Sir David John Collins (13 November 1949 – 14 February 2019)Stephen Exley
"Tributes paid to former FE commissioner Sir David Collins"
'' TES'', 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019. was a British educationalist.

Education

After attending

Humphry Davy Grammar School Humphry Davy School is a comprehensive school in Penzance, Cornwall, England. The school teaches 11 to 16-year-olds. History The oldest part of the main school building was completed in 1909. It was originally called the Penzance County School ...

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

, Collins went to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, graduating with a Scottish

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1972 and then completing a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

(PhD),"Collins, Sir David (John)"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 5 January 2018. awarded in 1977 for a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

entitled "Adult education and the community in the Scottish new towns".

Career and later life

After working as an education coordinator with

HM Prison Edinburgh HMP Edinburgh is located in the west of Edinburgh on the main A71, in an area now known as Stenhouse, and, although never named as such, has commonly been known as Saughton Prison from the old name for the general area. The prison is situat ...

, in 1975 Collins began working for Redditch College as a Head of Department. In 1985 he became the college's Development Officer, but in 1988 moved to Sandwell College as Vice-Principal. From 1993 to 2009, he was Principal and Chief Executive of

South Cheshire College South Cheshire College is a former further education college, located in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The College was a single campus situated in a residential area about one mile from Crewe town centre. It also served students from Nantwich, Alsa ...

and then Chief Executive of the

Learning and Skills Improvement Service The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) was a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and registered charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objec ...

, before becoming, in 2011, Principal of

Guildford College Guildford College of Further and Higher Education (GCFHE) in Guildford, Surrey was a Surrey County Council-funded educational establishment for students of age 16+ undertaking full-time and part-time studies, established in 1939. It became pa ...

. For the 2008–09 year, he was president of the Association of Colleges. In 2013, he left Guildford College and became the government's Further Education Commissioner, serving until 2016, when Richard Atkins and took over from him. He received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for his service in 2016, having been appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 2005. It was revealed before he left the office that he had been working twice the number of days per week than had originally been advertised in 2013, and that he earned £494,400 plus expenses over the three years he was commissioner. Collins died on 14 February 2019.Billy Camden
"Tributes paid to former FE Commissioner Sir David Collins"
''FE Week'', 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, David 1949 births 2019 deaths English educators Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People educated at Humphry Davy Grammar School for Boys People from Penzance Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts