Katie Akerman is Head of Quality Management at Bath Spa University. Katie has previously worked in universities in Australia and England, and for the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Katie has been a member of AUA for over ten years, and was one of the first graduates of the Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice. Katie now contributes to the programme as a mentor, trainer and assessor. Katie has contributed regularly to the AUA Annual Conference, and is also a conference session moderator.

Josephine Olasumbo Akinyemi was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She attended the then Kingston Polytechnic, Surrey, England, now Kingston University, where she received a degree in B.Sc (Hons) Chemistry with Business Administration. In Nigeria, Josephine joined the University of Jos as an Administrative Officer and rose through the ranks to the position of Deputy Registrar.  She obtained a Masters degree in Public Administration in 1985 at the University of Jos. As Deputy Registrar in charge of Staff Training and Development, Josephine was a member of several committees in the University. The training and retraining of Administrative Staff is very important to her. In September, 2006, Josephine was appointed as Registrar of the National Open University of Nigeria, a post which she currently holds.

In a career now spanning more than 30 years, Margaret Andrew has worked at the Leeds College of Music, University of Huddersfield, Sheffield Hallam and the Open University in a variety of roles including Academic Registrar. Margaret served on the Executive Committee and Conferences Committee and was Branch Co-ordinator at both Leeds College of Music and at the Open University. In all the institutions she has worked, Margaret has been a strong supporter of AUA through her own membership and as a manager through her sustained support for the professional development opportunities it offers for support staff.

She has frequently represented AUA at the American Association of University Administrators’ (AAUA) annual assemblies, was elected to their Board for two terms of office and became the Chair of its International Committee. This role enabled her to develop the links between the two organisations and support the exchange of ideas and practices across higher education internationally. She is now at Leeds Metropolitan University and currently works in the Institute for Enterprise, a HEFCE funded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning as the Manager.

Over the last 23 years Jayne has worked in a wide variety of roles within higher education, both in a central services departments and also in academic departments and has experienced many of the complexities affecting the HE sector generally. Previous to working in Higher Education Jayne worked in the private sector in various management and administrative roles which facilitated an ability to put into appropriate context issues affecting both public and private sector and applying this experience objectively to current situations. Jayne is passionate about the benefits of AUA, totally committed to the idea of raising AUA’s profile and continues to advocate working towards “chartered” status for the association in the future.

Sue is an Educational Developer at Sheffield Hallam University and a Fellow of the Staff and Educational Developers Association. Since 2005 she has been the AUA Network Co-ordinator for Sheffield Hallam and has presented at both National and Regional AUA Conferences. She was one of a team of nine AUA members selected to go to India as part of the AUA India Study Tour in 2009.

As part of her continuous professional development, she is studying for an MA in Communication and Media Studies and the PgCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.  

Rachel Birds has over 15 years’ experience in the further and higher education sector where she has been involved in the management of teaching, research and knowledge transfer facilities.  Beginning her career in Belgium as an English teacher, she returned to the UK in 1997 and soon afterwards took up her first administrative role at the University of Northumbria.  After four years in Newcastle, she moved on to manage the undergraduate programme at Warwick Business School and then moved again to become Head of Administration in the School of Law at the University of Sheffield.  She currently heads up a specialist bioscience research service at the same institution and is also the Commercial Director of a University of Sheffield spinout company (BioServ UK Ltd.) 

A passionate supporter of AUA for many years, Rachel has been a branch co-ordinator at the UOS since 2006 and was elected to Council in 2008, subsequently becoming one of the Council representatives on the Board of Trustees the following year. 

She holds a masters degree in Management Studies as well as a teaching qualification and the AUA PG Cert in Professional Practice (HE Administration and Management).  Rachel is currently registered as a doctoral student at the University of Sheffield where her research focuses on issues around knowledge transfer and the role of university spin out companies.

Before moving to Queen Mary as Head of Alumni Relations in 1997, Sue Boswell was Head of Secretariat and External Relations at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she was instrumental in setting up the first CUA/AUA Branch, becoming Branch Correspondent for several years. Sue edited the CUA Newsletter for five years during the 1980s (before the days of the AUA national office!), and has served on the AUA Executive Committee and as Chair of the Communications and Publications Committee. Earlier she was very involved in training and development activities in London, and was also active in SCUIO and HEERA (the Information and External Relations officers' associations).

