Geoffrey Holland

Sir Geoffrey Holland, KCB (9 May 1938 – 20 April 2017) was an English career civil servant who became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter from 1994 to 2002, when he was succeeded by Professor Steve Smith. Holland Hall, a large student hall of residence which opened in 2004 on the Exeter campus is named after him.

Early life[]

Holland was born on 9 May 1938 to Frank Holland CBE and his wife, Elsie Freda Holland.^[1] His father was a civil servant for London County Council. Both parents came from the Potteries in north Staffordshire.

He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood on a scholarship and spent two years in the Royal Tank Regiment for National Service, becoming a Second Lieutenant. He received a first class BA honours degree in Modern Languages from St John's College, Oxford.

Career[]

He joined the Ministry of Labour in 1961, working as a civil servant until the 1990s in the Department of Employment, becoming the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education (DFE) from 1993-4. He was knighted in 1989. In 1994 he became VC of the University of Exeter. He was a member of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education that published an influential report in 1997.^[2]

In August 2003, he was appointed Chair of the Learning and Skills Development Agency. In 2006, he was appointed Chair of the Quality Improvement Agency.

From 1998-2000 he was President of the IPD. In 2008 he became President of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Personal life[]

In 1964 he married Carol Challen.

He died on 20 April 2017 at the age of 78.^[3]

External links[]

• MTSN
• LSDA
• XPedia

References[]