New Chairman takes office at HESA

Professor David Melville CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, officially takes over the role of Chairman of the board of the Higher Education Statistics Agency today. Professor Melville was previously Chief Executive of the former Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and was a member of the Research Advisory Group for the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Professor Melville said "It is a great privilege to be taking over the Chairmanship of HESA from Mike Sterling, who has led a very successful and professional organisation through its last ten years. I look forward to working with Robin Sibson and his staff to develop the organisation in the future."

“The agency will have an increasingly important role to play in the future, in what is a rapidly changing sector. Higher Education is facing more and more scrutiny and the need for accurate and concise statistics is increasing. Our aim will be to ensure these whilst minimising additional burden on institutions.”

Professor Melville takes over from Professor Michael Sterling, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, who has been HESA Chairman since the Agency’s inception in 1993. He is also Chair of the Russell Group of Institutions. Of his time as Chairman, Professor Sterling said “I am very proud to have been involved in the establishing of HESA and of its achievements over the past decade. It is a quite unique organisation and I am pleased to have helped overcome the many challenges the Agency has faced over the years.”

“It has been a delight to work with the other board members and the staff of the Agency to ensure it was a success and that its aims were fulfilled. I am sure that the Agency will continue to grow and build upon these successes in the coming years.”

HESA Chief Executive, Professor Robin Sibson said “Mike Sterling has steered the development of HESA from small beginnings to its present well-established position as the authoritative source of HE data for the UK. The Agency owes him a real debt of gratitude for the long-term commitment of time and energy which he has given to us.”

Professor Sibson was previously Vice-Chancellor at the University of Kent where he was succeeded by Professor Melville. Professor Sibson commented “I was very pleased when Kent appointed David Melville as my own successor there as Vice-Chancellor, and all the more so when Universities UK nominated him as a member of the HESA Board. His experience in a variety of senior positions means that he understands HESA’s work from the perspective of a funding body as well as that of a sector institution, and I and my colleagues here at HESA are looking forward to working with him as our new Chairman.”