Deian Hopkin
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Sir Deian Rhys Hopkin (born 1 March 1944) was from 2001 until 2009 Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of London South Bank University, England. He is an historian, originally from Wales and a fluent Welsh speaker. Born and educated in Llanelli, West Wales, he attended the first ever Welsh-medium school to be established by a local authority, followed by a scholarship to Llandovery College. He graduated in history at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth where he also completed his PhD. After a brief period at Queen Mary College, London, he returned to the Department of History at Aberystwyth where he taught for twenty four years and became Head of Department; for most of that time he was also a tutor at the Open University and was seconded to the OU to develop new courses. In 1991 he was appointed Dean of Human Sciences at City of London Polytechnic which became, in 1992, London Guildhall University (now London Metropolitan University). He was promoted to Vice-Provost in 1996.
He is actively involved in educational policy and, in particular, the skills agenda of the UK. He is co-chair of the HE Progression Board for the Department for Children, Schools and Families [1] He is the HE Champion for the 14-19 Diploma[2] and is HE Champion of the Apprenticeship programme. He is a Board member of Foundation Degree Forward[3] and the Campaign for Learning, and a Patron of Tower Hamlets Summer University, Southwark Theatres and Education Partnership (STEP), the Bishopsgate Institute and Hillcroft College for Women.
He is Vice Chairman of CARA, the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics[4] and also a member of the Scholars at Risk - CARA Network, which provides support internationally for refugee scholars and academics. He was until 2009 Chairman of the UNIAID Foundation, the national charity supporting students in financial difficulty which has now merged with the Brightside Trust.[5]
He has published on Labour and press history and on the use of computers in history, and was co-founder of the Association for History and Computing and founding editor of Llafur, The Journal of Welsh People's History, of which he is now a Vice President [6] He has extensive broadcasting experience and was a member of the BBC General Advisory Council, the Educational Broadcasting Council for Wales and for many years a member of the Court and Council of the National Library of Wales, where he still serves as an adviser to the Welsh National Political Archive. He is a Trustee of the Institute of Historical Research Development Trust, University of London and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Times Higher Education.
Hopkin is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, as well as a Freeman of the City of London, the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and the Company of Educators[7]. He has been elected an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and awarded an Honorary D.Litt by Glamorgan University[8]. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and has been awarded a Fellowship of the City and Guilds Institute of London[9]. He was knighted in the 2009 Birthday Honours.[10]
In 2009 he was appointed interim Vice-Chancellor of the University of East London[11].
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2006_0186
- ^ http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/news/newsarchive/478575/
- ^ www.fdf.ac.uk/files/fdfBoardMinutes310507.doc
- ^ http://www.academic-refugees.org/council-of-management.asp
- ^ www.uniaid.org.uk/profile.asp?Id=40
- ^ http://www.llafur.org/aboutus.htm
- ^ http://www.guildofeducators.com/
- ^ profile.glam.ac.uk/awards/honorary/
- ^ http://www.cityandguilds.com/cps/rde/xchg/cgonline/hs.xsl/13193.html
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59090, p. 1, 13 June 2009.
- ^ http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408421
