Biography of Sir Howard Newby

The HEFCE Board appointed Sir Howard Newby as the Council's Chief Executive from October 2001.

Before taking up his post at HEFCE he was vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton, moving from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), where he was first Chairman (1988-94) and then Chief Executive (1994).

His other academic posts include professor of sociology at the University of Essex and visiting appointments in Australia and the United States. From 1980-83 he was professor of sociology and rural sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sir Howard has published many books and articles on social change in rural England and was for eight years a Rural Development Commissioner, a member of the Government body responsible for the economic and social regeneration of rural England. From 1983-88 he was director of the ESRC Data Archive, a national facility for storing and disseminating computerised datasets for use by researchers in the public and private sectors.

In August 2001, Sir Howard ended a two-year term as president of Universities UK, the UK body which represents the university sector. His year-long presidency of the British Association ended in September 2002.

Sir Howard was awarded a CBE in 1995 for his services to social science and a knighthood in 2000 for his services to higher education.

Sir Howard was born in 1947 and grew up in Derby. He now lives in South Gloucestershire.