Sue graduated (in French) from UCL, and has a Diploma in Educational Administration from the Institute of Education in London. She was, for a time, a member of the Institute of Public Relations and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Freeman of the City of London. She is also a proud Life Member of the Barts and The London Students' Association! Since September 2007, Sue has been Hon Secretary of the Guild (League of Friends) of St Bartholomew’s Hospital.She also does freelance writing/editing/proofreading, and would welcome expressions of interest!

Sue retired at the end of 2006 as Head of Medical and Dental Alumni Relations at Queen Mary, University of London, but continues as Assistant Editor of perspectives and Series Editor of the AUA Good Practice Guides.

Melissa Bradley has over 11 years experience in higher education as she began her career in March 2000 at the University of Chester. She has been a member of the AUA since 2004 and a Board of Trustees since 2008. She is also a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Melissa is one of the inaugural Faculty Administration Managers at the University of Kent and manages the administration across the academic Schools in the Faculty of Humanities. Prior to her current post, she worked in a number of roles across the University of Chester and the University of Reading including undergraduate and postgraduate administration, quality assurance and School and Faculty administration.

Melissa is the joint lead convener of the Organisational Development Special Interest Group and has been the AUA’s lead contact with HEFCE ‘Improving Performance through wellbeing and engagement’ project and a member of the Steering Group. In addition, Melissa is a member of the local branch team at the University of Kent, which followed her previous Branch Co-ordinator roles at her previous institutions.

Terry Bransbury BSc Hons, PGC, FAUA is the Academic Development Manager at City University London and also the London Regional Coordinator.

Terry became an AUA Fellow in 2005 having joined AUA in 1998. She was a branch coordinator between 2000-05 and has been regional coordinator since 2002. Terry moved into the HE sector in 1995, having previously worked as an HR manager in the oil industry – so was looking for a way to learn quickly about how things worked in across the HE sector, and found AUA to be an excellent tool to help her achieve this through her own personal development. Terry completed AUA’s PG Cert as a way of helping her obtain a more thorough understanding, through critical analysis in assignments as well as becoming a reflective practitioner. Today Terry is still a mentor on the PG Cert and strongly believes in the personal and professional development of administrative staff and through this, the professionalisation of the role of administrators within the HE sector.

“As a regional coordinator, it is great to meet so many people from differing backgrounds and at differing places in their personal journeys within HEIs in London. I feel very privileged to be a Regional Coordinator and a Fellow of AUA.”

Dr Giles H Brown is the Administration/School Manager in the School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol. He was previously a lecturer at Aberystwyth University and held a NERC Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cambridge. He has been actively engaged in the activities, organisation, and strategic development of the AUA since joining in 2002, and was elected to the Association's Board of Trustees in 2007. Since 2005 Giles has served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal 'perspectives-policy and practice in higher education', published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis). Giles' expertise focuses on the professionalisation of leadership, management and administration in higher education.

As head of the Service Quality Unit at the University of Sheffield, Liz Buckton has responsibility for the area of student rights and responsibilities. This includes the management of discipline, complaints and appeals procedures for both taught and research students. Liz has worked at Sheffield University since 1993, mostly in Faculty support (including one year on secondment at the University of Sydney, Australia).

Edith Caulfield joined higher education more than twenty-two years ago. Edith has worked in Queen’s University Belfast for more than four years, prior to this she worked at the University of Ulster (UU) for approximately eighteen years. Whilst working at UU Edith clocked up three degrees, one undergraduate (Business Studies) and two masters (Marketing; and European Law and Policy). Having gained an MA in Marketing with Distinction in 2005 Edith now works in a specialist marketing role in Queen’s University Management School. Prior to this Edith’s role as an administrator in the Ulster Business School covered a wide range of functions and responsibilities including marketing, human resources, faculty governance, admissions, and website. Her experience and qualification in marketing has earned her Chartered Marketer status, and last summer Edith joined the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ireland Board. Edith also sits on the management team of the Academy of Marketing’s SIG in the Marketing of Higher Education. A strong believer in membership of professional bodies and CPD and the benefits this brings to the individuals and institution, Edith continues to support the work of the AUA, and has held the position of AUA Branch Co-ordinator at both Queen’s University and UU.

Christine is the Head of the Student Services Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has worked in Higher Education for over 20 years, generally in registry related roles, but in varied institutions including the University of Westminster, the Royal College of Nursing Institute and the University of London, Senate House.

She was awarded an MA in Industrial Relations from Keele University and maintains both a personal and professional interest in the subject. She has published in the AUA journal Perspectives and also contributed a chapter to book on University and College Management. She continues to research and write about Higher Education and is particularly interested in inter-professional working, changing roles and the organizations that represent workers in Higher Education. She is also a member of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA).

Christine was a magistrate for over seven years on the West Hertfordshire Bench and she says that this role required similar skills and judgement as her university work.

Her membership of AUA precedes its creation as she joined the APA in the early 1990s and was therefore an early member of the newly formed AUA in 1992. She actively promotes membership amongst her colleagues and is a member of the Organising Committee for the Managing Change Special Interest Group. She is currently a member of the AUA Board of Trustees having been elected in 2009.

Ruth Davies has 11 years experience in higher education. She has been a member of the AUA since 2002 and has been a Branch Co-ordinator since 2005 - organising a number of local events and contributing to a number of AUA National Conferences. Ruth is an expert in the area of assessment and has recently moved into a new role within Registry Services at Sheffield Hallam University.

Sue has been a member and strong promoter of the AUA since 1998. She is currently Head of Courses and Awards in the Arts Faculty at the Open University but has also held posts in the Strategy Unit and Student Services. She has been a mentor for the Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice since the start and continues to enjoy mentoring and learning from colleagues in other institutions.

Alun Evans is the Quality & Student Experience Manager in the Faculty of Advanced Technology of the University of Glamorgan.  He worked in the National Health Service and the leisure industry before joining the then Polytechnic of Wales in 1985.  Alun joined the APA (predecessor of AUA) in 1986 and so saw the creation of AUA, being awarded Fellowship in 2007.

Alun has held various posts in the university including manager of the university's Quality Assurance and Enhancement Unit, and was Business Manager in the School of Computing before taking up his current post upon re-organisation of the university's academic structure into faculties.  His main interests at work are quality related, he is currently a QAA Audit secretary, and he wrote an AUA Good Practice Guide on the subject of the external examiner system in 2008.  He has a degree in geology, from Aberystwyth, and postgraduate qualifications in computer science and management from Glamorgan.

As Director of Academic and Student Affairs,Wilma Fee leads a major support service for students and academic matters at Queen’s University Belfast. These divisions provide the framework for the delivery of services to students and for the academic infrastructure for quality assurance and regulation, and student appeals.  The Directorate is also responsible for a purpose-designed Student Guidance Centre, which provides a single point of access and guidance for students, and for a new dedicated International and Postgraduate Centre which opened in June 2010. 

A graduate of both Queen’s University and the University of Ulster, Wilma Fee joined Queen’s University in 1995 as College Administrator for the College of the Humanities, and was Head of the Postgraduate Office before taking up the post of Director of Academic and Student Affairs in May 2006. She is an active member of the national Association of University Administrators, having served as a member of the Executive Committee, the Conferences Committee, and as Regional Coordinator for Ireland. 

A professional University Manager with more than 15 years’ experience of the Higher Education system, Kathy Fowler has been the College Registrar for the College of Physical Sciences at University of Aberdeen since August 2003. In this role she leads the administrative team for one of the three Colleges through which all academic activity is managed at the University of Aberdeen.

Kathy was engaged in the development of a highly successful Northern Research Partnership in Engineering & Related disciplines since its inception in 2006/07 and currently provides the administrative support to the NRP Board and that of the overarching Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering. She is a Board member of the NSRI.

Kathy joined Aberdeen University's Computing Centre in March 1990 as Administrator. In 1992, she was appointed as the first ACT Monitor in Scotland at Foresterhill. ACT is the additional resource made available to NHS Provider units to offset the higher costs of provision of services in teaching hospitals. She then became one of the University’s Faculty Officers, offering support to the Vice Principal responsible for one of four resource centres for the University. From June 2000 she was the Director of Wider Access Policy, heading up the Centre for Lifelong Learning (CLL). Previous employment experience includes working in administration in industry (construction & leisure trades) and in the public sector (Community work project). She was educated at Dinnington High School South Yorkshire, and the University of Aberdeen, graduating with an MA Hons in English. She has undertaken a number of professional development programmes including the UUK Continuing Professional Development Award and the International Leadership Management Development programme.

