Professor Ruth Farwell

Professor Ruth Farwell was Vice Chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University from January 2006 to January 2015, having previously been Pro Vice Chancellor at London South Bank University with a portfolio covering academic planning and quality. She now acts as an education consultant and in that capacity advises on academic governance and spent two years with the Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership on their strategy to bring employers together with all sectors of education to enhance the work-related skills of young people. 

Ruth was Chair of the representative body GuildHE for two terms of office until November 2013 and continued as a member of its Executive until she retired. During 2009 – 2015 she served as a member of the Board of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and also chaired HEFCE’s Teaching, Quality and Student Experience Committee. Currently she is a chair of the board of trustees of South Bank Colleges, a further education subsidiary of London South Bank University and is also a trustee of a charity local to her home, Bucks Association for the Care of Offenders. 

Ruth was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to higher education and appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire in 2015. She was High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 2018-19.

To relax, Ruth tries to support her husband to keep a large garden in the Chilterns under control, keeps bees and enjoys cooking, especially using home-grown produce.