Directorate

Dr John Cater is the Vice-Chancellor of Edge Hill University, having been appointed in 1993. As a social geographer, he has published extensively on family origin, housing, economic development and public policy and co-authored major research studies for the Social Science Research Council, the Commission for Racial Equality and their successor bodies.

He was a Director of the higher education Careers Service from 1994-2013 and was Chair of Liverpool: City of Learning from 2003-2005. He chaired the Standing Conference of Principals from 2001-2003, having been Vice-Chair from 1997-2001. He was a Director of the Teacher Training Agency and its successor body, the Training and Development Agency for Schools, from 1999-2006 and chaired both the Accreditation and the Audit Committees. He is also the Chair of the Guild HE/Universities UK Teacher Education Advisory Group. He was a member of Department of Health’s Expert Advisory Panel on Nurse Education and Training from 1995-97, and has sat on Universities UK’s Health and Social Care Committee since 2004. He also represented all Vice-Chancellors on the Joint DH/DfE Social Work Reform Board. He represented the sector on HEFCE’s Good Management Practice Panel from 1999-2003, and sat on both the HEROBaC and HEIF1 and HEIF2 Panels.

He is past Chair of the Knowsley 14-19 Collegiate Consortium and the Greater Merseyside and West Lancashire Lifelong Learning Network, and a former member of the QAA’s Advisory Committee on Degree-Awarding Powers.

Lynda joined Edge Hill University as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) & University Secretary in April 2014. Her portfolio includes responsibility for Academic Registry, the Governance, Quality Assurance and Student Casework team, the Centre for Learning & Teaching, Directorate Office and Student Services.

Before joining Edge Hill, Lynda spent 12 years at the Open University (the OU) in a variety of roles. Between 2005 and 2011 she was Regional Director for the OU in the North West, leading the team responsible for supporting the OU’s 25,000 students studying in the region. From 2011 onwards, Lynda was Director of the Learner Support Service, an institution-wide role with responsibility for a range of information, advice and guidance and operational services to enable more than 200,000 students to achieve their study goals.

Before joining the OU, Lynda worked for seven years at Liverpool John Moore’s University where she was a Principal Lecturer in Law and Head of the Legal Practice Course.

Liam was appointed as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Marketing, Student Recruitment and Student Administration) in October 2023. Liam first joined Edge Hill in 2007. During his 16 years at the University, he has held many senior roles including the Director of Student Recruitment and Administration. Liam provides strategic leadership for the University’s recruitment activity, including international recruitment. He is also responsible for Marketing, Admissions, Careers, Corporate Communications, Academic Registry and The Arts Centre.

He represents the University on external Boards including People and Skills Workstream Group with Lancashire LEP and Skelmersdale Ambassador Board.

Lynn is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and has extensive business leadership experience in the pharmaceuticals sector, as well as the educational and charity sectors.

Prior to joining EHU, Lynn spent over 6 years as Chief Operating Officer at Merchant Taylors’ Schools based in Liverpool. Before that Lynn was employed at Liverpool John Moores University for over 6 years, in her last 3 years there she held the role of Head of Strategic Business Initiatives and prior to that she was the Deputy Director of Liverpool Business School for 3 years.

The first 14 years of Lynn’s career were spent within the pharmaceutical sector where she worked in a range of finance and commercial roles at AstraZeneca, GSK and latterly for a privately owned pharmaceutical where she was shareholder. Lynn holds an MSc Business Economics from the University of Strathclyde and an MA (Hons) Economics and Politics from the University of Glasgow.