Baroness Shephard to watch over IOE council
02 March 2010
Baroness Shephard of Northwold has joined the Institute of Education London (IOE) as chair of its council.
The former Conservative Secretary of State for Education and Employment has succeeded Lady Elizabeth Vallance JP PhD, who chaired the Institute's Council with distinction for nine years and has reached the end of her permitted terms of office.
With an early career in teaching and education management prior to her time in local and central government, Baroness Shephard says that an involvement with the Institute was a natural association for her. The Institute's work at the interface between poverty, deprivation, health and education is meeting an important need, as are its leadership and teacher training programmes, says Baroness Shephard.
The Institute's portfolio of research, teaching and knowledge transfer activities is "extremely relevant" to some of the most significant challenges facing the UK and other societies. "That is why I am very optimistic about the Institute, because the research they do is extremely valuable and necessary for any government."
"Obviously, as chairman I will be concerned not with those wonderful exciting issues, but with governance," she says. "Governance has to be good enough to let all that excellent work flourish. And I shall be following an excellent chairman in Elizabeth Vallance."
Geoff Whitty, Director of the IOE, thanked Lady Vallance for her dedication and significant contribution to the Institute, and welcomed Lady Shephard. "We could not have hoped to find a more qualified, knowledgeable or enthusiastic successor" he said. "Gillian Shephard has worked as a practitioner and policy maker and has spanned all age groups and areas."
"We can't think of a better person to help us lead the Institute in sustaining the excellence, relevance and impact of our work in the future."
This week she will be addressing graduation ceremonies at the Institute.
Gillian Shephard was Education Secretary and then Secretary of State for Education and Employment from 1994-97. She has been a teacher, school adviser, a county councillor and a lecturer, and has an MA in modern languages from Oxford.
An MP for South West Norfolk from 1987-2005, Gillian Shephard was created a life baroness in June of that year. From 1997-8 she was shadow leader of the House of Commons and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and Regions from 1998-9.
Editors' notes
Press contacts
Diane Hofkins, interim IOE press officer, 020 7911 5423 d.hofkins@ioe.ac.uk James Russell, press assistant 020 7911 5556 j.russell@ioe.ac.uk or Tania Rhodes-Taylor, Head of Marketing and Development, 020 7911 6244, t.rhodestaylor@ioe.a.uk
The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice. In 2008 the Research Assessment Exercise judged almost two-thirds of the work submitted by the IOE was internationally significant, and 35 per cent was regarded as "world leading". The IOE is a member of the 1994 group.