University of Staffordshire appoints Professor Amanda Coffey as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive

Professor Amanda Coffey has been appointed Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Staffordshire and will take up her new role on 1 March 2027.

Professor Coffey, currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), will take up the role on Monday 1 March 2027. Professor Philip Plowden continues to lead the University as Interim Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive to ensure a smooth transition.

Professor Coffey brings more than three decades of higher education experience, including ten years at university executive level. A social scientist with particular expertise in social policy and qualitative research, she spent around 30 years at Cardiff University, progressing through academic and senior leadership roles, before joining UWE in 2020.

As UWE’s chief academic officer, she is responsible for learning and teaching, research and enterprise, academic quality and standards, academic schools and colleges, student experience and student success. She also has executive oversight of academic portfolio development and strategic growth, including education partnerships and transnational education. Her remit covers over 30,000 students and around 1,500 academic staff.

The appointment comes after a strong run of success for University of Staffordshire, which was named Modern University of the Year 2027 in the Daily Mail University Guide and ranked seventh in the country for overall student positivity in the National Student Survey. Its new £100m Student Village opened this autumn.

Dame Kate Barker, Chair-Elect of the University’s Board of Governors, said:

“Amanda brings exactly the combination of academic leadership and experience at scale that University of Staffordshire needs for its next chapter. She has a deep understanding of what makes a university work well for its students, its staff and the communities it serves, and we were impressed by her ambition for the University and for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

“I would also like to thank Philip for his outstanding leadership as Interim Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive. He has guided the University through a period of real success, and Amanda will be building on his foundations.”

Professor Amanda Coffey said:

“I am delighted to be joining University of Staffordshire at such an exciting time. This is a university with a clear sense of purpose, a real commitment to opening up opportunity, and deep roots in its region. I am looking forward to getting to know students, colleagues and partners, and to working together to build on everything that has been achieved.”

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