Debra Humphris is an English academic and nurse who was the

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 countr ...

of the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

from 2015-2024.

Biography

As a registered nurse, Humphris worked at the South Thames regional health authority and

St George's Hospital Medical School St George's, University of London (SGUL), legally the St George's Hospital Medical School, was a public medical school from 1733 to 2024 in South London, England. It merged with City, University of London to form City St George's, University of ...

, where she conducted research for the

Doctor of Philosophy 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 Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree. She received her PhD degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1999 after defending her thesis, "The implementation of policy into clinical practice: the use of research evidence by doctors, nurses and therapists". After completing her education, Humphris became a professor of health care development at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, where she led the New Generation Project to evaluate the university's health care curriculum. In 2008, she became the pro

for education and student experience at the University of Southampton. Preston Barracks in 2012 Humphris was appointed as pro rector for education at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

in 2012, and vice provost for education in 2013. She became the vice chancellor of the

on 1 December 2015, succeeding the retiring Julian Crampton. She is one of few openly

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

university leaders in the United Kingdom. As vice chancellor, Humphris advocated for the transformation of

Preston Barracks Preston Barracks was a military installation on Lewes Road, Brighton. All of the buildings on the site (except for the Crimean War Building) have been demolished, most recently in 2018, with mainly student residences and a retail park built on ...

, an 18th-century military installation, into new student residences and the university's business school. In 2018, she was elected as a fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

. She was elected as the chair of the

University Alliance University Alliance (UA) is an association of British universities formed in 2006 as the ''Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities'', adopting its current name in 2007. Its membership is made up of technical, research-oriented and professional ...

, an association of 21 universities, in 2019. Humphris was appointed

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 the

2023 Birthday Honours The 2023 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part ...

for services to education and the National Health Service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphris, Debra Academics of the University of Southampton Administrators of Imperial College London Alumni of St George's, University of London Alumni of the University of Southampton British women academics British women nurses English nurses Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians British LGBTQ academics Living people National Health Service people Vice-chancellors of the University of Brighton Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century English LGBTQ people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire