhD on "The ecology of thrips in flowers" at Cambridge University in 1984. The award of a Rothmans Fellowship allowed him to do post-doctoral research on thrips at the Waite Agricultural Research Institute (now Waite Campus), University of Adelaide, South Australia in 1985. Further post-doctoral research was supported by a Research Fellowship from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Dr Anne Loweth (Appointed by the Senate)

Following a number of years working in the pharmaceutical industry, Anne began her academic career in the mid-1990s in the field of diabetes research. Anne joined the School of Life Sciences in 2003, from Liverpool John Moores University, and is a Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, representing the university as a member of the national Heads of University Centres of Biomedical Science executive. She took over as Head of School of Life Sciences in 2008. Since then she has championed the Athena SWAN charter for Women in Science within the School and is committed to the promotion of equality and diversity. She became a member of Council in 2009.

Dr Bill Dixon (Appointed by the Electoral Roll)

Bill graduated with a BA in Jurisprudence from Oxford University, where he was a member of Worcester College. He has an MA in Criminal Justice from Brunel University and completed his PhD on police accountability in London (also at Brunel) in 1999. After working in the voluntary sector and local government, Bill has held academic posts at Brunel University and the University of Cape Town. He arrived at Keele in 2001 as a Lecturer in Criminology and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2007. He was an active member of what was the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and is now the University and College Union (UCU) for several years. Bill was Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences between 2007 and 2010 and is currently Head of the School of Sociology and Criminology. Apart from serving on Council, Bill is active in teaching and research and is a member of Senate, University Learning and Teaching Committee and a number of other University and Faculty bodies.

Professor Joe Andrew (Appointed by the Electoral Roll) 

Joe Andrew has been a member of staff at Keele since 1972. Currently he is Professor of Literature and Culture and Programme Director of Film Studies. Most of his teaching is now in Film, for both Film Studies and Media, Communications, and Culture. His research is in Film, as well as Russian literature.

Sarah Lane (Staff Member Appointed by the Non-academic Staff Electoral Roll)

Sarah graduated from Staffordshire University with LLB(Hons) and worked in the legal services industry before joining Keele in 2002. Sarah currently works in the School of Law as Senior School Manager.  Sarah joined the University Council in 2010 and has been appointed for a 4 year term.

Richard Barnes (Lay-member of Council)

Joining Keele University Council in September 2012, Richard is a recently semi-retired and widely experienced finance executive with 39 years' service in vertically integrated international brand companies including; Burton’s Foods, Waterford Wedgwood and Ford Motor Co.  He also has 11 years public sector knowledge and expertise gained through Chairmanship of Business Link West Midlands, Board membership of Advantage West Midlands and as Chair of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone. Richard is presently CEO of Barwood Products Ltd, a director of the Garrick Theatre Trust and a member of the Burslem Port Trust. Richard is a keen sailor and enjoys skiing and playing guitar. 

Dr Pat Chipping, BSc, MB BS, FRCP, FRCPath (Lay-member of Council) 

Pat trained in medicine at the Royal Free and completed her postgraduate training at Hammersmith Hospital. She was appointed Consultant Haematologist to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS) in 1982 and retired in 2009. From 2001-2008 she was Medical Director of UHNS and in that role worked closely with the newly established Keele Medical School. A particularly important role was in appointing clinical consultant staff who would be committed to the teaching of medical students. Since retiring Pat has, for family reasons, moved back to her native Kent. Pat has been busy renovating the Victorian coastguard cottage which is now home, is involved in two local choirs and edits the parish magazine. 

Pat has been a lay member of Council since 2006 and is the chair of Equality and Diversity Committee, as well as being a member of the Strategic Planning Committee and Senior Remuneration Committee.

Andrew Harris, B.Soc.Sc., LL.M. (Lay Member of Council)

Andrew graduated from the University of Keele in 1981 with a B.Soc.Sc. in Law & Economics, and graduated from the University of Bristol in 1983 with a master's degree in Law (LL.M). Andrew qualified as a solicitor in November 1985 and has practiced ever since in the field of commercial litigation and dispute resolution at what is now DLA Piper, where he is a partner, having been with the firm and its legacy firms since entering the profession. Andrew's specialist fields are company law and corporate governance, shareholder, boardroom and partnership issues and disputes, issues arising out of corporate transactions, and capital reconstructions and schemes of arrangements using the statutory procedures. Andrew has undertaken many urgent cases involving injunctions and related court relief.

Andrew joined the Council of Keele in 2011 and also serves the Audit Committee.

