UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 19 JANUARY 2023
Birmingham City University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Philip Plowden has announced he will retire from his role in December 2023 after more than six years of overseeing the University’s significant growth.
“It has been a real privilege to lead BCU, and this decision has not been an easy one,” said Professor Plowden. “I have always said that BCU is a unique and special institution – there is no other quite like it – and I am as proud to be Vice-Chancellor of BCU now as I was when I took on the honour in August 2017.
“While it will come as a huge wrench for me to leave this position, the timing feels right. We have achieved many of the aspirations set out in our 2025 Strategy and as we now look increasingly to our new strategic ambitions, for 2030 and beyond, it makes sense for someone else to steer that process from an early stage.
During his tenure, Professor Plowden has led BCU in its vision and mission to transform lives as the University for Birmingham, ensuring its growth from 24,575 students in 2017/18 to 31,341 in 2022/23, from over 100 countries.
Professor Plowden has been instrumental in leading the development and delivery of BCU’s 2025 Strategy, setting out a clear vision that has enabled the University to make an impactful contribution to the city and region, and to its students, through excellence in education, research and knowledge exchange.
Professor Plowden’s period as Vice-Chancellor has seen the University secure a range of awards, including the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize in recognition of its School of Jewellery’s proud history of innovation spanning 130 years. BCU also won a THE Award for Research Project of the Year, and another as Higher Education Provider of the Year award at the 2022 Education Awards.
Professor Plowden has overseen a number of major expansions of BCU’s estate, both in the UK and globally, including the opening in October 2022 of the major new £70 million STEAMhouse building, offering support to companies of all sizes to boost growth through innovation to address commercial and societal challenges.
The STEAMhouse concept was expanded internationally in April 2022, with the opening of the first phase of the Munjal Birmingham Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MBCIE) in India. This partnership between BCU and India's motorbike and cycle manufacturing giant, Hero Group, will drive innovation across the State of Punjab.
A £3.5million redevelopment of a skills and training hub for healthcare students at BCU’s City South Campus was completed in December 2022, providing state-of-the art facilities to give students hands-on, practical training.
The University’s Board of Governors will now commence the process of recruiting a new Vice-Chancellor over the coming months.
Mark Hopton, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Birmingham City University’s Board of Governors, said: “I know the entire University community will want to join me in thanking Philip for his leadership during his time as Vice-Chancellor at BCU.
“Philip has successfully led BCU in its vision and mission of not only transforming the lives of its diverse community of students – many of whom are first in their family to go to university – but also that of wider society, stretching beyond the confines of our campuses.
“It is business as usual for the months ahead but we look forward to properly marking and celebrating Philip’s many accomplishments before he departs later in the year.”