Leading Waterfront university towards independence

The UCS Board has confirmed that Richard Lister, currently Deputy Provost (Development and External Relations), will take over the role of Provost and Chief Executive with immediate effect until August 31, 2014 in the first instance.

Professor Edward Acton, chair of the UCS Board said “The stability that this provides for the staff, students and other stakeholders is extremely helpful as we progress towards independence for UCS.

He added “In preparing for independence and in addressing the challenges that the current environment poses for all Higher Education Institutions, there will inevitably be some significant changes at UCS over the coming months. The Board has great confidence in Richard’s ability to lead the organisation through these challenges and looks forward to working with him, and the rest of the management team, in order to ensure UCS’s continued success.”

Richard Lister has worked at UCS since 2006 and was previously Director of Planning and Resources, Executive Director as well as interim Chief Executive Officer in 2009.

He has spent most of his career pioneering work in schools liaison, student recruitment and widening participation. Richard previously worked at the University of Essex from which he was seconded in 2002 to establish its Southend Campus and then in 2004 moved to develop the plans for the joint initiative between the University of Essex and University of East Anglia to develop UCS. Prior to this Richard has also worked at Brunel and Hull Universities.

Richard Lister said: “I feel privileged to be asked to lead UCS through this exciting and challenging period. Having been involved from the start I know what has been achieved so far and that we have outstanding and committed staff determined to deliver the highest quality teaching and learning to our students. We will build upon our success so far and adjust to the changed landscape of Higher Education as we work towards being a fully independent University in the next couple of years.”