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Our structure and organisation

The University of Bradford is governed through its Court, Council and Senate.

The University has an Executive Board who oversee the strategic direction of the University. The Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellors, Academic Deans and non-Academic Directors make up the Executive Team.

Chair of Council

Rod Bristow

Chair of Council

Rod Bristow, Chair of Council, smiling

Rod Bristow joined us on 1 October 2024 as the new Chair of Council, succeeding John Hinchcliffe, who served as our interim Chair since May 2023.

In his role as Chair, Rod brings a wealth of experience and expertise from the education sector, having held senior executive roles at FTSE100 global learning company Pearson PLC between 1992 and 2021, including four years as President. He is also a Visiting Professor at University College London Institute of Education. 
 
Rod currently chairs the Academic Advisory Board for Kortext, a UK based e-learning provider. He is an experienced non-executive, having been a member of the Confederation of British Industry President's Committee and a Fellow for the Royal Society for the Arts.

Sabina Adam - Executive assistant

Email
s.adam3@bradford.ac.uk
Phone
+44 (0) 1274 234371
Rod Bristow, Chair of Council, smiling

Chair of Council

Executive Board

Vice-Chancellor

Professor Shirley Congdon

Vice-Chancellor

Shirley Congdon, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bradford.

"Shirley’s priority is to engender a vibrant culture for staff and students reinforcing the University’s commitment to excellence in teaching & learning, research, knowledge exchange and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Having lived and worked in the Bradford City Region for ten years she is committed to positioning the University at the centre of the region’s social and economic regeneration."

Shirley is responsible for the leadership and management of the University of Bradford, leading the development of its values and strategy.  Shirley is the eighth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford and is the first woman to hold the role.  Shirley has significant experience of working in higher education championing the quality of the student experience, widening participation, engagement with business and communities and advancing the quality of research and innovation.

Originally qualifying as a Registered Nurse, Shirley’s professional and academic expertise lies within the area of health and social care, service modernisation and cultural change, research methods and evidence-based practice.  She has a strong track record in all aspects of university leadership, having worked within the field of higher education for 25 years and held senior roles in three different universities.

Shirley is committed to value led leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion, increasing social inclusion and mobility through widening participation in higher education; opening up opportunities and unlocking potential for people of all backgrounds. 

A tireless ambassador for students, she is committed to ensuring that they get the best possible education and support that leads to a rewarding career after they graduate.  Her number one priority is to place the student experience at the heart of all aspects of University activities.

Shirley is the Executive Board champion for Religion/Belief issues.

Contact details

Helen Hague
Senior Executive Services Support Manager/Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor.

Shirley Congdon, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bradford.

Vice-Chancellor

Executive team

Professor Sherif El-Khamisy

Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

A head and shoulders portrait image of Sherif El-Khamisy smiling at the camera.

Sherif is a ‘life’-scientist with over 25 years’ experience in the higher education sector, focusing on research, innovation, translation and commercialisation.

He is trained as a pharmacist followed by a PhD in genomic medicine from the University of Sussex, then post-doctoral training at St Jude Hospital in the US. Working with the Nobel Laureate Zewail in Caltech, Sherif established and directed one of the first medical genomics research centres in the MENA region. In 2018, Sherif co-founded the Healthy Lifespan Institute at the University of Sheffield. Sherif moved to the University of Bradford in 2020 as the Director of the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, then Associate Dean of Research, and then took up the PVC role in 2024.

Sherif is responsible for the leadership and management of the University of Bradford Research and Innovation ecosystem. Sherif has significant experience of working in higher education here in the UK and in the MENA region, championing the quality of research and innovation, student experience, engagement with the government and private sectors.

Sherif’s core technical background is in genomic medicine with a broader economic focus through working with senior executives and stakeholders. He is a Wellcome Trust Investigator, a Fellow of the Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine and sits on UKRI and Wellcome Trust funding panels. His work in biology and medicine is published in journals such as Nature, Cell and Science. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and his work has been recognised by AstraZeneca (UK), Caltech (USA), Awards of Excellence in Medical Sciences from the Shoman Foundation (Jordon) and the Wellcome Trust (UK).

