Paul Grice

Sir Paul Grice joined QMU as Principal and Vice-Chancellor on 1 October 2019. He was formerly a Clerk and Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament, Sir Paul Grice has an outstanding record in governance and leadership at a national level, including high level experience in academic research policy and university finance.

He has held the position of Clerk and Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament since its inception in 1999, leading the delivery of all services to the Parliament alongside acting as its principal adviser on procedural and constitutional matters. Having worked in governmental organizations both in London and Scotland, he has built a reputation as an outstanding leader. He was involved in the constitutional group with responsibility for the referendum on establishing the Scottish Parliament and he went on to manage the Scotland Act which laid the foundation for the new constitutional framework.

Sir Paul also has a deep understanding of the higher education sector and its challenges. He served as a member of the University Court of Stirling from 2006-2013, chairing the University’s Finance and Resources Committee from 2008-2012 and as a member of the Economic and Social Research Council from 2009-2015. A fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he is also a Policy Leaders Fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge and is a Board Member of Policy Scotland at the University of Glasgow. He champions both the importance of research in universities and of the student experience.