Executive Board

"Shirley’s priority is to engender a vibrant culture for staff and students reinforcing the University’s commitment to excellence in teaching & learning, research, knowledge exchange and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Having lived and worked in the Bradford City Region for ten years she is committed to positioning the University at the centre of the region’s social and economic regeneration."

Shirley is responsible for the leadership and management of the University of Bradford, leading the development of its values and strategy.  Shirley is the eighth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford and is the first woman to hold the role.  Shirley has significant experience of working in higher education championing the quality of the student experience, widening participation, engagement with business and communities and advancing the quality of research and innovation.

Originally qualifying as a Registered Nurse, Shirley’s professional and academic expertise lies within the area of health and social care, service modernisation and cultural change, research methods and evidence-based practice.  She has a strong track record in all aspects of university leadership, having worked within the field of higher education for 25 years and held senior roles in three different universities.

Shirley is committed to value led leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion, increasing social inclusion and mobility through widening participation in higher education; opening up opportunities and unlocking potential for people of all backgrounds. 

A tireless ambassador for students, she is committed to ensuring that they get the best possible education and support that leads to a rewarding career after they graduate.  Her number one priority is to place the student experience at the heart of all aspects of University activities.

Shirley is the Executive Board champion for Religion/Belief issues.

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Contact details

Helen Hague
Senior Executive Services Support Manager/Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor (external).

• h.l.hague@bradford.ac.uk
• 01274 23 3012

Michelle Kenyon
Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor (internal) 

• m.kenyon2@bradford.ac.uk
• 01274 23 3007

Paul joined the University in November 2017. He has led the creation of the Directorate of Learning, Teaching & Student Experience which brought together the previously dispersed functions of educational development, academic quality, student support, careers, and learning resources. His team provides support to Faculties in all aspects of course design, delivery, and enhancement including the operation of the Bradford:Fellowships professional development scheme accredited by Advance HE.

Before joining Bradford, Paul was the Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching in the Faculty of Design, Arts and Humanities at Teesside University, and before that Head of their English Studies Department. His research interests focused on the issues of popular culture and the politics of representation and he is widely published in the area of music video, cinema, and gendered identity.

Paul is an Executive Board champion for Gender Equality.

Professor Rob James joined the University of Bradford as Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences in July 2022.

Rob is a muscle physiologist who obtained his BSc and PhD at the University of Leeds. After four years of postdoctoral research at the University of St Andrews he started as a lecturer at Coventry University. His teaching was focused on biomechanics and muscle physiology. He undertook various leadership roles at Coventry including Dean of Faculty, overseeing substantial growth in programmes and student numbers, Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Research).

Rob is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a chartered scientist (CSci) and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB). Rob was the Society for Experimental Biology lead for Biomechanics. His main research focus is to utilise physiological techniques, such as the work loop technique, to better understand the effects of temperature, obesity, ageing or drugs on muscle performance.

Rob is also the Executive Board advocate for Wellbeing and Mental Health.

Register of interests

1. Heads of University Biosciences (HUBS) Executive Committee
2. Royal Society of Biology
3. Royal Society of Biology’s Diversity and Inclusion Network
4. Society for Experimental Biology
5. Physiological Society
6. Chartered Scientist

Executive Board Register of Interests 2024/25 (PDF, 115KB).

Contact details

• r.james8@bradford.ac.uk

Kate Bedford
PA to the Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences

• k.j.bedford@bradford.ac.uk
• +44 (0) 1274 233231

Dr William Martin has been at the University of Bradford for 15 years. William is an organic chemist who obtained his BSc and PhD at the University of Nottingham. After postdoctoral research at the Technical University of Berlin and Oregon State University, he spent a short period in the pharmaceutical industry synthesing small molecules for drug discovery. He returned to academia in 2009 as a lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Bradford, and quickly became programme lead for the chemistry programme.

One of his biggest successes was launching degree apprenticeships in chemistry, and being part of the Trailblazer group that progressed the chemistry apprenticeship agenda nationally. William was also co-chair of the University’s branch of the University and College Union (UCU) for several years.

He has held various leadership positions in the Faculty of Life Sciences including the roles of Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching, and Deputy Dean before taking up his current post as Dean, Faculty of Health Studies.  William is delighted to call West Yorkshire home and spends weekends running or walking in the hills.

Register of interests

1. Royal Society of Chemistry
2. Higher Education Academy

Executive Board Register of Interests 2024/25 (PDF, 115KB).

Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE, UK), Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3, UK), Fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE, USA) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA, UK). Martin is an experienced academic leader and practitioner, and an expert in the multidisciplinary field of tribology (study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear). Prior to joining the University of Bradford in 2015 he held the Jost Chair of Engineering Tribology at the University of Leeds (UK), where he was based from 1987, and before that he worked for British Gas Research and Development (London, UK).

Martin is the Dean of a Faculty comprising the engineering disciplines, computer science and media design and technology (technological aspects of the media industry). To enable and incentivise interdisciplinary working, which is core to the future success all the specialist subjects in the Faculty, he conceived and led a fundamental restructure of the Faculty. Formal schools were removed and replaced with a much more flexible and agile discipline group structure, with leadership and management focussed at the Faculty level.  The Faculty is now committed to deliver the multidisciplinary technology solutions required in the 21^st Century and the people with the skills to lead such innovations. Students develop clear discipline depth but also breadth through extensive collaboration with students in other disciplines, as a formal part of their programme. Research also nurtures core discipline strengths but flexibly reorganises over time into multidisciplinary teams in response to external drivers. Faculty members across the disciplines worked very effectively together to secure the award of an Athena SWAN Bronze Award (Advance HE, UK, framework to support and transform gender equality within higher education) in 2021 at the first attempt.

As an academic practitioner Martin has an established international track record and a long history of successful collaboration with UK and international industry.  He is very proud to have been awarded the 2015 Tribology Silver Medal by the Tribology Trust (IMechE, UK). The award citation read “In recognition of his outstanding contribution to tribology especially in the area of transference of tribology facility research to practical applications”. He is Associate Editor of the academic journals Tribology Transactions (STLE, USA, Taylor & Francis) and the Journal of Engineering Tribology (IMechE, UK, SAGE). Martin highly values interaction with students and still maintains a role as a lecturer, tutor and supervisor for engineering students in the Faculty alongside his duties as Dean.

Martin is the Executive Board champion for Marriage and Civil Partnership issues.

Register of interests

1. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK
2. Engineering Council, UK
3. The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, UK
4. The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, USA
5. Advance HE
6. Bradford City of Film Ltd

Executive Board Register of Interests 2024/25 (PDF, 115KB).