Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
I am the youngest of two boys who grew up in Bletchley in Buckinghamshire. I was the first member of my family to go into Higher Education. I graduated from the University of Warwick in 1988 with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. My first graduate job was as a research psychologist at Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School before I moved on to join Camden and Islington Family Practitioner Committee where I assisted GPs in finding new surgery premises.
I relocated from London to Brighton and through the 1990’s I held a variety of posts at the University of Brighton and then the University of Sussex. In 1991 I joined the Academic Office of what was Brighton Polytechnic at that time, and I saw it transition from being regulated by the Council for National Academic Awards to acquiring its own degree-awarding powers when it became a university in 1992. Since 2002 I have held the post of Medical School Secretary at BSMS.
I live in Falmer Village with my partner Jason who is a former opera singer and now practises as a singing teacher. I have a curious mind and a wide range of interests which include current affairs, art and nature, gardening, fair-weather cycling and walking our two dogs Venus and Morgan.
What brought you to BSMS and what did your career look like until that point?
I was on secondment in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office at the University of Sussex in 1999 when the opportunity to establish a new medical school came along. Having worked previously in a medical school, the NHS and the University of Brighton I guess I was in the right place at the right time. I helped to put the initial bid for BSMS together and supported making the whole thing a reality once we knew our bid had been successful. I subsequently applied for and secured the post of Medical School Secretary in 2002 and I have not found the time to do anything else since.