Sir Jeffrey James (Lay-member of Council)

Sir Jeffrey has been a member of the University Council and its Strategic Planning Committee since 2006. After graduating from Keele in 1967, he followed a career in the Diplomatic Service with a variety of postings across Europe, Asia and Africa until his retirement in 2001. His last posting was as British High Commissioner in Kenya. Sir Jeffrey is involved with a number of organisations with international interests, including as Chairman of the East African Wildlife Trust, a Non-Legal Member of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, and a Director of the Eastern Africa Association. Sir Jeffrey maintains a strong interest in international affairs, particularly development and conservation issues, and enjoys outdoor pursuits such as birding, hiking and golf.

Dr G Khaja Khan, BE, MSc, PhD, CEng, FIEE (Lay-member of Council)

Khaja has a background of working in a number of technical and managerial positions in GEC, ALSTOM and British Rail.   In addition to his duties on the University Council, Khaja is a Governor of South Staffordshire College. 

Khaja joined the University Council in 2005 and is Chair of the Occupational Health and Safety Committee.  Khaja has been an active member of the University’s Audit Committee since joining the University and became its Chair in 2012.

Paul Clark (Lay-Member of Council)

Before commencing his Council membership in September 2012, Paul spent two years as a Transport Minister and was MP for Gillingham and Kent from 1997 to 2010. His time in Government has given him a wealth of experience and skills which add to those gained in his eleven year role as the TUC National Education Centre Manager. Paul is a governor at a number of schools, a trustee on the award winning social enterprise, the Sunlight Centre, and has been heavily involved with the Universities of Kent, Christchurch Canterbury and Greenwich and subsequent creation of a shared campus at the Universities at Medway multiversity site. Having graduated from Keele University in 1980 and enjoying his time there, Paul is keen to contribute to its continuing success as a lay member of Council.

A graduate of Keele University, and a former President of Keele University Students' Union, Lauren has experience in the business, government and University sectors, working in both a client focused role and internal business projects. Lauren has recently completed the Legal Practice Course and will commence her training as a solicitor shortly.

Simon Ramery (Lay Member of Council)

Simon has been a member of Council since September 2011 and sits on the Strategic Planning Committee. Currently Simon is a partner at Cavendish Corporate Finance and heads up the capital advisory service which involves assisting companies on raising equity and debt capital to achieve their business goals. The deal sizes range from £3m to £100m and Simon mainly works for entrepreneurial high growth companies. To assist his clients Simon works with venture capital firms, private equity firms, corporate, high net worth investors, banks and alternative investors. Simon graduated from Keele University in 1997 having achieved a 2:1 in Law and International Politics.

Dick Steele, FCA, CTA (Lay-member of Council)

Dick was appointed as a Lay Member of Council in 2011. He was born in Alsager, Cheshire and educated at King Edward VI School, Lichfield and Liverpool University. He is a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Advisor. He is Chairman of Portmerion Group plc, the Stoke on Trent based international tableware company and Chairman of a number of other companies including ASL, Country Baskets, Racoon International and Springfield Healthcare Group. He is also a non-executive director of the Quoted Companies Alliance. He lives near Burton upon Trent.

Gill Robinson, B Arch, RIBA, MAPM (Lay-member of Council)

Gill was appointed as a lay-member of Council in 2009. During this time Gill has been a member of Finance Sub-Committee, Occupational Health and Safety Committee, Audit Committee and Senior Remuneration Committee. She is also a Board Member of Keele Hotels Ltd. Prior to her retirement at the end of 2008, Gill was Regional Director of Stride Treglown Chapman Robinson Architects where she had previously worked with Keele as the lead architect on the renovation of the Clock House and the restoration of the Home Farm buildings. 

Gill served as a Board Member of Irwell Valley Housing Association for a number of years and is currently a Director of Pendleton Improved Housing Association Ltd. and Irwell Valley Developments Ltd. Gill's ancestors; the Rhead family, were all artists and potters who lived and worked in Staffordshire.

Joe Turner (President of the Students' Union)

Awaiting Information

Andy Irwin (President of the KPA)

Andrew completed an MA in Political Parties and Elections after graduating with First Class Honours in English Literature & Politics from Keele University. His primary research interests focus on the organisation of political parties, in particular right-wing radical parties. He was Keele University Students’ Union Member of the Year in 2011, winner of an Outstanding Contribution Award in 2012, and was also winner of the Rosemary O’Kane Student Prize for Politics in 2011. He also works as a Webmaster for two political science groups, one being a research unit here at Keele University.

Andrew has a keen interest in journalism and both his Keele University Students’ Union honours were for contributions to Concourse Print and Online Magazine, where he was first Chief Writer and then Deputy Editor (Content). His term of office as President of Keele Postgraduate Association began in May 2012 and he joined the Council in September 2012.