Anthony William Forster,

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

FAcSS The Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is an award granted by the Academy of Social Sciences to leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners of the social sciences. Fellows were previously known as Academicians and used t ...

FHEA Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

(born 19 May 1964) is a British

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. He is a former

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

and was previously deputy vice-chancellor of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

Early life and education

Forster was born on 19 May 1964 in

Chiseldon Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, a mile south of junction 15 of the M4 motorway, on the A346 between Swindon and Marlborough. The larg ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England.'FORSTER, Prof. Anthony William', ''

Who's Who 2017 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 9 Sept 2017
/ref> Attended

Denstone College Denstone College is a co-educational, private, boarding and day school in Denstone, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. It is a Woodard School, having been founded by Nathaniel Woodard, and so Christian traditions are practised as part of Coll ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

1977 to 1982. Sponsored by the military in the form of an undergraduate cadetship, he graduated from the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

in 1985 with a BA ( first class) in politics. After completing six years of military service, he studied Politics (European Politics and Society) at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

, from 1991, obtaining his

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

in 1993. He remained at Oxford to undertake further research in European politics, and completed his

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1996 at

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...

Career

Military service

From 1985 to 1991 Forster served as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

. On 2 September 1983, he was commissioned into the

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider defence forces. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and tr ...

as a second lieutenant (on probation) (Undergraduate Cadetship). After graduating he began his full-time military career as a second lieutenant (on probation) in July 1985, with the

service number A service number or roll number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they also may be used in civilian organizations. National identificati ...

of 517900. His commission was confirmed and he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 7 July 1985 with seniority from 9 April 1985. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 9 April 1989 but left the British Army on 1 May 1991, then being appointed to the reserve of officers. His military service came at the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, and he completed several postings to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In 1990 he was deployed to

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

as a British military adviser to the government of the newly independent nation.

Academic career

Forster began his academic career while a

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

student at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He was a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

, from 1985 to 1986. He later held positions at the University of Nottingham (1996–2000),

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(2000–2002) and the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

(2002–2006). From 2006 he worked at

and from 2011 held the positions of deputy vice-chancellor and honorary professor of politics. In 2012 Forster was appointed as the vice-chancellor of the University of Essex, where he has presided over reforms that seek to emphasize the university's commitment to education and teaching, as well as to research, alongside a strategic goal of increasing student numbers by 50 percent by 2019. He was criticized in 2014 by author and academic

Marina Warner Dame Marina Sarah Warner (born 9 November 1946) is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth. She has written for many publication ...

, after she resigned from the university, who argued that decision-making power at Essex had been handed to administrators at the expense of academics.Marina Warner
"Diary"
''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'', 36(17), 11 September 2014, pp. 42–43 In August 2023, Forster announced his intention to retire in July 2024."Our Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster to retire in 2024"
'' University of Essex News'', 4 August 2023 In November 2024, shortly after he stepped down, the University announced they'd cut 200 jobs due to a £29 million 'shortfall', blaming government decisions on funding an internationals students. "University to cut 200 jobs amid £29m shortfall"
''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'', 28 November 2024

D-Notice system review

In 2014 Jon Thompson, Permanent Secretary of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, asked Forster to chair an independent review to examine the efficacy of the

Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee The Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee is a British government liaison advisory body established in 2015 which oversees a voluntary code which operates between the government departments which have responsibility for national se ...

and

DA-Notice In the United Kingdom, D-Notices, officially known since 2015 as DSMA-Notices (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notices), are official requests to news editors not to publish or broadcast items on specified subjects for reasons of national sec ...

system. The review was completed in 2015.

Other appointments

Forster is an Executive Board Member for the Young Universities for the Future of Europe Alliance (2019-) and the

Joint Information Systems Committee Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organisation that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education and research, as well as the public sector. Its head office is based in Bristol with o ...

(JISC) (2020-). Forster has been a board member and director at the

Leadership Foundation for Higher Education The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) was an organisation in the United Kingdom providing support and advice on leadership, governance and management for higher education, based in Holborn, London. It was merged into Advance HE ...

(2008-2014); a board member and trustee for animal welfare charity Blue Cross (2012–17); a member of the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engl ...

Teaching and Student Opportunity Strategic Advisory Committee (2015–18); a board member of the

Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

(2016–18); a member of South East Local Enterprise Partnership's strategic board (2016–19); and a board member of the Equality Challenge Unit (2017–18).

Honours

In 2009, Forster was elected a

Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences The Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is an award granted by the Academy of Social Sciences to leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners of the social sciences. Fellows were previously known as Academicians and used t ...

(FAcSS).

Selected works

*(2007) ''Out of Step: The Case for Change in British Armed Forces'', London: Demos (with Tim Edmunds). *(2006) ''Armed Forces and Society in Europe'', Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. *(2004) ''Reshaping Defence Diplomacy: New Roles for Military Cooperation and Assistance'', Adelphi Paper 365, Oxford: Oxford University Press (with Andrew Cottey). *(2002) ''Euroscepticism in Contemporary British Politics: Opposition to Europe in the British Conservative and Labour Parties since 1945'', London: Routledge. *(2001) ''The Making of Britain's European Foreign Policy'', Essex: Longman Press (with Alasdair Blair). *(1999) ''Britain and the Maastricht Negotiations'', London: Macmillan/St Antony's and New York: St Martin's Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Anthony 1964 births Living people Military personnel from Wiltshire British political scientists Academics of the University of Essex Academics of Durham University Alumni of the University of Hull Fellows of St Hilda's College, Oxford Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Fellows of the Higher Education Academy Royal Corps of Transport officers Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford 20th-century British Army personnel Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts