Donna Whitehead

Professor Donna Whitehead joined USW as the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor in November 2021. Prior to taking up the role, Donna was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University. Within this role Donna was responsible for all academic and student support teams including the academic schools, student services, research and KE, registry, learning services, learning and teaching, and student and academic administration. A core focus of her role was to create an inclusive university that created equitable outcomes for staff and students. During her time at London Met, Donna led the teams to deliver improvements in all student outcomes and a range of other institutional outcomes.

Prior to joining London Met, Donna was the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). Whilst at UWE, Donna led on enterprise and entrepreneurship across the university, embedding enterprise skills into the curriculum for all students, and helping to lead partnerships with businesses, the third sector as well as international education providers. Donna joined UWE from USW, where she had initially worked as the Head of School of Law, Accounting and Finance and later became the Deputy Dean for the former Faculty of Business and Society. Donna started her academic career at the University of Sunderland, where she had also completed her undergraduate studies; she worked there as a lecturer, senior lecturer and then as team leader for law. She taught a variety of areas of law but with a particular passion for Family Law.