University of Brighton begins search for next Vice-Chancellor

The search for a successor to Professor Debra Humphris CBE, who joined the university as Vice-Chancellor in 2015, is being led by the university’s Board of Governors. It is envisaged that the next Vice-Chancellor will take up their post by July 2025.

Under Professor Humphris’ leadership the University of Brighton has cemented its reputation as a place where students from all backgrounds can achieve their full potential, with outstanding results in terms of graduate employability and career prospects.

Brighton is in the top 30% of universities for graduate earnings, with more than eighty per cent of graduates in highly skilled roles fifteen months after completing their studies. Each year, around 5,000 Brighton students move into the world of work, including 1,000 who go into health and social care roles in the NHS.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Debra Humphris CBE

Prior to moving into higher education, Professor Humphris spent 20 years working in the NHS having originally qualified as a Registered Nurse. She has continued to teach students on nursing courses throughout her time at the University of Brighton.

In a message to students and staff today, Professor Humphris announced that she will be bringing forward her retirement to September 2024 to care for her partner, who has late-stage dementia. Professor Andrew Lloyd, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, will be interim Vice-Chancellor from September until a permanent successor is in place.

Reflecting on her time leading the university, Professor Humphris said: “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to be the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton.

“Every day, I come to work knowing that I get to work with amazing, talented, inspiring colleagues and students. I get to see the incredible work our staff do to support and enable our students to realise their full potential. And I get to see our brilliant Brighton graduates making their mark on the world – whether that’s here in our city, across the UK, around the globe, or even now in space!

“This university will always be a very special place for me. I feel deeply proud of our students, past and present, and of my colleagues’ dedication to them and their future success. I am truly humbled to have been a part of the University of Brighton’s evolution.”

Professor Humphris continued: “I know the university will be in safe hands under Andrew’s interim leadership and I wish the next Vice-Chancellor every success in taking this amazing institution on the next steps of its journey.”

Ben White, Chair of the University of Brighton’s Board of Governors, said: "I would like to thank Debra for her outstanding leadership of the University of Brighton through a period of unprecedented challenges for the higher education sector.

“Her dedication and commitment to the university, and her belief in the power of education to transform lives and realise potential, have been instrumental in the university's ability to navigate periods of significant change without compromising on its central mission.

“We are incredibly grateful for Debra’s service and wish her all the very best in the future. The search for a new Vice-Chancellor is now underway, and we look forward to welcoming a new leader to build upon the strong foundations that Professor Humphris has put in place."

During Professor Humphris' time at Brighton, the university has undertaken a major programme of investment to provide modernised and new facilities for students and staff. This includes the transformation of the university’s biggest and busiest campus at Moulsecoomb, including new halls of residence, new academic buildings and new leisure facilities. Further work is under way to improve and expand facilities at Falmer campus, which will become a new hub for sport, health and education courses from this September as part of the university’s consolidation on its three Brighton campuses.

The University of Brighton was recently awarded a Silver Award in the National Teaching Excellence Framework in recognition of the high quality of its teaching and student outcomes, and also achieved positive results in the most recent REF and KEF. The university also rose by 22 places in the most recent Guardian University Guide 2024 and by 13 places in the Complete University Guide 2024.

A career in public service

Professor Humphris joined University of Brighton in December 2015 from Imperial College in London, where she held the positions of Pro-Rector (Education) and Vice-Provost (Education) between 2012 and 2015.

From 2000–2012, Professor Humphris worked at the University of Southampton, progressing through a number of director roles to Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education).

Professor Humphris’ roles in the NHS include Senior Research Fellow at the South Thames Regional Health Authority, and at St George’s Hospital Medical School. She achieved her PhD in 1999, which considered the implementation of policy into clinical practice.

Professor Humphris’ achievements led to her being named in 2018 as one of the 70 most influential nurses and midwives during the first 70 years of the NHS. In the same year, she was also – and exceptionally for a professional outside medicine – elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

That healthcare experience proved invaluable during the pandemic, when Professor Humphris’ knowledge and leadership in the local community allowed her to help shape vital decisions in Brighton & Hove City Council’s COVID response, including enabling University of Brighton staff and students to assume frontline roles such as paramedics, pharmacists, nurses, doctors and social workers.

Throughout her time at the University of Brighton, Professor Humphris has worked with leaders from across the higher education sector to advocate for the needs of students and staff. She served as Chair of University Alliance, Chair of the Student Policy Network and is a board member of Universities UK.

As an openly LGBT senior leader in higher education, Professor Humphris is passionate about equality and diversity and has spoken of her pride in leading an institution which champions these values.

Professor Humphris was appointed CBE in King Charles III’s first Birthday Honours in July 2023. Her honour, for services to higher education and the NHS, comes after 45 years of public service.