Minister announces Chair of Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland
6 August 2009
The Minister for Employment and Learning, Sir Reg Empey, has appointed Sir Graeme Davies to lead the development of a Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland.
Sir Reg praised the new chairperson’s long and distinguished record of service to Higher Education and said: “I have invited Sir Graeme Davies, current Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, to act as independent chairperson for the Strategy which will cover the period up to 2020. He is a former Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England and a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool and the University of Glasgow.
“This will be a challenging role, but I have no doubt that Sir Graeme’s experience and knowledge of the higher education sector will be an asset to the Strategy. This appointment will ensure that an objective, evidence-based approach is taken which involves key stakeholders at all levels.”
The Minister emphasised the importance of higher education to Northern Ireland’s economy and society. He said: “Northern Ireland’s higher education sector makes a valuable contribution to our success in so many ways. We are going to develop a comprehensive Higher Education Strategy which will maximise the sector’s contribution to the social, economic and cultural life of Northern Ireland.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1.Sir Graeme Davies (BEng, PhD, MA, ScD, FREng, FRSE) has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of London since October 2003.
Sir Graeme was born and brought up in New Zealand and graduated BE, PhD from the University of Auckland and MA, ScD from St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. After academic posts at the Universities of Auckland and Cambridge and visiting professorships in Brazil, Israel, Argentina and China, he became Professor of Metallurgy at Sheffield University in 1978.
From 1986-91 he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool. He was Chief Executive successively of the Universities Funding Council and the Polytechnics & Colleges Funding Council. He became Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England in 1992. From 1995-2003 he was Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.
Sir Graeme is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Honorary Graduate of the Universities of Liverpool, Strathclyde, Manchester Metropolitan, Nottingham and Edinburgh, and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College of Music. He received a knighthood in 1996 for services to higher education.
In 2005, Sir Graeme chaired the University of Ulster’s third independent Seven-Year Review Group, set up to examine how the University fulfils the objects of its Charter. The Review Group’s work covered the period 1998-2005 and Sir Graeme formally presented the report to the Council of the University on 17 February 2006.
2. A photograph of Sir Graeme is available for download from the Department for Employment and Learning website at www.delni.gov.uk/sirgraemedavies 
3. News Media queries to the Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7872. Out of office hours contact the Executive Information Service Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440.
