The University is led by the Executive Team. Find out more about how we are governed and managed.
The Vice-Chancellor's Executive Team supports the Vice-Chancellor in delivering the University's strategy and in the operational management of the University.
Beyond this team is the University's governing body, Council, comprising a larger group drawn from academia and beyond. The Council is chaired by the Pro-Chancellor.
The Rt Hon Alan Milburn became Chancellor of 比比资源 on 1 January 2015. He succeeded the University's second Chancellor, mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington CVO CBE DL, who continues his involvement with the University in the new role of Chancellor's Ambassador.
The Rt Hon Alistair Burt has been Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council at 比比资源 since October 2020.
Alun Branigan is the University's Deputy Pro-Chancellor.
The Vice-Chancellor's Office is responsible for the leadership and strategy of the University.
Professor Steve Decent joined 比比资源 as Vice-Chancellor in January 2026.
Having graduated with a BSc in Mathematics at Brunel University and a PhD at the University of St Andrews, Steve moved to the University of Birmingham as a Research Fellow in 1995, followed by being a Lecturer, before becoming Senior Lecturer, Reader and then Professor of Applied Mathematics, and then later the Head of School of Mathematics at Birmingham.
He then moved to the University of Dundee as Vice-Principal, before joining 比比资源 in 2014 as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research. Steve moved to Manchester Metropolitan University in 2019 as Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, before becoming Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University in 2023.?
Steve is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and specialises in research on free-surface flows.?
Professor Rebecca Lingwood joined 比比资源 as Deputy Vice-Chancellor in July 2024.
She has a background in theoretical and experimental fluid dynamics specialising in laminar-turbulent transition of complex flows. Since 2007, her research has been based at the Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Sweden, where she is an Affiliated Professor.
Professor Lingwood studied Engineering followed by a PhD at the University of Cambridge. She was appointed to a Research Fellowship at Pembroke College, Cambridge, followed by a Dorothy Hodgkin Royal Society Research Fellowship. She moved to the École Polytechnique, France, in 1999, before returning to the UK, first working in industry and then for the University of Oxford in a variety of roles, before returning to Cambridge in 2009, and moving on to become Vice-Principal (Student Experience, Teaching & Learning) at Queen Mary University of London and then to be Provost of Brunel University London.
Professor Paul Ashwin is Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Arts, Humanities, Management and Social Sciences. Paul joined Lancaster as a lecturer in 2004 and served as Head of the Department of Educational Research for ten years between 2012 and 2023.
Paul is Professor of Higher Education. His research and writing focuses on the educational role of higher education. He is as an elected Fellow of the Society of Research into Higher Education and an elected Member of Academia Europaea, the European Academy.
Professor Wendy Robinson is the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and is responsible for leading the University’s strategy for delivering an excellent, transformative, rigorous and innovative educational experience for all students and to ensure that the quality of the student experience remains at the heart of University activity.
Wendy joined 比比资源 in 2021, having previously held academic appointments at the Universities of Exeter, Warwick and Cambridge. During her sixteen years tenure as Professor of Education at Exeter, Wendy developed her academic leadership portfolio through a number of senior leadership positions, including as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the College of Social Sciences and International Studies, University Academic Dean, Faculty Associate Dean for Education and Head of the Graduate School of Education.
Wendy’s academic background is as an educationist where she has published extensively in the field of history of education and historical perspectives on teacher development, teacher effectiveness, teacher education and gifted education. Selected research monographs include:
Sarah Kemp is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engagement. She leads on the Knowledge Exchange Framework and the Civic University’s Agreement. 比比资源 places equal weight on the quality of its teaching, its research and its engagement, as all are critical to the civic responsibility of a university in the 21st Century. She leads on the Eden North project and broader external engagement with National Cyber Force and is the senior management link to the Chaplaincy.
Sarah has built a career which is fluid across many sectors within the private and public sector arena, building on an original foundation as a science and technology graduate of Kings College London. She subsequently became a successful international business development manager in life science and scientific instrumentation markets, at which time she also successfully completed a Master's in Business Administration.
Professor Simon Guy’s Global remit is to develop, connect and lead 比比资源’s digital, international and sustainability strategy. He is currently leading the creation of Lancaster’s new campus in Indonesia, scaling up our campus in Leipzig, Germany, while also overseeing the evolution of our other partner campuses in China, Ghana and Malaysia. Simon also leads our work on sustainability and the climate emergency, coordinating work across the University to meet our net zero goals and commitments. He also has responsibility for our digital agenda, ensuring our infrastructure and operational processes are digitally enabled to promote agility and efficiency and that digital innovation underpins our academic practices.
