Anthony Forster (political scientist)

Last updated

Anthony Forster
Anthony Forster, June 2012 (cropped) (cropped).jpg
Forster in 2012
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex
Assumed office
2012
Salary£309,941 (2021–22) [1]
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1985−1991
Rank Captain
Unit Royal Corps of Transport

Anthony William Forster, FRSA FAcSS FHEA (born 19 May 1964) is a British political scientist and former British Army officer. He is the current vice-chancellor of the University of Essex and was previously deputy vice-chancellor of Durham University.

Contents

Early life and education

Forster was born on 19 May 1964 in Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England. [2] Attended Denstone College in Staffordshire 1977 to 1982. Sponsored by the military in the form of an undergraduate cadetship, he graduated from the University of Hull in 1985 with a BA (first class) in politics. [3] [4] [5]

After completing six years of military service, he studied Politics (European Politics and Society) at St Antony's College, Oxford, from 1991, obtaining his MPhil in 1993. [3] He remained at Oxford to undertake further research in European politics, and completed his DPhil in 1996 at St Hugh's College, Oxford. [3] [6]

Career

Military service

From 1985 to 1991 Forster served as an officer in the British Army. [3] [4] On 2 September 1983, he was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Transport as a second lieutenant (on probation) (Undergraduate Cadetship). [7] After graduating he began his full-time military career as a second lieutenant (on probation) in July 1985, with the service number of 517900. [8] His commission was confirmed and he was promoted to lieutenant on 7 July 1985 with seniority from 9 April 1985. [9] He was promoted to captain on 9 April 1989 [10] but left the British Army on 1 May 1991, then being appointed to the reserve of officers. [11]

His military service came at the end of the Cold War, and he completed several postings to West Germany. [4] In 1990 he was deployed to Namibia as a British military adviser to the government of the newly independent nation. [4]

Academic career

Forster began his academic career while a postgraduate student at the University of Oxford. He was a lecturer at St Hilda's College, Oxford, from 1985 to 1986. He later held positions at the University of Nottingham (1996–2000), King's College, London (2000–2002) and the University of Bristol (2002–2006). From 2006 he worked at Durham University and from 2011 held the positions of deputy vice-chancellor and honorary professor of politics. [3]

In 2012 Forster was appointed as the vice-chancellor of the University of Essex, where he has presided over reforms that seek to emphasize the university's commitment to education and teaching, as well as to research, alongside a strategic goal of increasing student numbers by 50 percent by 2019. [12] [13] He was criticized in 2014 by author and academic Marina Warner, after she resigned from the university, who argued that decision-making power at Essex had been handed to administrators at the expense of academics. [14]

In August 2023, Forster announced his intention to retire in July 2024. [15]

D-Notice system review

In 2014 Jon Thompson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, asked Forster to chair an independent review to examine the efficacy of the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee and DA-Notice system. The review was completed in 2015. [16] [17] [18]

Other appointments

Forster is an Executive Board Member for the Young Universities for the Future of Europe Alliance (2019-) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) (2020-). Forster has been a board member and director at the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (2008-2014); a board member and trustee for animal welfare charity Blue Cross (2012–17); a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England Teaching and Student Opportunity Strategic Advisory Committee (2015–18); a board member of the Higher Education Academy (2016–18); [19] a member of South East Local Enterprise Partnership's strategic board (2016–19); [20] and a board member of the Equality Challenge Unit (2017–18). [21]

Honours

In 2009, Forster was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS). [22]

Selected works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)</span> Head of the British Army

The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board; he is also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). Since 1959, the post has been immediately subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the post held by the professional head of the British Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Smith (political scientist)</span>

Sir Steven Murray Smith, FAcSS, FRSA is an English international relations theorist and long serving university leader. He is the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Exeter and Professor of International Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhikhu Parekh</span> British political theorist (born 1935)

Bhikhu Chotalal Parekh, Baron Parekh, is a British political theorist, academic, and life peer. He is a Labour Party member of the House of Lords. He was Professor of Political Theory at the University of Hull from 1982 to 2001, and Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Westminster from 2001 to 2009. He served as president of the Academy of Social Sciences from 2003 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Howard (historian)</span> English military historian (1922–2019)

Sir Michael Eliot Howard was an English military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University, and founder of the Department of War Studies, King's College London. In 1958, he co-founded the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Keith Gilbert Robbins was a British historian and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales, Lampeter. Professor Robbins was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and Magdalen and St Antony's College, Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noel Annan, Baron Annan</span> British intelligence officer and historian (1916-2000)

Noel Gilroy Annan, Baron AnnanOBE was a British military intelligence officer, author, and academic. During his military career, he rose to the rank of colonel and was appointed to the Order of the British Empire as an Officer (OBE). He was provost of King's College, Cambridge, 1956–66, provost of University College London, 1966–78, vice-chancellor of the University of London, and a member of the House of Lords.

