Lisa Roberts

Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Professor Lisa Roberts took up her post on 1 September 2020. Prior to this, she was Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds where she led on the development of the University’s research and innovation strategy. During this time she led significant increases in the income, quality and impact of research at Leeds. She also led a major step change in how the University worked with business, from start-ups to large corporates; launching a new innovation hub and leading a city-wide team of senior city stakeholders through the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP). Before joining Leeds, Lisa was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, leading the Schools of Bioscience and Medicine, Psychology and Health Sciences. During this time she also developed and launched only the 8th School of Veterinary Medicine in the UK and developed a successful One Health Strategy with external partnerships being key to its success.

She is a Board Member of the Russell Group, Jisc and Universities UK. Regionally, she is a Board Member of the Heart of the South West LEP, the Great South West Partnership and the Liveable Exeter Place Board.

One of the key themes of the University of Exeter’s Strategy 2030 is to lead the progress towards creating a fair, socially just and inclusive society, and this includes activity both across the world and in our region. Lisa joined the South-West Social Mobility Commission to address the crucial issue of educational and skills attainment in the region, and because she believes passionately that a person’s background should not be a barrier to fulfilling potential. She hopes that, through the work of the South-West Social Mobility Commission, we can begin to transform the life prospects of some of the most disadvantaged young people in the country, and she offers the University of Exeter’s full support in meeting this ambition.