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James Mackenzie Fraser CBE (born July 1948) is a former university administrator who was the first principal and vice-chancellor of the University of the Highlands and Islands, in the north of Scotland. He held senior management roles in Scottish educational institutions for over 23 years, [1] working at three colleges that went on to achieve University status. [2]
Fraser was born in July 1948. [3] He was brought up in Inverinate, near Kyle of Lochalsh, he was educated at Plockton High School in Ross-shire under the reign of Sorley MacLean, the Scottish Gaelic poet. [4] Fraser studied at the University of Edinburgh and graduated in 1971 with a MA honours summa cum laude in mental philosophy, having also been a class medallist in moral philosophy and metaphysics. [1] During his working life, he completed a master's degree in education and a further education teaching qualification.
Fraser began his career as a lecturer in English and liberal studies at the former Inverness Technical College, now Inverness College UHI. During this time, he was an active member of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and was elected to the newly formed Highland Regional Council Education Committee as one of three teacher members representing Further Education staff.
He took up an administrative post in the Academic Registry of the University of Stirling in 1977 and gained promotion to assistant registrar three years later. From 1972 to 1979 Fraser also worked part-time with The Open University as a tutor on some on its arts foundation and other courses in the faculty of arts.
In 1987 Fraser was appointed secretary of Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh. In 1989 Fraser took up the position of secretary of Paisley College of Technology. The college was granted university status as the University of Paisley. Fraser remained there until 2002 and during his time there the organisation went through much change: expanding its student numbers, undertaking a building programme and merging with the former Craigie College of Education in Ayr.
In September 2002 he was appointed as secretary of the UHI Millennium Institute. [5] [6] In January 2007 his post was redesignated as deputy principal-secretary of UHI. Fraser became UHI principal in October 2009, following the retirement of Professor Robert (Bob) Cormack. [7] In February 2011 the UHI was awarded university title and became the University of the Highlands and Islands. [1] Fraser became the university’s first principal and vice-chancellor, with academic robes being presented to him at a special ceremony being held to celebrate the event in August 2011. [8] [9]
While in this position Fraser spoke about the need to consider alternatives to traditional models of educating students. [10] Speaking to Times Higher Education he said: “Our networked delivery and technology must bring a social enrichment to learning that overcomes the constraints imposed on our students by geography.” [11] He gave the University's Christmas lecture in December 2013. [12] before he retiring as principal. [13]
He was a member of the Commission on the Delivery of Rural Education, set up by Scottish Government and COSLA which published a report in April 2013. [14]
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to higher education in Scotland and to the Free Church of Scotland. [15]
The University of Stirling is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthrey Castle estate.
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands.
David John Stewart is a Scottish politician who served as convener of the Public Petitions Committee from 2011 to 2016. A member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2007 to 2021 and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber from 1997 to 2005.
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay. Sabhal Mòr is an independent Academic Partner in the federal University of the Highlands and Islands. Its sole medium of instruction on degree courses is Scottish Gaelic.
Sir William Kerr Fraser was a British civil servant, who served as Permanent Secretary at the Scottish Office, and as Principal and later Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 12 colleges and research institutions spread around the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Perthshire regions of Scotland. UHI offers further education, undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes which can be studied at a range of locations across the area and online. It has 31,000 students, including 19,779 further education students and 11,210 higher education students.
Inverness Royal Academy is a comprehensive secondary school in the city of Inverness in the Highland area of Scotland.
UHI North, West, and Hebrides is a further and higher education college in the Western Isles of Scotland. The main campus is in the grounds of Lews Castle, Stornoway. The college also has two learning centres in Benbecula and Barra. The college is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
UHI Inverness is one of the thirteen partners that make up the University of the Highlands and Islands, based in Inverness in the Highland council area of Scotland. A new main building at Inverness Campus was opened in August 2015, with most students and staff now located there. UHI Inverness has a second campus at The Scottish School of Forestry, based near Balloch. UHI Inverness is a tertiary organisation providing education to school pupils, and at further education, higher education and postgraduate levels, together with training for apprentices and a wide range of short courses for business. Student accommodation is also available on the new campus.
Blazin' Fiddles are a contemporary Scottish fiddle band from the Highlands and Islands. They formed in 1998 to showcase Scotland's distinct regional fiddle styles. The band have a number of awards, including; the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Live Act of the Year, Album of the Year and Folk Band of the Year. Their records are released on their own indie Blazin' Records label. They have been described as "...the Led Zeppelin of the Folk World."
UHI Perth provides further education and higher education in the city of Perth, Scotland, through a main campus and by distance learning.
North Highland College provides further education and higher education in the north of Scotland through a network of learning centres and by distance learning. It is a constituent college of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Sir Graham Hills was a physical chemist, principal of the University of Strathclyde, and a governor of the BBC. He was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and educated at Westcliff High School for Boys and Birkbeck College, London. He was knighted in 1988 for his services to education.
Robert Cormack FRSE is a Scottish emeritus professor who retired in late 2009 from the UHI Millennium Institute. He taught at Queen's University, Belfast where his service spanned the troubles in Northern Ireland. He became a leading specialist and author on equal opportunities, discrimination and public policy in Northern Ireland.
Sir Alistair George James MacFarlane was a Scottish electrical engineer and leading academic who served as Principal and Vice Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and Rector, University of the Highlands and Islands.
Moray College is a further education college based in Elgin, in Moray, northeastern Scotland. It has 1,500 full-time students and 8,100 part-time students. It employs approximately 370 staff and is a college of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
John Bradford Finnie is a Scottish Greens politician. He was the Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021, having previously sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member from 2011 to 2012 then as an independent from 2012 to 2016.
The Inverness Campus is an area in Inverness, Scotland. 5.5 hectares of the site have been designated as an enterprise area for life sciences by the Scottish Government. This designation is intended to encourage research and development in the field of life sciences, by providing incentives to locate at the site.