HEA announces new chair for the national forum
Following a competitive process, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) announced the appointment of Dr Lynn Ramsey as the new Chair of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (National Forum).
Dr Ramsey is Teaching and Learning Co-ordinator at LYIT, Programme Manager for the West North West Higher Education Cluster, and Board member of the Higher Education Authority. In her role as Chair, she will be responsible for leading the Board of the National Forum and ensuring its effectiveness in all aspects of its role as it embarks on its new strategic phase 2019-21.
Dr Ramsey brings excellent knowledge of the national and international policy contexts. She holds a Masters in Education, specialising in Management and Leadership, from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD from the University of Glasgow. Her work focuses on the strategic development of teaching and learning and co-ordination of national policy across higher education institutions and her research interests include higher education policy, student engagement, leadership and equality.
Following the announcement, the Chair of the HEA, Michael Horgan, stated: “On behalf of colleagues on the Board of the HEA, I am delighted to welcome Dr Ramsey to this role. She will have the fullest support of the HEA Board and Executive in bringing her wide experience of management, teaching and research in higher education institutions in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland to steer the National Forum through its second phase of development.”
The Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor congratulated Dr Ramsey on the appointment saying: “The National Forum is the key system-level ‘Centre of Excellence’ infrastructure to support, at national level, the implementation of the recommendations of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 in respect of the teaching role of HEIs. Dr Ramsey is an excellent choice for Chair of the National Forum, which will benefit from her specialist knowledge of national and international higher education policy, and I congratulate her on the appointment.”
The President of LYIT, Paul Hannigan, congratuled Dr Ramsey on behalf of everyone at LYIT and wished her well in her new role.
Commenting on her appointment, Dr Ramsey said: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to Chair the National Forum. The Forum will shortly launch an ambitious strategic plan that is based on an extensive consultation process that saw the Forum engage with students, teachers, researchers and leaders right across Irish higher education. The National Forum leads the enhancement of teaching and learning for the entire sector and I am looking forward to working with the Board to continue the inclusive development of an evidence base which further enables student success.”
The National Forum is the national body responsible for leading and advising on the enhancement of teaching and learning in Irish higher education. In partnership with students, staff and leaders in Irish higher education, the National Forum works to develop an inclusive, collaborative and innovative culture that maximises learning impact for the success of all students. The European Commission’s High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education has cited the National Forum as an example of ‘best practice’ in the provision of government-level support for the enhancement of teaching and learning in higher education, recommending that the model be scaled up to European level.