A professional University Manager with more than 15 years’ experience of the Higher Education system, Kathy Fowler has been the College Registrar for the College of Physical Sciences at University of Aberdeen since August 2003. In this role she leads the administrative team for one of the three Colleges through which all academic activity is managed at the University of Aberdeen.

Kathy was engaged in the development of a highly successful Northern Research Partnership in Engineering & Related disciplines since its inception in 2006/07 and currently provides the administrative support to the NRP Board and that of the overarching Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering. She is a Board member of the NSRI.

Kathy joined Aberdeen University's Computing Centre in March 1990 as Administrator. In 1992, she was appointed as the first ACT Monitor in Scotland at Foresterhill. ACT is the additional resource made available to NHS Provider units to offset the higher costs of provision of services in teaching hospitals. She then became one of the University’s Faculty Officers, offering support to the Vice Principal responsible for one of four resource centres for the University. From June 2000 she was the Director of Wider Access Policy, heading up the Centre for Lifelong Learning (CLL). Previous employment experience includes working in administration in industry (construction & leisure trades) and in the public sector (Community work project). She was educated at Dinnington High School South Yorkshire, and the University of Aberdeen, graduating with an MA Hons in English. She has undertaken a number of professional development programmes including the UUK Continuing Professional Development Award and the International Leadership Management Development programme.

Vikki Goddard is Director of Planning at the University of Liverpool.  As well as leading the University’s Planning function, she has held responsibility for Teaching Quality, Research Strategy and led development of the University’s academic relationship with Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. 

Vikki is currently Chair of the AUA National Planners’ Group, and was a member of the AUA Executive Committee from 1999-2005.

Before joining Liverpool, Vikki worked at the University of Bradford, in Academic Policy, Examinations and Research Management before becoming University Planning Officer. She holds a Masters degree in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Birmingham, and a first degree in European Studies from the University of Bradford.

Jean Grier has been a member of AUA (and its predecessor, CUA) since moving into university administration in 1983. She was awarded Fellowship of AUA in November 2005. Jean in the author of four Good Practice Guides (with a fifth in press) and two book chapters, has served on the AUA Executive and co-chaired the AUA Professional Development Committee, and has represented AUA at the AACRAO Conference. Jean has been Associate Editor of perspectives since January 2010. A regular presenter at AUA Conference, Jean also runs full day professional development workshops for AUA and for over 40 institutions across the UK and Ireland on a range of topics including Committee Servicing and Minute Writing, Chairing Successful Meetings, Writing a Business Plan and Report Writing.

Christopher Hallas is Director of Student Affairs, University of Greenwich.  During a twenty year career in HE management and administration he has worked across the sector, in a number of institutions and in different roles.  He has particular interests in the professionalisation of HE management and administration and the development and delivery of dynamic student services.

After an early career in Local Government, Westminster City Council, Christopher transferred into the HE sector.  While working at City ofLondon Polytechniche experienced the transformation of the former polytechnics into what were known then as “new universities”, now more frequently referred to as the “post-1992 universities”.  Later, while Head of Registry Services at London Guildhall University, he experienced the merger of that institution with the University of North London, to become London Metropolitan University in August 2002.  During the implementation of merged operations Christopher was the principal manager with responsibility for the planning and resources issues associated with the creation of a new, merged student administration.  As Academic Registrar atUCLhe has responsibility for the development of Registry services and in particular the development of new service methods.

Christopher became a member of the AUA upon taking up his first role in HE and has been actively involved in the activities of the association since then. Christopher was elected to Vice-Chair of AUA in 2009, and took up the role of Chair of AUA in August 2010. Christopher is also an active member of the Academic Registrar’s Council (ARC).  He is also a Member of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), a member of the Public Management and Policy Association (PMPA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

Helen Higson started working in HE in 1983 at Southampton University.  In 1985 she moved to Aston University where she has worked for the past 25 years.  She started in a secretarial role in the Pro-Vice-Chancellors’ Office, spent 20 years as a member of the administrative team in Aston Business School, and is currently Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor.  In 2008 Helen Higson was appointed Professor of Higher Education Learning and Management.  Helen obtained MA degrees from Cambridge University and the Open University and a PhD from Birkbeck College, London.  She has been a member of the AUA since 1988 and is currently a mentor for the Postgraduate Certificate.

John Hogan is Registrar at Newcastle University where he is responsible for the full range of the University's professional support services. The Registrar is a unitary post with explicit responsibility, to Council through the Vice-Chancellor, for co-ordinating all elements of the University's professional support services. He is secretary to Court, Council and Senate, and his staff service many other Senate and Council committees and the main faculty committees.

