About Sir Howard Newby: Sir Howard became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in August 2008. He was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, having previously spent five years as the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). His first Vice-Chancellor’s role was at the University of Southampton, where he also spent two years as President of Universities UK, the UK body which represents the university sector.