Will Spinks to retire as Registrar, Secretary and COO

19 Jan 2018

Will Spinks, Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, will retire from the University in September 2018

Will Spinks, Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, will retire from the University on 30 September 2018 after more than seven years in the post.

Will joined the University in June 2011 as its first Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, the Professional Support Services (PSS) have been transformed into a strong, integrated and respected team supporting all aspects of the University’s work.

Will has also made a wider contribution to the University as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and as Secretary to the Senate and the Board of Governors. He has played a major role in shaping the University’s strategy and policy and as a trusted adviser to the President and Vice-Chancellor and to other senior colleagues. 

On the national higher education scene, Will has served on the Executive of the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA) and as a Universities UK (UUK) nominee on the Joint Negotiating Committee of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) Pension Fund. 

Outside of higher education, he is active in his local community in Cheshire East and chairs two charitable trusts.

The process to appoint Will’s successor as Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer will begin immediately.

Commenting on Will’s time at the University, President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Nancy Rothwell said: “Will joined the University with considerable experience from his previous roles at Loughborough University and in industry. He has used that experience and his great leadership skills to integrate and professionalise all aspects of the PSS. He leaves us with stronger, more efficient and widely respected professional support services. Personally I will greatly miss his wise counsel and his enormous contributions to the University.”

Chair of the University’s Board of Governors Mr Edward Astle said: “Will has served as an outstanding Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer during a period of exceptional change for the sector and for this University. He has forged a highly effective team of professionals capable of effectively identifying and negotiating the challenges and realising the opportunities presented by these changes.  He has been an exemplary Secretary to the Board, tireless in providing me and the Board with information, support and advice, and has thus made a major contribution to the effective governance of the University.”

Commenting on his forthcoming retirement, Will Spinks said: “The opportunity to work with fantastic colleagues at the University over a seven year period has been a huge privilege. We have a remarkable array of talent across our academic and professional services staff. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all colleagues for their support. Whilst dealing with all of the challenges of an organisation of our scale and complexity there is a danger of losing sight of the great good that universities like ours do. I am proud to have been part of the positive contribution that this great University makes to our city, our country and across the globe.”