Sir David Robert Bell (born March 1959) is a public policy analyst who is Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the

University of Sunderland The University of Sunderland is a public research university located in Sunderland in the North East of England. Its predecessor, Sunderland Technical College, was established as a municipal training college in 1901. It gained university status ...

. He was previously Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

for six years. Prior to that, he was

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

at the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

and its predecessor departments from January 2006 until 2012. Before that he was Chief Inspector of Schools at the

Office for Standards in Education The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

from 2002.

Early life and career

Bell studied history and philosophy at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

and obtained his

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and South Africa -where it can take up to three years- which provides training in order to allow graduate ...

(PGCE) from

Jordanhill College of Education Jordanhill College of Education was a higher education college in Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland. It opened as a teacher training college in 1921. The college merged with the University of Strathclyde in 1993, becoming its Faculty of Educati ...

. He also has a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

degree in management and administration from Glasgow University. Bell then held teaching posts at primary schools in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, moving on to become a deputy head, and then a

headteacher A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

at Kingston Primary School, in

Thundersley Thundersley is a town in the Castle Point borough of southeast Essex, England. It sits on a clay ridge shared with Basildon and Hadleigh, east of Charing Cross, London. In 2011 it had a population of 24,800. The ecclesiastical parish of Thu ...

, Essex.

Educational administration

In 1990, Bell became assistant director of education at

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. ...

. During this time he spent a year as a Harkness Fellow at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, studying education and local government reform across the United States of America. Bell trained as an

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

team inspector in 1993. He became a Registered Inspector in 1994 and carried out inspections in primary schools. He was promoted to director of education and libraries at Newcastle City Council in 1995 and became chief executive of Bedfordshire County Council in 2000.

Educational standards

Bell took up his post as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools on 1 May 2002. He was Chief Inspector for over three years and, in January 2006, he became

at the Department for Education and Skills, named the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was repl ...

from June 2007, and then the

from May 2010.

University of Reading

In September 2012, Bell left the civil service to become the vice-chancellor of the

. He succeeded Acting Vice-Chancellor

Tony Downes Tony Downes is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Law of the University of Reading. Downes specialises in commercial law and was educated at the University of Oxford and Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; ; formal ...

. In 2016 a move to reorganise the structure of Reading University provoked student protests. On 21 March 2016, staff announced a vote of no confidence in Bell, the no-confidence motion being backed by 88% of those who voted. Bell left the University of Reading in September 2018 and was succeeded by

Robert Van de Noort Robert Adrianus Leonardus Van de Noort is a Dutch-British historian and archaeologist who is the Vice-Chancellor and the Chief Executive of the University of Reading. He is the chair of the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC). ...

as acting vice-chancellor. Bell had left "under a cloud", according to

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

when it emerged that Reading had returned a £20 million deficit, largely because of its Malaysia campus.

University of Sunderland

Bell began his new role as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the

on 24 September 2018. He announced the closure of history, politics, modern languages and public health courses, and of research in those fields, on 13 January 2020.

Childcare Centre

It was announced in an email from Bell on 18 September 2024 that St Mary's Childcare Centre based at City Campus will close permanently on 23 July 2025.''Message from VC Childcare Centre Closing.pdf''. (n.d.). Google Docs. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://drive.google.com/file/d/147olOdZmHm1jsrUZatgNTW5djr0oy2Fa/view?usp=sharing&usp=embed_facebook He wrote, "The Childcare Centre is currently running at a substantial loss. This means that it is subsidised by the University, with the subsidy for 2023/24 projected to be in excess of £250,000... Last academic year, the service was used by 45 families, including 17 members of staff and 11 students. Currently, there are 34 children registered in the Centre."

National Glass Centre

Bell announced on 12 January 2023 that the National Glass Centre building would be closed (and probably demolished) within 3 years. Bell says that due to the cost of the relocation estimated at £9.4million, it has instead decided to close the course in summer 2026, with recruitment stopping from September 024''I hoped to become a glass artist, but the university’s decision has left me shattered''. (2024, April 11). Sunderland Echo. https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/people/artists-letter-to-university-of-sunderland-over-course-closure-thats-further-nail-in-glassmaking-coffin-4584954 This is despite a £250million capital development budget for the University and will shutter the centre, which is a heritage and history of glassmaking at Sunderland since the 7th century. As a consequence, the University announced on 22 March 2024 that its glass and ceramics academic programme will close in summer 2026.

Restructuring, voluntary severances, and layoffs

Under Bell's leadership, staff at the University of Sunderland have faced departmental restructuring and combining of faculties and voluntary severance offers with caveats that if not enough voluntary severance offers are taken, targeted layoffs and redundancies will be undertaken. On 30 September 2024, the University and Colleges Union (UCU) warned the institution is considering 76 redundancies, including 60 out of 549, more than one in ten, of its academic staff. The union added: "This is the second formal notification of redundancies in under six months. In neither this, nor the previous notification, were any management jobs put at risk." It is of note that during this period of layoffs and restructuring, a new executive member of staff was appointed, for the position of Pro Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching.

Parking fees

In May 2024, it was announced that parking at the University of Sunderland would see a rise from £1.30 to £6 per day - or 462% - and from 35p to £1.60 per hour.''Increase of parking fees at Sunderland Campus @ University of Sunderland Students’ Union''. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.sunderlandsu.co.uk/thestudentvoice/increase-of-parking-fees-at-sunderland-campus This has seen calls for the price to return to the previous rate from the student and staff unions.

Graduation fees

In 2024, the University introduced a £30.00 per guest charge for any students who wish to bring family or friends to their graduation ceremony. Previously free, the Student´s Union has a petition online calling for this to be removed, in recognition of the increased cost of living and job insecurity that students are facing.

Honours

Bell was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(KCB) in the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,1959 births Living people Academics from Glasgow Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Education and Skills Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families Vice-chancellors of the University of Reading Alumni of the University of Glasgow Deputy lieutenants of Tyne and Wear Presidents of the Association for Science Education