Professor Sir Ian Andrew Greer (born 16 April 1958) is a Scottish medical doctor who is the 13th President and Vice-Chancellor of

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

and formerly Vice-President of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences. He was Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

2001–2007, Dean at

Hull York Medical School Hull York Medical School (HYMS) is a medical school in England which took its first intake of students in 2003. It was opened as a part of the British government's attempts to train more doctors, along with Brighton and Sussex Medical School, P ...

2007–2010, then Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

2010−2015.

Early life

Greer went to

Allan Glen's School Allan Glen's School was, for most of its existence, a State school, local authority, selective Secondary education, secondary school for boys in Glasgow, Scotland, charging nominal fees for tuition. It was founded by the Allan Glen's Endowment ...

in Glasgow. He studied at the

graduating with a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

Academic career

In 1991, Greer joined the University of Glasgow as Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He held the Muirhead Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from 1992 until 2000. Taking up the post at the age of 33, he was the youngest person to be appointed professor and head of a British department of obstetrics and gynaecology in the 20th century. In 2001, he became Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Greer took up the post of Dean of the Hull York Medical School in January 2007. He moved to the University of Liverpool in 2010, becoming Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. In 2013, he was made the Provost responsible for research policy. In early 2015, he was asked to head the ''Health North'' scheme which was concerned with eHealth and local innovation. In March 2015, the University of Manchester appointed him as Vice-President and Dean to lead the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences. Shortly after this he was named as director of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre. Queen's University Belfast appointed him as the 13th President and Vice-Chancellor in January 2018. He took office as Vice-Channellor on 1 August 2018. In January 2020, former

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

and Democratic presidential candidate

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

was appointed to be the 11th Chancellor of Queen's. Clinton is the first female chancellor of the university. In July 2022, he completed a two year term as President of Universities Ireland, promoting collaboration and serving as the Chair of the Universities Ireland Board, which comprises each vicve-chancellor of each university on the island of Ireland. In September 2022, he accepted the unanimous offer of the University Senate for a second term as President and Vice-Chancellor which will take his tenure up to 2030. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

on 11 February 2021. This gave him the Post Nominal Letters "DL" for Life. In May 2023, Greer spoke of proposed higher education cuts by the Northern Ireland

Department for the Economy The Department for the Economy (DfE, ) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Economy. DfE was renamed in 2 ...

constituting a "bleak future" if they would go ahead where the number of students from Northern Ireland leaving to study at universities in other parts of the United Kingdom may increase. In June 2023, Greer was

knighted 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 ...

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 to the economy in Northern Ireland. Greer said he was "deeply humbled" to be knighted.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greer, Ian 1958 births Living people People educated at Allan Glen's School Alumni of the University of Glasgow 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 21st-century Scottish medical doctors Academics of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Liverpool Academics of the University of Manchester Knights Bachelor Deputy lieutenants of Belfast