Who’s who in education

A summary of key political figures and senior managers across education at all levels in Northern Ireland, including leaders of educational authorities, representative bodies, universities and colleges.

Education Minister:
John O’Dowd MLA

John O’Dowd was appointed as Education Minister in May 2011. He is Sinn Féin’s MLA for Upper Bann and was first elected to the Assembly in 2003. O’Dowd was also a councillor on Craigavon Borough Council (1997-2010) and has contested Upper Bann in two general elections: 2005 and 2010. O’Dowd chaired the Public Accounts Committee and was Sinn Féin’s Education Spokesman in the last Assembly. A chef by training, he is married with two children.

Employment and Learning Minister:
Stephen Farry MLA

Stephen Farry was appointed as Employment and Learning Minister, responsible for further and higher education, in May 2011. He is the Alliance Party’s MLA for North Down, having been elected in 2007, and was a councillor on North Down Borough Council between 1993 and 2011. Farry is a former General Secretary of the Alliance Party (2000- 2007) and has also worked overseas on peace and reconciliation projects.

Chairman, Education Committee:
Mervyn Storey MLA

Mervyn Storey has been a DUP MLA for North Antrim since 2003 and a councillor on Ballymoney Borough Council since 2001. He was previously a production manager at the Lovell and Christmas meat processing factory and succeeded Sammy Wilson as Education Committee Chairman (and the DUP’s Assembly Education Spokesman) in 2008. Storey is married with three children.

Chairman, Employment and Learning Committee:
Basil McCrea MLA

Basil McCrea was elected as the Ulster Unionist MLA for Lagan Valley in 2007 and was appointed Chairman of the Employment and Learning Committee in May 2011. A former businessman, he was the UUP’s Education Spokesman in the last Assembly. McCrea stood in the 2005 general election and the 2010 UUP leadership election. He was a Lisburn councillor between 2005 and 2011.

Chief Executive-designate, Education and Skills Authority:
Gavin Boyd

Gavin Boyd was appointed Chief Executive-designate of the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) in 2007 to lead the reform of education administration. He was appointed Interim Chief Executive of the Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) in March 2012. Gavin has worked in education for over 11 years and was formerly Chief Executive of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). Prior to his career in the public sector, Gavin, a chartered accountant, had a successful career in the private sector.

Chief Executive, North Eastern Education & Library Board:
Shane McCurdy

Shane McCurdy was appointed Chief Executive of the North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB) in June 2010. He is a qualified accountant, having been the board’s Chief Finance Officer since 1994. McCurdy graduated in business studies from the University of Ulster and previously worked in public sector finance, including posts as Assistant Director of Finance at the Royal Group of Hospitals and Deputy Finance Officer at the University of Ulster.

Chief Executive, South Eastern Education & Library Board:
Gregory Butler

Prior to taking up his post as Chief Executive of the South Eastern Education and Library Board on 1 May 2012, Gregory had been employed by the Southern Education and Library Board since 1985. His last role in the SELB was as Senior Education Officer and Head of Development, Planning and Support Services. Previously, Gregory had worked as a teacher and a full-time youth worker.

Chief Executive, Southern Education & Library Board:
Tony Murphy

Tony Murphy was appointed Chief Executive of the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB) in April 2009, before which he had been Head of Development, Planning and Support at the board for the previous five years. He has worked for the education and library boards for the past 30 years, prior to which he was a post-primary school teacher in England and County Fermanagh. Tony is a native of Liverpool.

Acting Chief Executive, Western Education & Library Board:
Clare Mangan

Clare Mangan was appointed acting Chief Executive of the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) in July 2012. She worked as an educational psychologist from 1991 onwards, and became a senior educational psychologist with the Southern Education and Library Board in 1998 and Assistant Senior Education Officer in 2002. From 2006 onwards, Mangan worked across the southern and western areas as Head of Children and Young People’s Services.

Chief Executive, Council for Catholic Maintained Schools:
Jim Clarke

Jim Clarke is the Chief Executive of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools. He is a former teacher and principal, a former member of the Belfast Education and Library Board and a member of the Post- Primary Review Group (Costello). He is currently a member of the CCEA, the Children’s and Young People’s Strategic Partnership and chairman of the Belfast Strategic Partnership thematic sub-group on lifelong learning.

Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education:
Noreen Campbell

Noreen Campbell is the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) and was appointed to this role in September 2009. Noreen was a founder parent and teacher of Hazelwood Integrated College, where she served as vice-principal from 1986 to 1996 and as principal from 1996 to 2006. Noreen is married to Paul and they have four sons.

Chief Executive, Integrated Education Fund:
Tina Merron

Tina Merron, Chief Executive of the Integrated Education Fund since 1998, previously worked at Short Bros plc, Pasolds (Northern Ireland) Ltd and Queen’s University Belfast. An accountant by background, she is responsible for implementing the independent trust’s strategic plan, raising funds and overseeing the IEF’s grant-making programmes.

Chief Executive, Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta:
Micháel Ó Duibh

Micheál Ó Duibh is the Chief Executive of Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta, the representative body for the Irish medium sector. He was previously Chairperson of Pobal, an umbrella organisation for the Irishspeaking community, and policy and planning officer for the Gaelscoileanna Teo board of directors, an Irish-medium representative body based in Dublin. He graduated from the University of Ulster with a doctorate in philosophy and is a native of Armagh.

Interim Chief Executive, CCEA:
Richard Hanna

Richard Hanna was appointed as Interim Chief Executive of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) on 1 October 2012. Richard was previously the CCEA’s Director of Education Strategy and also responsible for implementing revised assessment and reporting arrangements. He has held a number of management positions, including development and support for qualifications, and before joining CCEA, spent 18 years in post-primary education as a teacher and school manager.

Chief Executive, Colleges Northern Ireland:
Gerard Campbell

Gerard Campbell was appointed as Chief Executive of Colleges Northern Ireland, the representative body for the six regional colleges, in July 2011. He was previously Chief Executive of the office of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Director of Corporate Services with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and a regional training manager with the British Red Cross and Joblink.

Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast:
Sir Peter Gregson

Professor Sir Peter Gregson was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast in 2004. Educated at Imperial College London, he graduated with BSc (Eng) in materials science in 1980 and obtained his PhD in 1983, when he joined the faculty of the University of Southampton. Gregson became professor of aerospace materials in 1995 and Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2000. He was knighted in 2011.

Vice-Chancellor, University of Ulster:
Richard Barnett

Professor Richard Barnett has been Vice-Chancellor of the university since April 2006. He joined the university in September 1990 on his appointment as professor of public finance and management and has held appointments as Head of School, Dean, Pro Vice-Chancellor for teaching and learning, and acting Vice-Chancellor. He previously held academic appointments at the universities of Salford and York and at Queen’s University Ontario.

Principal and Chief Executive, Belfast Metropolitan College:
Marie-Thérése McGivern

Marie-Thérèse McGivern was appointed Principal and Chief Executive of Belfast Metropolitan College in November 2009. Immediately prior to that she spent ten years as Director of Development at Belfast City Council. Marie-Thérèse is a Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster and an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects.

Director and Chief Executive, Northern Regional College:
Trevor Neilands

Trevor was previously Director of North East Institute, which merged with Causeway and East Antrim Institutes to form the Northern Regional College in August 2007. Before that, he had held the post of Deputy Director in both the East Antrim and Belfast Institutes. He has spent over 30 years in the education sector as a teacher, lecturer, administrator and senior manager.

Director and Chief Executive, North West Regional College:
Seamus Murphy

Seamus has over 35 years’ experience in the further education sector in the province, mainly in adult education. He worked as Director of the North West Institute of Further and Higher Education from 1 September 2004 and previously as Deputy Director of the same institute and of the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education. He took up his present post on 1 August 2007.

Director and Chief Executive, Southern Regional College:
Brian Doran

Brian took up his position as Chief Executive on 1 January 2008. He was previously Deputy Director for Teaching and Learning at Newry and Kilkeel Institute, and has taught in both the school and further education sectors. In total, he had 19 years of experience working in that institute, including holding the posts of Assistant Director for Student Services and Head of School of Computing.

Director and Chief Executive, South Eastern Regional College:
Kenneth Webb

Ken joined the college having held the position of Director of Corporate Services at North Down Borough Council for eight years. He has a varied professional background, including previously working in central government on a number of PPP/PFI projects, in the advertising industry and in the agri-food industry. Ken was a teacher early in his career and is a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast.

Director and Chief Executive, South West College:
Malachy McAleer

Upon graduating as a civil engineer, Malachy McAleer worked in industry before moving into the education sector as a lecturer at Sligo Institute of Technology in 1982. Malachy went on to join the South West College, formerly known as Omagh College, in 1992 where he worked as a lecturer, Head of Department, Head of Curriculum and Business Development. He has held the position of Director since 2009.