[A]n academic, who spent time working as an NHS nurse in Cumbria, is to return to the county as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) of the University of Cumbria.
Professor Patricia Livsey joins from Plymouth University where she is currently Dean in the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences and as a graduate of Lancaster University knows the north west region well.
She began her career as a paediatric staff nurse in Leeds, and held various positions including ward sister and later became a health visitor in Cumbria before entering academia. Her research in child health is focused on health inequalities and she led the initial development of children’s community nursing services in North Cumbria.
Her new role will see her take responsibility for the academic portfolio of the university including the delivery and quality of programmes and the teaching and learning experience enjoyed by students.
“Through the development of our new strategic plan and the close engagement we have had with key stakeholders and employers, we know that the University of Cumbria has huge opportunities in the region,” Vice Chancellor Prof Julie Mennell said. “Patricia’s role will be vital in ensuring the university offers the right kind of experience for students and that our staff continue to set a precedent when it comes to proving engaging ‘real world’ research.”
Professor Livsey said “I am delighted to be coming back to work at the University of Cumbria as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) and I am very much looking forward to working with colleagues to contribute to the university’s development and continued success. This is a challenging time for the sector, but there are also opportunities and I believe that the university has great potential to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Professor Livsey holds a number of national roles within her professional area of nursing and health including working as lead for the regulation across all the health professions on the Council of Deans for Health Executive. She is also part of the group writing the new registered nurse proficiencies and was the higher education representative on the Future of Nursing Oversight Group. In addition to this, she has a national profile for her work monitoring educational standards across the country for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Department of Health, and has a huge amount of experience of assessing and assuring quality of learning and teaching nationally from undergraduate to doctorate level studies.
With a vast experience of assessing and assuring quality of learning and teaching nationally from undergraduate to doctorate level studies, she comes to Cumbria during a time of major change within the sector.
In recognition of her work in maternal and child health, Professor Livsey was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal Society of Medicine and is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
She’ll take up her new role on 24 July 2017.
