Directorate

Dr John Cater is the Vice-Chancellor of Edge Hill University, having been appointed in 1993. As a social geographer, he has published extensively on family origin, housing, economic development and public policy and co-authored major research studies for the Social Science Research Council, the Commission for Racial Equality and their successor bodies.

He was a Director of the higher education Careers Service from 1994-2013 and was Chair of Liverpool: City of Learning from 2003-2005. He chaired the Standing Conference of Principals from 2001-2003, having been Vice-Chair from 1997-2001. He was a Director of the Teacher Training Agency and its successor body, the Training and Development Agency for Schools, from 1999-2006 and chaired both the Accreditation and the Audit Committees. He is also the Chair of the Guild HE/Universities UK Teacher Education Advisory Group. He was a member of Department of Health’s Expert Advisory Panel on Nurse Education and Training from 1995-97, and has sat on Universities UK’s Health and Social Care Committee since 2004. He also represented all Vice-Chancellors on the Joint DH/DfE Social Work Reform Board. He represented the sector on HEFCE’s Good Management Practice Panel from 1999-2003, and sat on both the HEROBaC and HEIF1 and HEIF2 Panels.

He is past Chair of the Knowsley 14-19 Collegiate Consortium and the Greater Merseyside and West Lancashire Lifelong Learning Network, and a former member of the QAA’s Advisory Committee on Degree-Awarding Powers.

Steve Igoe is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Edge Hill University. Steve first joined the University in 1996. Within his role, he has responsibility for the operational areas of Capital Projects, Financial Services, Human Resources, IT Services, Library and Learning Services, Strategic Policy & Planning, and Facilities Management. He is also a Director of a number of Edge Hill’s commercial enterprises. Steve chairs the Health and Safety Committee, Costing and Pricing Steering Group and Teaching and Support Staff Consultative and Negotiating Committees (CNC’s) and the Academic Planning Committee.

Graduating with a first degree in Law from the University of Liverpool, he subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1988 and went on to become a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, with specific expertise in project management and advising listed PLCs on Corporate Governance and Risk Management. He was a member of the HEFCE Risk Management Advisory Group, responsible for drafting risk management guidance for the higher education sector. He has assessed funding bids for the HEFCE Good Management Practice Initiative and was a member of the HEFCE Board Sub–Committee advising on Leadership, Governance and Management matters for the sector.

Steve served two terms as a member of the Higher Education Regulatory Review Group ( HERRG) advising the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) on the regulation of the higher education sector. He was a founding Director and Company Secretary for the North West’s largest regional Metropolitan area network, Net North West for six years. Steve is a past chair of the North West Consortium Higher Level Teaching Assistants Board (PRIME) and was a Trustee of Respiratory Education UK, a charity providing respiratory education for healthcare professionals, as well as a member of the governing body of a local NHS Foundation Trust. He was  a Non–Executive Director and Senior Independent Director at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and chaired their Audit Committee and Integrated Governance and Risk Committee. Steve was appointed as a Non–Executive Director to the Board of Wirral NHS Foundation Trust  from 1 October 2018. He is Chair of the  Audit Committee and Safety Management Assurance Committee  and is  the Senior Independent Director.

Lynda joined Edge Hill University as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) & University Secretary in April 2014. Her portfolio includes responsibility for Academic Registry, the Academic Quality Development Unit, the Centre for Learning & Teaching, Directorate Office and Student Services.

Before joining Edge Hill, Lynda spent 12 years at the Open University (the OU) in a variety of roles. Between 2005 and 2011 she was Regional Director for the OU in the North West, leading the team responsible for supporting the OU’s 25,000 students studying in the region. From 2011 onwards, Lynda was Director of the Learner Support Service, an institution-wide role with responsibility for a range of information, advice and guidance and operational services to enable more than 200,000 students to achieve their study goals.

Before joining the OU, Lynda worked for seven years at Liverpool John Moore’s University where she was a Principal Lecturer in Law and Head of the Legal Practice Course.

Mark joined Edge Hill as Pro Vice-Chancellor (External Relations) in August 2014. Before joining Edge Hill he was the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Regional Consultant for the North West. Prior to this he held a number of senior university roles including UK and international student recruitment, marketing and external affairs, enterprise and knowledge transfer, student services, development and alumni. He also jointly created and was a non-executive director of a university spin-out technology company. Originally with Unilever, Mark has also run his own business and been a Director of a Chamber of Commerce.