Biography

  Professor David Eastwood
  Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Professor David Eastwood is Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, a post he has held since September 2006.  Prior to that he was Vice Chancellor of the University of East Anglia (2002-2006) and Chief Executive of the then Arts and Humanities Research Board (2000-2002). 

Professor Eastwood held a chair in Modern History at the University of Wales, Swansea, where he was also a Head of Department, Dean, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor.  Whilst at Swansea he co-founded the National Centre for Public Policy.  He was Fellow and Senior Tutor of Pembroke College (1988-1995), and is now an Honorary Fellow of both St Peter’s College, Oxford, from where he graduated in 1980, and KebleCollege, Oxford, where he was a Research Fellow from 1983 to 1987.

Professor Eastwood has served on numerous national bodies and committees, including membership of the Research Support Libraries Group 2002-03, the Roberts Review of the Research Assessment Exercise, the Tomlinson Group on 14-19 Education 2003-04, the Advisory Board of the Higher Education Policy Institute, the Councils of the John Innes Centre and the Sainsbury Laboratory and the Board of the Quality Assurance Agency.  He has chaired the 1994 Group of universities, UUK’s Longer Term Strategy Group, and the Association of the Universities of the East of England. He is also a Commissioner and Deputy Chair for the Marshall Aid Commemoration Committee.  Since 1991 Professor Eastwood has been a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, serving as its Literary Director 1994-2000 and as chair of its Studies in History Board 2000-04.

Professor Eastwood is married with three children.  He enjoys music, politics, walking, sport and good wine; and includes writing on football amongst his extensive list of publications.