David Watson wins lifetime achievement award
16 October 2009
Sir David Watson, Professor of Higher Education Management at the Institute of Education London has received the prestigious Times Higher Education Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the past 40 years he has championed teaching quality, scholarship and interdisciplinary studies, and was a major force in broadening the reach of higher education. He has been in the forefront of national and international thinking on universities and civic engagement
Geoff Whitty, Director of the IOE, said: "Through his writings, lectures, seminars and workshops around the world, David has helped the HE system to understand itself and what it can become. Over the past 40 years his work has played a major role in making UK Higher Education what it is at its best: a system which gives more people the chance to make university education a formative part of their lives; where innovation in teaching and learning is the norm; and where institutions are actively building partnerships and relationships with wider communities."
Sir David joined the Institute in 2005 after 15 years as Director and Vice Chancellor at the University of Brighton. He now directs the IOE's highly-regarded MBA in HE Management.
He has played a leading role on many key higher education development bodies and inquiries, most recently as chair of the National Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning. He also worked closely with the late Lord Dearing on his HE reviews. Introducing Sir David's retirement lecture at Brighton, Ron Dearing said; "I have taken on a number of very difficult tasks in higher education over the years. I did so because I was confident that David Watson was there."
From the start of his career as an historian and teacher, Sir David was involved in developing modular undergraduate programmes, which expand access, notably at Oxford Polytechnic. Among his achievements at Brighton was the creation of the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, a pioneering venture between two local but different universities and the NHS. Brighton became a leading modern university under his direction.
His fourteenth and latest book, due out next month (November) is The Question of Morale: Managing Happiness and Unhappiness in University Life (Open University Press). Sir David has collaborated on university leadership projects in countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Japan and the US. At home he has received seven honorary doctorates.
His latest accolade, the THE Lifetime Achievement Award, was announced at the annual THE Awards on 15 October.
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