Professor Mary Stuart is Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln. She is a graduate of the University of Cape Town, SA and the Open University, UK where she obtained her Doctorate in Social Policy in 1998. Mary was a HEFCE Board member until 2018 and is currently a Commissioner on the UPP Foundation’s Student Futures Commission, was Vice Chair of UUK’s Advisory panel on Admissions and a commissioner on the Civic Universities Commission, a Trustee of the Universities Partnership Programme (UPP) Foundation and a Fellow of the Bridge Group. Mary is also a member of the National Civic University Network Advisory Group and a member of the Arts Council Cultural Cities Recovery Roundtable. In 2021, after the establishment of the UPP / Wonkhe Student Futures Commission, Mary has been appointed as one of the Commissioners. She will be the Chair the sub theme on international students for the future which will report at the end of 2021.
Mary was named as the Guardian’s ‘Most Inspiring Leader in Higher Education’ at their HE awards in 2018. She was also awarded a CBE for her services to Higher Education in the same year. In 2019 Mary was awarded the City of Lincoln Civic Award and in 2021 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce.