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Newcastle University has announced that Chris Brink, its vice-chancellor of eight years, is to retire at the end of 2016.

Professor Brink has led Newcastle since 2007, ?joining the institution from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, where he served as rector and vice-chancellor. Before Stellenbosch, he held senior academic posts at the University of Cape Town, the Australian National University and the University of Wollongong.

He has served on the boards of the Quality Assurance Agency and the Equality Challenge Unit, which he co-chaired. He also sat on Universities UK¡¯s board, where he chaired the Student Policy Network, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England¡¯s leadership, governance and management strategic advisory committee.

¡°I am immensely grateful to the students, staff and lay members of the university,¡± said Professor Brink. ¡°This is an outstanding university and its success is down to the efforts of its staff, the calibre of its students and the engagement of our governing body and other lay supporters.

¡°Over recent years we have seen huge changes in the higher education landscape and I believe we have risen to the challenge and will continue to do so. We have more students choosing to study at Newcastle than at any other time in our history and our students overwhelmingly value their time here.

¡°Our finances are in good shape, which means we can, and have been, investing in improving our facilities to benefit both students and staff. We have also fostered a culture that allows us to be ambitious and to pursue new opportunities such as our overseas campuses and our latest venture in London.¡±

john.elmes@tesglobal.com