Sir Michael James Paul Arthur FMedSci is a British academic who was the tenth provost and president of University College London between 2013 and January 2021. Arthur had previously been chairman of the Russell Group of UK universities and the vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds between September 2004 and 2013.

Professor Paul William Wellings CBE DL FRSN FRSA FAICD is an Australian/British ecologist and long serving university leader. He is notable for his past service as Vice-Chancellor of University of Wollongong (2012-21), Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University (2002-12) and Deputy Chief Executive of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (1999-2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Seldon</span> British educator and historian (born 1953)

Sir Anthony Francis Seldon is a British educator and contemporary historian. As an author, he is known in part for his political biographies of consecutive British Prime Ministers, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. He was the 13th master (headmaster) of Wellington College, one of Britain's co-educational independent boarding schools. He was vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham from 2015 to 2020, when he was succeeded by James Tooley. In 2009, he set up The Wellington Academy, the first state school to carry the name of its founding independent school. Before that, he was head of Brighton College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Pearce</span>

Dame Shirley Anne Pearce is a British academic and psychologist. She is Chair of Court and Council at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a member of the Higher Education Quality Assurance Panel for the Ministry of Education (Singapore).

Sir David Stephen Eastwood,, is a British academic and long serving university leader who was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham between 13 April 2009 and December 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Gillies</span> Former Principal of Glasgow Caledonian University

Professor Pamela Gillies is a Scottish academic and educator who served as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University from March 2006 until January 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve West (podiatrist)</span>

Sir Steven George West is a British podiatrist, the vice-chancellor, president and chief executive officer of the University of the West of England since 2008. He holds a number of national and international advisory appointments in higher education, healthcare policy and regional government.

David Andrew Phoenix is an English biochemist and Chief Executive of London South Bank University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Curtice</span> British political scientist

Sir John Kevin Curtice is a British political scientist who is currently professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research. He is particularly interested in electoral behaviour and researching political and social attitudes. He took a keen interest in the debate about Scottish independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Riordan</span> British academic (born 1959)

Colin Bryan Riordan is a British academic who has been President and Vice-Chancellor at Cardiff University since 1 September 2012.

Rebecca Bunting is the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire. She took office on an interim basis in January 2020 and was appointed permanently in October 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Boyle</span>

Paul Joseph Boyle, is a British geographer, academic, and academic administrator. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester between 2014 and 2019. He had been Professor of Human Geography at the University of St Andrews from 1999 to 2014, and Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) from 2010 to 2014. He took over as Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University at the end of the 2018/2019 academic year.

Paul John Layzell, is a British academic, academic administrator, and software engineer. Since August 2010, he has served as Principal of Royal Holloway, University of London. He is also Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of London and Treasurer of Universities UK.

Alan Christopher Walker, CBE, FBA, FRSA, FAcSS is a British academic, social scientist and public health administrator. Since 1985, he has been Professor of Social Policy and Social Gerontology at the University of Sheffield.

References

  1. "Essex Financial Statements 2021–22" (PDF). Essex Financial Statements. Essex. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  2. 'FORSTER, Prof. Anthony William', Who's Who 2017 , A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 9 Sept 2017
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Professor Anthony Forster FHEA FRSA AcSS". Curriculum vitae. University of Essex. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Parr, Chris (18 April 2013). "V-c applies military lessons in leadership". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  5. "Professor Anthony Forster FHEA FRSA AcSS". Profile. University of Essex. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  6. "New Vice-Chancellor appointed". News. University of Essex. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  7. "No. 49532". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 November 1983. p. 14705.
  8. "No. 50515". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 1986. p. 6489.
  9. "No. 50527". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1986. p. 7097.
  10. "No. 51696". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 April 1989. p. 4293.
  11. "No. 52531". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 May 1991. p. 7433.
  12. "Foreword", Strategic Plan, 2013–2019, University of Essex, pp. 2–3.
  13. Richard Garner, "Does Essex University still live up to its radical reputation?", The Independent, 14 January 2015.
  14. Marina Warner, "Diary", London Review of Books , 36(17), 11 September 2014, pp. 42–43
  15. "Reflecting on the past 11 years", University of Essex Blog , 4 August 2023
  16. "Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Notice System". dsma.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  17. Simon Bucks, "The D-notice is misunderstood but its collaborative spirit works", The Guardian, 2 August 2015.
  18. "DA-Notice System Relaunched", News Media Association, 4 August 2015.
  19. "Higher Education Academy - Board" . Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  20. "Our strategic board | South East LEP". www.southeastlep.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  21. "Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster | University of Essex". www.essex.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  22. "Professor Anthony Forster". Equality Challenge Unit. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Durham University
2011 to 2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex
2012 to present
Incumbent