New Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor announced

Glasgow Caledonian University has appointed Professor Craig Gaskell as its new Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

Professor Gaskell will join GCU in May from his post as Provost (Transformation) at the University of Derby, where he leads comprehensive academic and operating-model reform. This has included Derby’s shift towards a more flexible, industry-integrated academic model to enhance its long-term strategic positioning. He has also helped to re-focus Derby’s business school and strengthen international recruitment.

As Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gaskell will provide executive leadership to the Deans, academic schools, and the University’s London campus, ensuring the highest standards of academic delivery. He will ensure we develop and deliver the University’s Strategy and will provide strategic direction for the University’s planning processes and recruitment objectives, and be a senior representative for the University externally.

Announcing Professor Gaskell’s appointment, GCU Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Mairi Watson said: “I am delighted to welcome Professor Gaskell to Glasgow Caledonian University as our new Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. He brings a huge amount of experience with him of transforming and improving the performance of higher education institutions in a range of key areas which will no doubt contribute enormously to our University’s success in the years ahead.”

Speaking of his appointment, Professor Gaskell said: “I’m very excited to be joining Glasgow Caledonian University in May. It's a stand-out university with a mission, purpose and values set that I completely align with. Although a challenging time for the sector, it’s also a time of significant opportunity and I’m very much looking forward to helping GCU grow in stature, scale and impact, by being radically on mission."

Prior to his time at Derby, Professor Gaskell served as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise & Knowledge Exchange) at Teesside University, where he oversaw a broad academic portfolio spanning graduate outcomes, knowledge exchange, innovation, civic engagement, and enterprise. Under his leadership, the university achieved award-winning graduate outcomes, sector-leading Knowledge Exchange Framework results, significant applied research and knowledge-exchange income growth, and the successful creation and launch of TU London.

He served as the founding Principal and CEO of University Academy 92 (UA92), where he created a new socially inclusive higher-education institution with Lancaster University and members of Manchester United’s Class of ’92. Earlier, as Provost of CU Scarborough and associate Pro Vice-Chancellor within the Coventry University Group, Professor Gaskell led mission-driven expansion, academic innovation, and regional skills development. Prior to that, at the University of Hull, he held the position of Dean and Campus Principal.

A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional, and Professor of Higher Education Innovation, Professor Gaskell brings strong disciplinary grounding from his academic training and doctoral research in Computer Science. He is widely recognised for building collaborative cultures, empowering colleagues, and creating the conditions in which excellence in teaching, research, innovation and civic engagement can flourish.