Sherif is committed to value-led leadership, whereby building trust, equality, diversity and inclusion are the at the cornerstone of strategic developments to unlock the potential of people from all backgrounds.

Kate Bedford - Executive Assistant

Email
k.j.bedford@bradford.ac.uk
Phone
01274 233231
A head and shoulders portrait image of Sherif El-Khamisy smiling at the camera.

Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Professor Udy Archibong MBE

Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Pro Vice-Chancellor Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Uduak Archibong is the Pro Vice Chancellor [Equality, Diversity and Inclusion], directs the Centre for Inclusion and Diversity and provides strategic oversight for equality, diversity and inclusion [EDI] across the institution. She obtained a BSc (First Class) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria in 1990, a PhD from Hull University in 1995 and promoted to Professor of Diversity with a cross-disciplinary and institutional portfolio in 2004. She is a Fellow of the West African College of Nursing and a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing.

Recognised as a foremost authority with a sustained, distinguished presence in the field of diversity management, she is currently leading in setting agenda to drive research, learning and knowledge exchange activities internationally and has published extensively on inclusion and diversity.  Informed by over 30 years’ experience of working in the health and higher education sectors, her academic and professional work has major impacts locally, nationally and globally. Key among these impacts is that the body of her research work has provided the evidence base for, and a robust understanding of, the development and application of cultural solutions and diversity interventions in public, private and third sector organisations.

She is at the forefront of transforming organisational culture for sustainable diversity and inclusion approaches. Her research has provided a unique international definition of positive action and application for representational and participative diversity. She led to completion a major multi-million European Commission funded gender equality research project, GENOVATE, across 7 European Universities and led the EDI elements of a multi-million European Horizon 2020 project, RRING, in collaboration with 20 international partners.  Her research projects - Disrupting the disproportional disciplinary proceedings in the UK NHS and Cracking the concrete ceiling for the advancement of UK BME Academic staff have made a major contribution to shaping the agenda on race equality, and informed global debates on systemic racism and other forms of structural inequality.

A multi-award winner, Uduak has been honoured as one of the top 100 Nigerians in the UK to receive a Centenary Award, one of the top 50 Inspirational Women in Healthcare in the UK, a Distinguished Nurse Leader in 21st century in Nigeria, and one of the 70 most outstanding Nigerians in the UK Health Sector. She featured in Northern Power Women Power List, 2019 and Phenomenal Women - Portraits of UK Black Women Professors in 2020. She was listed in the Black WHO'S WHO in the Millennium. 

She was listed in the New Year Honours list 2015 and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to higher education and equality.

Uduak Archibong Tweets: @Uduakarchibong1

Register of interests

  1. Occasional consultancy for NHS and other organisations
  2. Affiong Etuk Foundation for Inclusive Health, registered with Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria
  3. Royal College of Nursing
  4. West African College of Nursing
  5. American Academy of Nursing
  6. University and College Union
  7. National Athena Swan Governance Committee
  8. Bradford City Wide Equalities Group
  9. Chartered Management Institute
  10. The Cellar Trust
  11. European Commission

Executive Board Register of Interests 2025/26 (PDF, 115KB).

Contact

Email
U.E.Archibong@bradford.ac.uk
Phone
01274 233816

Kellie Barnes - Executive Assistant

Email
k.a.young1@bradford.ac.uk
Phone
(+44) 1274 236448
Pro Vice-Chancellor Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Paul Watson

Provost and Director of Student Experience and Teaching Excellence

A portrait of Paul Watson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning, Teaching and Student Experience

Paul joined the University in November 2017. He has led the creation of the Directorate of Learning, Teaching & Student Experience which brought together the previously dispersed functions of educational development, academic quality, student support, careers, and learning resources. His team provides support to Faculties in all aspects of course design, delivery, and enhancement including the operation of the Bradford:Fellowships professional development scheme accredited by Advance HE.

