Graham Upton DL (born 30 April 1944) was chair of the board of Experience Oxfordshire from 2013 to 2017 having previously been chair of the board of Oxford Playhouse for 8 years. Born in Birmingham, he moved to, and was educated in, Australia, where he taught in secondary and

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

s before moving back to the UK in 1972. He worked in the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

and Leeds Polytechnic before moving to the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

where he was pro-vice-chancellor and professor of

special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Meaning The meaning of S ...

and

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, behavioral perspectives, allows researc ...

. In September 1997, he accepted the post of

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 ...

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

, which he held until August 2007. From 21 May 2010 until July 2011, Upton was the interim vice-chancellor of the University of Cumbria. Upton also served as interim vice-chancellor of Glyndŵr University from January 2015 until the appointment of Professor Maria Hinfelaar in April 2016. In June 2013, he was appointed High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, having been

Undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient Kingdom of England, English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In Policing ...

the year before. and served as a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Oxfordshire from 2014 to 2019. He is married to Bebe Speed, an ex-director of West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy. They have four children and five grandchildren. In January 2018, Graham Upton served as Interim Vice Chancellor of Birmingham City University and then in 2019 as the Interim Vice-Chancellor of

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

and in 2020 as Interim Director of SOAS London. In addition to these appointments Professor Upton was Chair of the Board of Oxford Playhouse for 8 years and served on the Board of Governors of the University of the West of England for 8 years.

Arms

References

External links

Oxford Brookes staff biography
1944 births People associated with Oxford Brookes University Living people Deputy lieutenants of Oxfordshire High sheriffs of Oxfordshire Academics of the University of Birmingham {{Academic-administrator-stub