Scottish Funding Council appoints new chief executive

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has named Chris Green as its new chief executive.

Green, who is currently deputy vice-chancellor (operations) at the University of Lincoln, will take the role in February, it was announced on 12 November.

He was previously chief transformation officer at the University of Glasgow from 2018 to 2022, where he led a series of major programmes of change. He has also been a partner at PA Consulting and group director (business development) at Newcastle College Group.

The council has a budget of about £2 billion a year and invests about £1.2 billion in teaching and learning across Scotland’s 24 colleges and 19 universities, as well as allocating some £317 million in research funding and £123 million in student support funding.

Green’s appointment comes at a difficult time for Scottish universities of whom nearly half are forecasting deficits in the coming year, according to an SFC report last month. Staff at the universities of Edinburgh and Dundee are set to strike over planned job cuts and course closures, with Edinburgh seeking to trim £140 million from its annual budget.

“This is a critical time for SFC as we take on an expanded remit, including apprenticeships, within a particularly challenging fiscal environment and focus on economic growth delivered by a successful, sustainable and responsive tertiary education, skills and research system,” said Cara Aitchison, the SFC’s chair. She said Green brought an “impressive combination of strategic leadership, experience of delivering complex organisational change and a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing tertiary education.”

Green’s “passion for education, skills, research and innovation, commitment to the transformation of public services to improve outcomes and maximise public value and economic impact [and his track record of] delivery and impact while maintaining transparency and accountability” were praised by Aitchison.

Green, who holds an economics degree from the University of Stirling and an MBA from Imperial College London, said it was joining the SFC at an “important time for Scotland’s tertiary education system”.

“Education has had a profound impact on my own life, from my school years in Shetland to my time as a student at the University of Stirling and later at Imperial College London. The chance to help create those same opportunities for others by leading an organisation with such an important role in Scotland’s future, is hugely motivating.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com