Before joining Bradford, Paul was the Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching in the Faculty of Design, Arts and Humanities at Teesside University, and before that Head of their English Studies Department. His research interests focused on the issues of popular culture and the politics of representation and he is widely published in the area of music video, cinema, and gendered identity.

Paul is an Executive Board champion for Gender Equality.

Executive Assistant, Sabina Adam

Email
s.adam3@bradford.ac.uk
Phone
01274 23 4371
A portrait of Paul Watson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning, Teaching and Student Experience

Provost and Director of Student Experience and Teaching Excellence

John Parr

Interim Chief People Officer

John Parr - Interim Chief People Officer

John joined the University in October 2025. After graduating from the University of Birmingham, he began his career in HR and worked in manufacturing companies that include Shell and Cadbury for 20 years.

In the late 1990s he decided to begin a freelance career as an interim manager. Thanks to his experience of working with change and transformation, banks and insurance companies became interested in his work, taking him to places like Russia, China and Mexico.

When changes started to take place in higher education, he began working with universities, beginning with the University of Lincoln, and followed by University of Coventry and others, including Queen’s University in Belfast and UCL in London.

He now brings his wealth of HE experience to Bradford to help ensure successful change includes integrity and support.

John hails from the northwest, and supports Liverpool F.C.

Executive Assistant, Katrina Jennings

Email
k.jennings@bradford.ac.uk
John Parr - Interim Chief People Officer

Interim Chief People Officer

Executive Deans

Professor Rob James

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management, Sciences and Engineering

Profile image of Professor Rob James

Rob is a muscle physiologist who obtained his BSc and PhD at the University of Leeds. After four years of postdoctoral research at the University of St Andrews he started as a lecturer at Coventry University. His teaching was focused on biomechanics and muscle physiology. He undertook various leadership roles at Coventry including Dean of Faculty, overseeing substantial growth in programmes and student numbers, Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Research).

Rob is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a chartered scientist (CSci) and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB). Rob was the Society for Experimental Biology lead for Biomechanics. His main research focus is to utilise physiological techniques, such as the work loop technique, to better understand the effects of temperature, obesity, ageing or drugs on muscle performance.

Rob is also the Executive Board advocate for Wellbeing and Mental Health.

Register of interests

  1. Heads of University Biosciences (HUBS) Executive Committee
  2. Royal Society of Biology
  3. Royal Society of Biology’s Diversity and Inclusion Network
  4. Society for Experimental Biology
  5. Physiological Society
  6. Chartered Scientist

Executive Board Register of Interests 2025/26 (PDF, 115KB).

Contact details

Kate Bedford
Executive Assistant

Profile image of Professor Rob James

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management, Sciences and Engineering

Dr William Martin

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care

A head and shoulders profile image of William Martin smiling at the camera.

Dr William Martin has been at the University of Bradford for 15 years. William is an organic chemist who obtained his BSc and PhD at the University of Nottingham. After postdoctoral research at the Technical University of Berlin and Oregon State University, he spent a short period in the pharmaceutical industry synthesing small molecules for drug discovery. He returned to academia in 2009 as a lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Bradford, and quickly became programme lead for the chemistry programme.

One of his biggest successes was launching degree apprenticeships in chemistry, and being part of the Trailblazer group that progressed the chemistry apprenticeship agenda nationally. William was also co-chair of the University’s branch of the University and College Union (UCU) for several years.

Register of interests

  1. Royal Society of Chemistry
  2. Higher Education Academy

Executive Board Register of Interests 2025/26 (PDF, 115KB).

Contact

Email
w.martin@bradford.ac.uk

Susan Shergill – Executive Assistant

Email
s.shergill@bradford.ac.uk
Phone
01274 236408
A head and shoulders profile image of William Martin smiling at the camera.

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care