He was previously Academic Registrar and then Registrar and Secretary at Durham University. He was awarded a DPhil in History from the University of Sussex and commenced his career in higher education management at the University of Warwick, where he held various posts including working in the International Office and Graduate School.

Liz Hudswell was a teacher of Modern Languages for 10 years before embarking on a career in higher education in 1998 when she joined what is now Buckinghamshire New Universityas a Faculty Registrar.  In 2000 she moved to the University of Southampton to take up the post as Manager of the newly created Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS).  She has been working at LLAS ever since and is now Assistant Director with responsibility for directing all operational aspects of the centre.  The centre has been involved in promoting the value of language education to policy makers and students in schools, colleges and universities as well as supporting language teaching and learning in all sectors of education.  Liz joined the AUA in 1998 and has been involved in the association ever since.  Particular highlights have included working with colleagues inSouthamptonto organise the 2002 AUA conference and mentoring colleagues undertaking the Professional Development Award. 

Sara is Head of Equality and Diversity Services at the University of Ulster where she has now worked since the early 90s. Prior to returning to Northern Ireland to take up a post at Ulster, she lived and worked in Edinburgh. She is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and of Napier University Edinburgh, where she studied English Language and Literature and Human Resource Management respectively. Sara’s area of expertise is equality and diversity – she developed the University’s first single Equality Scheme in 2003 and continues to work across all equality themes. She has sat on a number of external committees and boards both in N Ireland and in Britain, and is currently the Chair of the Equality and Diversity Special Interest Group

Helen Matthews started her career in local government, but has worked in a number of institutions in the HE sector since 1995. Her professional qualifications include a Diploma in Management as well as the AUA Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice (higher education administration and management). She is currently Departmental Administrator in the History Department at UCL. She became actively involved in the AUA when she joined the former Communications and Publications Committee in 2000, and has performed a number of other roles, including Special Interest Groups Co-ordinator, Covenor of the Departmental Administrators Special Interest Group and has co-written a good practice guide on Departmental Administration. In her spare time she is trying to complete a PhD on illegitimacy in Medieval England.

Mike Miller began his career in higher education administration in January 1971. After holding posts in 3 of the ILEA polytechnics, he was appointed Academic Registrar of the Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster) in 1981. From 1984 to 1988 Mike was Academic Secretary at the City Polytechnic (now City University) of Hong Kong, then he returned to Royal Holloway, University of London, initially as Academic Registrar and later as College Secretary. He retired in April 2003, and since then has remained professionally active, undertaking interim management roles and various consultancy and other assignments. Mike has been a Specialist Assessor for the PG Cert since 2003. He also edits the Leadership Foundation’s Governance web site for HE governors.

Mike has a longstanding commitment to professional development. He was part of a small team which organised and presented development programmes under the auspices of MUPAL, and was also active in APA.

Michelle Morgan is Learning and Teaching Coordinator at University of Kingston. Up until recently, she was also the Student Experience Manager for Engineering. During her career she has been a senior faculty administrative manager, researcher and academic. Her various roles have given her good insight into academic and support working practices. Michelle is a highly respected student experience practitioner both nationally and internationally. In 2004 she was 'Highly Commended' in the Association of University Administrators (AUA) Inaugural National Excellence Awards, in recognition of her outstanding achievements in higher education, management and administration in the field of the student experience especially orientation and induction. In 2005, she was presented with a special award by the Students Union on behalf of the student body at University of Sussex in recognition of her work in supporting students and their experience. In 2009, she was made a Fellow of the AUA.

As University Secretary at Edge Hill University since 2007 and Clerk to Governors since 2009, Lesley Munro has responsibility for academic administration.

Nationally, Lesley chairs the Higher Education Bursaries and Scholarships (HEBSS) Steering Group for the sector and is a member of the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA) and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) Employers Pensions Forum.

With a firm commitment to the development of the administrative profession within higher education, Lesley was a founder and executive member of the Association of Polytechnic Administrators (APA) and has been an executive member of its successor body, the Association of University Administrators (AUA).  She is a mentor for the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Administration.

Jayne has worked in the Higher Education sector for over twenty years and has been an active member of AUA since 2001. Jayne has been Branch Co-ordinator for the University of Wales, Lampeter and is currently Branch Coordinator for Queen’s University Belfast. Jayne is also the Ireland Regional Coordinator.

