New Chair of Commonwealth Scholarship Commission appointed
Richard Middleton has been appointed Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom.
Richard Middleton appointed Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom.
Richard, who was recently appointed a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Middlesex University, will take up the post on 1 January 2015. He succeeds Professor Tim Unwin in the role.
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom (CSC) awards over 900 scholarships and fellowships for postgraduate study and professional development to Commonwealth citizens each year. The CSC contributes in unique ways to the UK’s international development objectives and to the UK’s wider overseas interests. In awarding scholarships and fellowships to some of the most able students and professionals, the CSC supports excellence in UK higher education, and sustains the values and mission of the Commonwealth. The CSC is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID).
International Development Secretary Justine Greening, welcoming Richard Middleton’s appointment, said:
Richard Middleton is an experienced Commissioner who has delivered strategic improvements in education and student services at a number of UK universities.
He has an impressive understanding of the role of the Commission in delivering the UK’s international development aims and a keen interest in the work of its students and academics.
These are qualities that will serve him well in his leadership of the organisation.
Richard, commenting on his appointment, said:
I am delighted to have been selected by the Secretary of State for International Development to be Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
I have served as a Commissioner for the past five years and can truly say, as all Commissioners do, that helping these exceptional scholars and professionals to realise their ambitions for development in their home countries is an inspiration.
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom (CSC) awards over 900 scholarships and fellowships for postgraduate study and professional development to Commonwealth citizens each year.
The CSC contributes in unique ways to the UK’s international development objectives and to the UK’s wider overseas interests.
In awarding scholarships and fellowships to some of the most able students and professionals, the CSC supports excellence in UK higher education, and sustains the values and mission of the Commonwealth.
The CSC is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID).
Notes to editors
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Richard Middleton is an experienced university executive manager. He has worked in the university, health, and charity sectors. Prior to being appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Middlesex University in December 2014, he was Student Education Service Programme Manager at the University of Leeds. He has held a range of executive-level positions at the University of Bedfordshire, City University London, and Kingston University, and was Chief Operating Officer at Aston University from 2007-2010. Richard led the Accident & Emergency, Emergency Care and Medical Specialties teams at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust from 2002-2007. Richard also worked for five years in west Africa as Director of Operations at the Medical Research Council Laboratories in the Gambia from 1997-2002. Richard has been a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner and Chair of the CSC’s Finance Committee since 2009. He is also a consultant for the DFID-funded Development Research Uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa (DRUSSA) project. Richard has a BA in Mathematics with Language from the University of York, an MA in Archaeology with Anthropology from the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, and an MBA from the Open University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Association of University Administrators.
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The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) comprises up to 14 Commissioners and a chair, who are appointed by the Secretary of State for International Development in line with the Public Appointments Commissioner’s code of practice. The CSC manages the UK’s contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP), an international programme under which member governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. For more information
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All positions on the CSC are part-time. The only member of the CSC to receive payment is the Chair, who is paid an honorarium of £6000 per annum. Members of the CSC who review scholarship applications and attend selection committee meetings also receive an honorarium of £250 per meeting.
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For further information, please contact:
Natasha Lokhun
+44 (0)20 7380 6760