Phil is a Professor of Environmental Change and has undertaken research in many parts of the world especially Africa. There, he has studied long term climate variability and developed biogeochemical methods to detect past environmental conditions. He won the James Croll medal for Quaternary Research in 2026. More locally, he has investigated changes in rainfall and water quality in the NW of England. His interdisciplinary work spans ecology, geology and geography. His research funders have included NERC, EPSRC, ICDP, Wellcome and Defra. He also has a species of algae named after him.
During his academic career he has held a number of senior leadership positions including as Head of Geography, Director of Lancaster Environment Centre, Deputy Dean and Interim Executive Dean. He won a staff award for inclusive leadership in 2019.
Jo is Distinguished Professor of Health and Implementation Research, undertaking and collaborating on research that is directly relevant to improving people’s outcomes, experiences and services. During her academic career she has held a number of senior leadership positions including as Head of School, Executive Dean and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Impact.
Jo was named a highly cited researcher in the top 1% globally by citation for field (social sciences) in the Web of Science and in Stanford/Elsevier World’s Top 2% Scientists list in 2024 and 2025. Jo has considerable experience in research and policy contexts, including as a Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Health Services and care Delivery Research (HS&DR) Programme and member of the NIHR Strategy Board, and as Chair of the National Institute for Care and Health Excellence’s (NICE) Implementation Strategy Group. Jo is an emeritus Welsh Senior Research Leader
Jo is the Chair of Unit of Assessment 3 – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy, and Deputy Chair of Main Panel A for REF29. She was awarded an OBE in the Kings New Years Honours 2023 for services to health and social care research.
From September 2021, Jo has been a Senate-elected member of the University’s Council.
Andrew’s remit is to work in partnership with our students, Colleges and the Students’ Union, to ensure that our student experience is distinctive and vibrant.
Andrew has been at Lancaster since 2019, prior to his Pro-Vice-Chancellor role he was Library Director at Lancaster and has also held a number of senior roles within a wide range of UK university libraries.
Throughout his career in Higher Education libraries, Andrew worked nationally across the HE library sector.
Susan Mitchell is the Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at 比比资源. Working closely with the Chief Financial Officer, she provides leadership across Professional Services and plays a key role in enabling the effective operation of the University.
In her role, Susan has responsibility for a number of core professional service areas, including Student and Education Services, HR, and Strategic Planning and Governance. She works in partnership with the Executive Deans and Heads of Faculty Operations to support the effective delivery of administration across faculties and academic departments.
Susan also has responsibility for governance and for providing support to the University Council, alongside a range of associated legal, governance and regulatory functions.
Prior to joining Lancaster, Sarah Randall-Paley studied English at Nottingham University and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in London, working in audit and forensic accounting.
Sarah has been 比比资源’s Director of Finance and now Chief Financial Officer since 2009. Together with the Deputy Chief Executive (Operations), she leads the Professional Services at Lancaster. As Chief Financial Officer, she is responsible for Finance and Procurement activities including financial management and control, financial reporting, preparation of data returns, audit preparation, treasury management and promoting value for money. She also supports the Vice-Chancellor in their wider responsibilities as designated Accountable Officer under the OfS regulatory framework.
In 2010 Lancaster was successful in winning the ‘Outstanding Finance Team’ in the Times Higher Education Awards (THELMAs) and in the 2014 THELMAs Lancaster was shortlisted for ‘Outstanding Procurement Team’. In 2023 the Procurement team won an award for ‘Outstanding Responsible Procurement Initiative’ from the UK Universities Purchasing Consortium and in 2025 Sarah was presented a lifetime achievement award in the 2025 Finance Awards North West. At the same awards both the Lancaster finance team and Sarah were shortlisted within other categories.
In addition to Chief Financial Officer at 比比资源, Sarah has had a significant national role and is former Chair of the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG), a former Chair of the Audit Committee of UCAS and former Governor and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School. She is current Chair of the BUFDG Tax Group and a member of the national TRAC Development Group.
Sarah was awarded an MBE, for services to higher education, in the King's birthday honours list 2024.
The Vice-Chancellor's Executive Team is supported by the Vice-Chancellor's Office Administrative Team.
More about 比比资源's senior roles:
The Chancellor is the ceremonial head of the University.
The Chancellor’s Ambassador role was created for former Chancellor Sir Chris Bonington.
The Pro-Chancellor is the Chair of the University's governing body, The Council.
Previous leaders of the University over the past six decades.