Jayne began her career at University of Wales, Lampeter where she held a variety of roles both within a School setting and the Academic Registry. She then moved to Swansea University to work in the Postgraduate Office before returning to Lampeter as Assistant Registrar in 2004. Jayne moved to Queen’s University Belfast in 2006 to work for the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She now works for the School of Pharmacy in the role of Teaching Administrator.

Jayne is fully committed to the AUA and works closely with the National Office and other Branch Co-ordinators across Ireland to develop both local and regional AUA events, which provide support to current members as well as promoting the benefits of AUA membership to potential new members.

Ann commenced working in the University of Portsmouth in 1998 to take on a role as a Personal Assistant. Over the next twenty years she continued to develop in her role, taking opportunities to undertake further administrative and managerial studies to become a senior administrative professional, managing a team of 30+ staff.  Following an opportunity to develop and run a Foundation Degree for Administrators working in Education, Ann became a full-time  member of academic staff. She have always ensured that she took professional opportunities as they arose in order to expand her knowledge of the educational environment and is now studying for a Doctorate in Education researching the hybridisation of professional roles and how these work in university structures. 

Ann is a BC, mentor and assessor for the AUA, an External Examiner for another Foundation Degree in Administration, a Graduate of the Institute of Personnel Management and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Ian is retired but active as a churchwarden where some of the skills acquired during 37 years in the profession come in handy!

Mike Ratcliffe is Director of Academic & Student Affairs at Oxford Brookes University. Mike was previously at what is now the University of Winchester, where he was the Registrar and Clerk to the Governors, progressing to that role through activities such as acting as the inaugural AUA branch correspondent. A graduate of the University of Leeds, he has been the Chair of its Convocation (alumni association) and a member of its Council.

Mike has offered sessions at the last few AUA conferences on the Idea of the University and other historical aspects of universities and has embarked on a PhD to attempt to professionalize this.

Peter Reader has been Director of Marketing and Communications at the University of Portsmouth since March 2008. A graduate of the University of Leeds, he has held posts in six UK universities, including Director’s posts in Southampton and Bath.

Previously a member of AUA’s Executive Committee and of the Perspectives Editorial Board, Peter holds the unique distinction of being the founder chair of the Higher Education External Relations Association (HEERA), a Past President of the European Universities Public Relations and Information Officers Association (EUPRIO) and the founding chair of the Association of Commonwealth Universities’s PR, Marketing and Communications Network, holding the last positionuntil November 2010. He has contributed to numerous HE conferences and events, and is the joint author of the AUA Good Practice Guide Weathering the Storm: Crisis management in higher education.

Caroline Rushmer heads up a team offering a shared service to two directorates at Oxford Brookes University: Learning Resources and Oxford Brookes Information Solutions.  The team provides support in administrative, HR, health and safety and facilities management across both directorates over three campuses.  Caroline has previously worked in a number schools at Brookes and recently completed a 3 month secondment to the University’s Senior Management Team.  As a passionate advocate of personal development and active member of AUA she has been Branch Co‑ordinator at Brookes for 10 years and has created an active and vibrant branch with regular lunch time speakers  Caroline was also a member of the AUA Membership and Communications Committee and Jubilee SLWG.  She is a member of Council and PG Cert Mentor and has been a contributor at the AUA Annual Conference.  Having completed the PG Cert herself, she then went onto obtain an MSc Management and Leadership (for Higher Education) at Loughborough University.

Christopher has nearly 16 years practical experience of management in higher education both at faculty and central organisational levels at a million + university and his special interest is the professionalisation of administration in higher education and particularly the improvement of the management of change. Before working in higher education Christopher worked for the Civil Service, Local Government and the Kings Fund as administrator, political advisor and facilities manager.

Christopher is a Project and Programme management professional (Qualified PRINCE 2 Foundation and Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner) with practical experience of their use in a higher education institution.

In addition, he is a qualitative researcher and completed a professional doctorate in Business Administration in 2009. His practical thesis ‘Managing in the middle, the practice of managing change in English universities’ led to him establishing the Association of University Administrator’s (AUA) Managing change in higher education Special Interest Group (he is the Convenor). Chris is currently Project Manager at London Metropolitan University.

Maureen is an ex-Chair of the AUA. Her first degree is in Economics and Politics from Loughborough University and she has an MA in Higher and Professional Education from the Institute of Education, University of London. Maureen is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a Fellow of AUA (FAUA).

