Bristol Business School | Bristol Law School blog

UWE Bristol awards an honorary degree to Lord Michael Bichard

Faculty of Business and Law | 20 July 2016

Lord Michael Bichard has been awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration in recognition of his service to Government.

The Honorary Degree was conferred at the Awards Ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law on Tuesday 19 July 2016 at Bristol Cathedral.

Michael Bichard was born in Southampton where his father was a school caretaker. He studied law at Manchester (and subsequently social sciences at Birmingham) and began a career in Local Government in Reading. He became Chief Executive of the London Borough of Brent aged 32 and then became Chief Executive of Gloucestershire County Council. With considerable reluctance he left the County to lead the Governments Benefit Agency then responsible for £100 billions of public money. To his surprise he was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Employment Department when that post was, for the first time, advertised publically and then became Permanent Secretary of the merged Employment and Education Department shortly before the 1997 Election. In that role he worked closely with the Prime Minister and David Blunkett to deliver education reforms which were the centre piece of Labour’s first term. In 2001 he decided to do something completely different and for the next seven years was Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Arts, London, the largest creative arts learning centre in Europe.

During this period, he also chaired the inquiry into the Soham murders; chaired the Legal Services Commission and the Design Council. He became the first Director of the Institute for Government in 2008 and is now Chair of the National Audit Office, the Social Care Institute for Excellence and the Shakespeare Globe. He was knighted in 1999 and appointed as a Crossbench member of the House of Lords in 2010 where he is now a Deputy Speaker. He had lived in Gloucestershire on and off for 30 years and is now settled with his wife Gillian in Nailsworth. He has had contact with UWE Bristol since he came to Gloucestershire and recently agreed to chair the faculty advisory board for the Business School. He has been an active supporter of Manchester United for fifty years and is glad to see the end of the current season!

Faculty of Business and Law attracts regional business leaders to new advisory team

Faculty of Business and Law | 8 July 2016

Donna Whitehead, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean at UWE Bristol’s, Faculty of Business and Law has unveiled an impressive new advisory team of 21 regional business leaders.

The new FBL Faculty Advisory Board has been assembled to look at how the new Faculty and its new £50m building can serve the needs of the region and its economy.

Business leaders from the region’s financial, commercial, legal, public and health sectors are represented on the panel. They are:

Chair – Lord Bichard, Chairman of the National Audit Office

Barbara Davies, Former CEO – West of England Local Enterprise Partnership

Bonnie Dean, CEO – Bristol and Bath Science Park

Chris Nott, Senior Partner – Capital Law

Clive Hetherington, Ex-Area Director – Lloyds Bank

Dame Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO – Mitie Group

David Relph, Director – Bristol Health Partners

Iain Lovatt, Founder and Chairman – Blue Sheep

Jason Sprague, Management Consultant – ASE Consulting

John Moriarty, President – Bristol Law Society

Karl Brown, Senior Associate – Clark Willmott

Katherine Bennett, Vice-President – Public affairs – Airbus

Keith Probert, MD – Viimi

Luis Garcia, CEO – Bristol Water

Nicola Yates OBE, City Director – Bristol City Council

Peter Rillett, Chairman – North Bristol Trust

Phil Smith, MD – Business West

Rick Sturge, President – ICAEW

Sarah Pullen, MD – Trinity Mirror

Simon Gibson, CEO – Wesley Clover

Vanessa Moon, Moon Consulting

Donna Whitehead, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law says, “We’re delighted by the calibre of our new advisory board and the leadership experience they bring will stand the Faculty in good stead to drive forward our new strategy to make our provision meet the needs of employers and ensure that we forge an international reputation for business and law at UWE Bristol.”

Lord Bichard, Chair of UWE Bristol Faculty of Business and Law advisory board, says, “To be effective universities must work hard to stay close to business; build strong partnerships with local and nationally significant employers; show that they value and respect the voice of industry and look for ways of making their knowledge and research base more accessible to business. This is a partnership of genuine mutual benefit.”

Students are set to benefit from state-of-the art facilities, as the new building for the Faculty of Business and Law draws a step closer to completion. With completion due for January 2017, the new building will include: two showcase law courts, a city trading room, a 300 seat lecture theatre, two Harvard lecture theatres, a number of smaller teaching spaces, IT suites, flexible social learning spaces, external business engagement space, central social space and café.

New Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of FBL appointed

Faculty of Business and Law | 18 September 2015

DonnaWhitehead

Donna Whitehead, currently Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business and Society at the University of South Wales has been appointed as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at UWE Bristol (the University of the West of England).

Donna brings a wealth of experience to UWE Bristol from her current and previous roles.

The Faculty of Business and Society at the University of South Wales, where Donna is currently Deputy Dean, has three schools: the South Wales Business School; the School of Law, Accounting and Finance; and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. In previous roles Donna was Head of School for the School of Law, Accounting and Finance (first at the University of Glamorgan and then at the University of South Wales) and Team Leader for the Law School at the University of Sunderland.

Much of Donna’s current role is externally facing, including representing the university and Welsh government in the financial and professional services sector in Wales and beyond as well as collaborating with Welsh government and employers to drive new business in Wales and for the University. Donna was responsible for developing the innovative MSc Financial Services Management degree in collaboration with four key employers in Wales.

Donna worked for the law professional bodies as a JASB representative for a number of years; she has held the role of trustee of the RCT Citizens Advice Bureau and has been a member of the Confederation of South Wales Law Societies. Recently she was a member of the QAA Law Benchmark Review Group. Donna acts as a mentor for senior leaders within and outside of the University.

Donna is passionate about creating an excellent student experience and has led initiatives in this area including the use of lecture capture software, the launch of a Legal and Financial Advice Clinic and has worked collaboratively with colleagues to improve NSS results. Donna has an interest in quality assurance and enhancement and has acted as chair of Faculty quality assurance committees at her current and former institution and has led her Faculty in their recent QAA review.

Speaking about her appointment Donna says, “I am really excited about working with my new colleagues to deliver the objectives set out in the 2020 plan. FBL has some excellent practice already taking place and I’m looking forward to helping to build that further. The new build for the Faculty will be wonderful and should really enhance the student learning experience.”

Professor Jane Harrington, Deputy Vice Chancellor, at UWE Bristol says, “We are delighted that Donna will be joining us and we are looking forward to working with her on our ambitious plans for the Faculty. UWE, Bristol prides itself on an excellent student experience delivered through practice led curriculum which enables students to experience work both within the university and through placements and internships during their study with us. We are really pleased to welcome Donna to the university, sharing our passion for excellence in learning and teaching and the student experience”

Donna has a first degree in law from the University of Sunderland and an MPhil from the University of Newcastle. She also holds the Legal Practice Course and the New York Bar examinations as qualifications. Donna is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Donna’s teaching and research interest is family law and in particular, assisted reproduction and parenthood.