BeOnBoard is proud to be partnering with the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), one of the region’s leading universities, to help recruit a new generation of Governors from diverse backgrounds for their Board. We recently caught up with David Lamb – the Chair of the UWE Board – to find out why, when it comes to boardroom leadership, he believes that inclusive governance matters in the higher education sector…
“I have always believed that being a Governor at UWE is a real privilege. It is an opportunity to use my experience and knowledge to make a positive impact for the benefit of the students and staff of the university and the wider communities that we serve. And we can all contribute if we want to. But it is actually much more than this.
UWE is ambitious. It is a university with a mission to transform futures for our graduates and we will do this through the delivery of our strategy 2030. Each individual Governor has a role to play in supporting the delivery, but to really succeed, we will need to add to and refresh our team over time. A strong leadership team is one that represents and supports every member of our community. It should be both inspirational and aspirational, so that any student or staff member can look to the Board and be confident that we will support their individual journey through the university.
My own experience, built up over the last 40 years or so, has taught me that the strength of any Board is founded in the combined knowledge and lived experience of its members. Like any top performing team, an effective Board is made up of talented individual members with different backgrounds, experiences and skills that combine to be greater than the sum of the parts.
A strong leadership team is one that represents and supports every member of our community “
I think we have a very talented Board, and expanding the diversity and increasing the inclusivity of our makeup will help us to raise our standards higher, improving both the quality of our decision making, and our ability to deliver on and meet the expectations set by our students, staff and wider communities, as we roll out our strategy 2030.
I believe that we are well prepared to deal with the challenges that the next few years will bring as the economy and the country seeks to recover from the pandemic; but I am much more motivated and excited by the opportunities we are helping to create for our students, staff and communities as we help to prepare them for the future.
This is a great time for new Governors to get involved and I encourage anyone who shares our passion for making a difference to step forward and reach out to us. We would love to hear from you.”
If like UWE you believe in the importance of inclusive governance and share their passion for transforming the futures of their students, click HERE to find out more and apply.
And for those of you who are either graduates or in the early stages of their career looking to gain invaluable Board experience, UWE has an exciting new Associate Board Member opportunity. To find out more or to apply, click HERE
UWE positively encourages and particularly welcomes applications from groups that are under-represented within the Boardroom. This includes but is not restricted to People of Colour, LGBTQ+, Disabled and any other groups facing disadvantage or discrimination.
