Anthony Forster (political scientist)

Anthony Forster
FRSA FAcSS FHEA
Forster in 2012
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex
In office
2012–2024
Preceded byColin Riordan
Succeeded byMaria Fasli (acting)
Personal details
Born
Anthony William Forster

(1964-05-19) 19 May 1964 (age 60)
Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England
Alma mater
Salary£309,941 (2021–22)[1]
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service1985−1991
RankCaptain
UnitRoyal Corps of Transport

Anthony William Forster, FRSA FAcSS FHEA (born 19 May 1964) is a British political scientist and former British Army officer. He is the current vice-chancellor of the University of Essex and was previously deputy vice-chancellor of Durham University.

Early life and education

Forster was born on 19 May 1964 in Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England.[2] Attended Denstone College in Staffordshire 1977 to 1982. Sponsored by the military in the form of an undergraduate cadetship, he graduated from the University of Hull in 1985 with a BA (first class) in politics.[3][4][5]

After completing six years of military service, he studied Politics (European Politics and Society) at St Antony's College, Oxford, from 1991, obtaining his MPhil in 1993.[3] He remained at Oxford to undertake further research in European politics, and completed his DPhil in 1996 at St Hugh's College, Oxford.[3][6]

Career

Military service

From 1985 to 1991 Forster served as an officer in the British Army.[3][4] On 2 September 1983, he was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Transport as a second lieutenant (on probation) (Undergraduate Cadetship).[7] After graduating he began his full-time military career as a second lieutenant (on probation) in July 1985, with the service number of 517900.[8] His commission was confirmed and he was promoted to lieutenant on 7 July 1985 with seniority from 9 April 1985.[9] He was promoted to captain on 9 April 1989[10] but left the British Army on 1 May 1991, then being appointed to the reserve of officers.[11]

His military service came at the end of the Cold War, and he completed several postings to West Germany.[4] In 1990 he was deployed to Namibia as a British military adviser to the government of the newly independent nation.[4]

Academic career

Forster began his academic career while a postgraduate student at the University of Oxford. He was a lecturer at St Hilda's College, Oxford, from 1985 to 1986. He later held positions at the University of Nottingham (1996–2000), King's College, London (2000–2002) and the University of Bristol (2002–2006). From 2006 he worked at Durham University and from 2011 held the positions of deputy vice-chancellor and honorary professor of politics.[3]

In 2012 Forster was appointed as the vice-chancellor of the University of Essex, where he has presided over reforms that seek to emphasize the university's commitment to education and teaching, as well as to research, alongside a strategic goal of increasing student numbers by 50 percent by 2019.[12][13] He was criticized in 2014 by author and academic Marina Warner, after she resigned from the university, who argued that decision-making power at Essex had been handed to administrators at the expense of academics.[14]

In August 2023, Forster announced his intention to retire in July 2024.[15] In November 2024, shortly after he stepped down, the University announced they'd cut 200 jobs due to a £29 million 'shortfall', blaming government decisions on funding an internationals students. [16]

D-Notice system review

In 2014 Jon Thompson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, asked Forster to chair an independent review to examine the efficacy of the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee and DA-Notice system. The review was completed in 2015.[17][18][19]

Other appointments

Forster is an Executive Board Member for the Young Universities for the Future of Europe Alliance (2019-) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) (2020-). Forster has been a board member and director at the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (2008-2014); a board member and trustee for animal welfare charity Blue Cross (2012–17); a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England Teaching and Student Opportunity Strategic Advisory Committee (2015–18); a board member of the Higher Education Academy (2016–18);[20] a member of South East Local Enterprise Partnership's strategic board (2016–19);[21] and a board member of the Equality Challenge Unit (2017–18).[22]

Honours

In 2009, Forster was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS).[23]

Selected works

  • (2007) Out of Step: The Case for Change in British Armed Forces, London: Demos (with Tim Edmunds).
  • (2006) Armed Forces and Society in Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • (2004) Reshaping Defence Diplomacy: New Roles for Military Cooperation and Assistance, Adelphi Paper 365, Oxford: Oxford University Press (with Andrew Cottey).
  • (2002) Euroscepticism in Contemporary British Politics: Opposition to Europe in the British Conservative and Labour Parties since 1945, London: Routledge.
  • (2001) The Making of Britain's European Foreign Policy, Essex: Longman Press (with Alasdair Blair).
  • (1999) Britain and the Maastricht Negotiations, London: Macmillan/St Antony's and New York: St Martin's Press.

References

  1. ^ "Essex Financial Statements 2021–22" (PDF). Essex Financial Statements. Essex. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  2. ^ 'FORSTER, Prof. Anthony William', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 9 Sept 2017
  3. ^ a b c d e "Professor Anthony Forster FHEA FRSA AcSS". Curriculum vitae. University of Essex. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Parr, Chris (18 April 2013). "V-c applies military lessons in leadership". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Professor Anthony Forster FHEA FRSA AcSS". Profile. University of Essex. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  6. ^ "New Vice-Chancellor appointed". News. University of Essex. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  7. ^ "No. 49532". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 November 1983. p. 14705.
  8. ^ "No. 50515". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 1986. p. 6489.
  9. ^ "No. 50527". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1986. p. 7097.
  10. ^ "No. 51696". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 April 1989. p. 4293.
  11. ^ "No. 52531". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 May 1991. p. 7433.
  12. ^ "Foreword", Strategic Plan, 2013–2019, University of Essex, pp. 2–3.
  13. ^ Richard Garner, "Does Essex University still live up to its radical reputation?", The Independent, 14 January 2015.
  14. ^ Marina Warner, "Diary", London Review of Books, 36(17), 11 September 2014, pp. 42–43
  15. ^ "Our Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster to retire in 2024", University of Essex News, 4 August 2023
  16. ^ "University to cut 200 jobs amid £29m shortfall", BBC, 28 November 2024
  17. ^ "Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Notice System". dsma.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  18. ^ Simon Bucks, "The D-notice is misunderstood but its collaborative spirit works", The Guardian, 2 August 2015.
  19. ^ "DA-Notice System Relaunched", News Media Association, 4 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Higher Education Academy - Board". Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Our strategic board | South East LEP". www.southeastlep.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster | University of Essex". www.essex.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Professor Anthony Forster". Equality Challenge Unit. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
Academic offices
Preceded by
 Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Durham University
2011 to 2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex
2012 to present 		Incumbent