Maureen was closely involved with the development of the AUA postgraduate certificate from its inception in 2000, as well as leading on the development of AUA Continuing Professional Development Framework, funded by HEFCE’s LGM fund and launched in 2009. She is also a partner in a HEFCE funded project with Universities HR, entitled Intersect. A firm believer in the professionalisation of university administration and management, she is committed to the continued success of the AUA in the United Kingdom. She is the author of several publications dealing with aspects of professionalism for university managers and administrators. She is also the author of a publication for AUA’s sister organisation in the United States, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) on “The Educational System of the United Kingdom: the admission and placement of students from the United Kingdom and study abroad opportunities.” She has made presentations at several conferences in the UK, as well as the United States and Australia.

Ewa has worked in different roles within higher education both in academic departments and central services.  She has spent most of her working life at Plymouth University where she has actively promoted AUA membership among her colleagues, particularly in further education colleges in the South West.  Through this work she was instrumental in Plymouth being awarded the AUA Branch Good Practice Award in 2008.

Ewa has been an active member of AUA for over 10 years.  She convened the Partnerships Special Interest Group (which she led for 4 years), presented a session about HE in FE at the 2009 Annual Conference and is a mentor on the Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice.  She has an MA in English and an MBA.  She was awarded the Fellowship in 2008.

I have been a member of CUA/AUA for over thirty years now including a long spell as Branch Correspondent and a very short one as Overseas Correspondent for New Zealand.  I was awarded Fellowship in the first round, back in 2006.

Dr Webber is the University Secretary at Edinburgh Napier University where he is currently responsible for Corporate Governance, Facilities Management, Estates and Capital Development, the IT infrastructure and Learning Information Services. Dr Webber is also the University Safety Officer; Home Office Certificate Holder; Director and Company Secretary of NUVL (the University’s trading company); Trustee of the University's Development Trust; Chair of the University’s Information Systems Development Committee; Chair of the Infrastructure Development Committee; Chair of the Risk & Resilience Committee; and Chair of the Joint Consultative Committee, through which the University consults formally with Trades Unions.

 He has worked previously at the University of Edinburgh as Director of Planning, and at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in research and faculty management. He is currently the Convenor of the Scottish Universities Secretaries' Group and a member of the UK Executive Committee of the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA). In addition, he is a governor of Carnegie College. 

Andrew West is Director of Student Services at the University of Sheffield. His remit has a wide scope covering the student 'journey' - including student recruitment, admissions, student records/registry and student support services. Andrew was a member of the Board of Trustees of the AUA until August 2011, and was Vice-Chair from August 2010 to August 2011. He is a member of the Executive Committee of AMOSSHE. Andrew takes a particular interest in staff development issues and from 2007-09 he chaired the national AUA project group to develop a CPD framework for professional services staff in HE. Andrew also holds an appointment on the HE Advisory Board of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. Andrew has published a number of professional journal articles on HE administration and management issues, including a recent chapter on strategy and quality in student services, within a new guide to best practice in student affairs, launched by UNESCO at their 2009 global HE conference.

Michele undertook many roles at Bristol Polytechnic and then the University of the West of England from 1977 until taking early retirement in May 2011. Appointed originally as a bilingual secretary, she retired as Deputy Academic Registrar (Student Administration); her responsibilities along the way included Admissions Officer, Examinations Officer, Timetabler, committee officer, teaching foreign shorthand in three languages, and all aspects of staff management and leadership, always passionate about staff development.

 A member of the AUA since 1980, she became Branch Coordinator in the late 80s. She was a member of the local coordinating committee for the annual conference in Bristol in 1995. She has been a session moderator, a member of Conferences Committee, session leader at conference. Michele is currently a mentor on the PGCert, a proofreader for the Bulletin, the SW Regional Coordinator and RC representative on Council.

Michele organised the first Golden Jubilee Regional Conference in January 2011.

Dr Celia Whitchurch is Lecturer in Higher Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, having held administrative and management positions at the Universities of Kent, London, Birmingham and King's College London. She has written extensively on professional identities, higher education policy and management, and management development. Her current research interests include the changing roles and identities of professional managers in higher education, and the emergence of mixed identities across professional and academic domains. She was the founding editor of perspectives: policy and practice in higher education, and is now an editor of Higher Education Quarterly.