New roles for Richmond President in higher education sector

The President and Vice Chancellor of Richmond American University London, Professor Phil Deans, has been appointed recently to two highly prestigious roles in the international higher education sector.

Professor Deans has been appointed to the on the Board of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA),  one of the world’s leading bodies in quality assurance which works to benefit students and higher education.   The QAA is trusted by higher education providers and regulatory bodies around the world to maintain and enhance quality and standards. Students are involved in all aspects of the QAA’s work as the organisation liaises with governments, agencies and institutions globally to benefit UK higher education and its international reputation. Professor Deans will use his knowledge of small and specialist independent providers of higher education in the UK and experience of working with similar bodies in the USA, China and Japan to advise and support the work of the QAA.

The second new role for Professor Deans is election as the Vice President of the Association of American International Colleges and Universities (AAICU). The Association was founded in 1971 by a group of college and university presidents with a desire to share information in an informal setting, to encourage collaboration and to share resources among schools and universities which share many issues in common.  There are 23 Regular Members and eight Associate Members within the AAICU.  In addition to Richmond American University London, the Regular Members include The American University in Cairo, The American University of Beirut, The American University of Paris, John Cabot University (JCU) and The American University of Rome as well as the Central European University and other institutions across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Both of these roles are effective now, and Professor Deans continues in his role as a board member of Independent HE, the UK membership organisation and national representative body for independent providers of higher education, professional training and pathways.

More details will be shared on any key initiatives over the coming months.