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Nicola Dandridge

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Dame Nicola Whitmont Dandridge DBE was the Chief Executive of the Office for Students between July 2017 and April 2022.

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours List for services to higher education and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours, also for services to higher education.

She was previously Chief Executive of Universities UK.

Early career

Dandridge originally qualified as a lawyer, initially working in the City before moving to Glasgow to requalify in Scotland where she worked for 10 years specialising in equality law. She was educated at Oxford, London Metropolitan and Glasgow universities and found them all "completely outstanding".

Equality Challenge Unit

From 2006 to August 2009 Dandridge was Chief Executive of Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) who promote the equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education across all four nations of the UK, and in colleges in Scotland.

Whilst at ECU Dandridge restructured their work to focus on the equality implications of key issues for the higher education sector, such as research assessment, admissions, work placements, governance and internationalisation.

Universities UK

On 1 September 2009 Dandridge became the Chief Executive of Universities UK (UUK) replacing Diana Mary Warwick, Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe.

Whilst in post, Dandridge chaired a Taskforce to examine violence against women, harassment and hate crime affecting university students, with a focus on the issue of violence against women and sexual harassment.

Dandridge's support for optional gender segregation in universities received much scrutiny in the British media in late 2013; the shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, said in a radio interview that he was "horrified" by Universities UK's position, and promised to make segregation illegal should the Labour Party come to power.

Following an intervention from Prime Minister David Cameron, Dandridge announced that UUK had withdrawn their previous guidance which stated that gender segregation should be allowed if requested by the lecturer and students.

Office for Students

In July 2017 Dandridge was announced as the inaugural Chief Executive of the Office for Students, a new public body created as part of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to regulate the higher education sector. Having previously led the higher education sectors lobbying group UUK, there were questions as to whether her appointment was "poacher turned gamekeeper". Since being in post, Dandridge has been critical within the media of vice-chancellor salaries, grade inflation and unconditional offer making.

Publications

  • Age Discrimination at Work. With Patrick Grattan (co-author). London: Institute of Employment Rights. 2006. OCLC 77556389.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

References

  1. "Chief Executive of new Office for Students announced - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  2. "Nicola Dandridge to leave OfS in April 2022". 9 November 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  3. "No. 61256". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2015. p. B9.
  4. 2015 Birthday Honours List
  5. "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N9.
  6. "New Year Honours List 2023: High Awards". 30 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  7. Our Senior Team, universitiesuk.ac.uk. Accessed 30 December 2022.
  8. "Nicola Dandridge: 'We have to be very lean, flexible and fit as". Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022.
  9. Equality Challenge Unit website
  10. Nicola Dandridge named as new Chief Executive of UUK
  11. Universities UK appoints new Chief Executive. Accessed 30 December 2022.
  12. Taskforce to examine violence against women, harassment and hate crime affecting university students, universitiesuk.ac.uk. Accessed 30 December 2022.
  13. There is no place for violence and harassment on a university campus, nor anywhere else, says Nicola Dandridge, the Chief Executive of Universities UK and chair of the taskforce, iGov News, 1 December 2015.
  14. Gender segregation not 'alien to our culture', says Universities UK chief, The Guardian, 12 December 2013. Accessed 9 February 2013.
  15. "Universities UK withdraws advice on gender segregation in lectures". The Guardian. 13 December 2013.
  16. "Chief Executive of new Office for Students announced". Department for Education. 5 July 2017.
  17. "University poacher turned gamekeeper sets sights on vice-chancellors' pay". The Guardian. 10 October 2017.
  18. "Vice-chancellor salaries are 'out of kilter', says Nicola Dandridge". 10 January 2018.
  19. Turner, Camilla (19 December 2018). "Universities warned to curb 'spiralling' grade inflation". The Telegraph.
  20. "Clampdown on luring students with unconditional offers". BBC News. 25 January 2019.
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