John Charles Cater (born 3 February 1953) served as Vice-Chancellor of

Edge Hill University Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. The university, which originally opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, was the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, befo ...

from 1993 - 2025. He is the longest-serving head of a United Kingdom higher education institution and is the Chair of the

Universities UK Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...

Teacher Education Advisory Group. Cater was 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 the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded as ...

for services to Higher Education and Teacher Training.

Early life

He was born in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, England on 3 February 1953, the eldest of four children. His paternal grandfather was a tied railwayman and his maternal grandparents were travellers and smallholders. He was brought up in

Towcester Towcester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district. Towcester is on ...

, Northamptonshire, and has described himself as 'that year's kid from the council estate to go to grammar school'.

Early career

He completed a BA (Honours) degree in Geography at 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 ...

(Lampeter) in 1974, joining Liverpool Polytechnic (now

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

) as a Research Assistant on graduating, subsequently holding Lecturer and Research Fellow posts at the same institution, working on Social Science Research Council and Community Relations Council research projects on black and Asian segregation, housing and business development. He has published a range of articles and book chapters on the above, and jointly authored a text on Social Geography with Trevor Jones.

Edge Hill University

After a brief spell in a policy unit in London, Cater joined

in 1979, where he remained for 42 years before retiring in January 2025. Initially appointed to a lecturing post in Geography, he became Head of Urban Policy and Race Relations in 1983 and sub-Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Environmental and Social Sciences in 1986. He took institution-wide responsibility for Policy, Planning and Development in 1990 and was appointed Director of Resources in 1992. In June 1993 he succeeded Ruth Gee as Director and Chief executive. Shortly after appointment, Cater was appointed a Director of the Higher Education Careers Service, a role he sustained in a variety of guises for almost two decades, and became Chair of the Standing Conference of Principals' Teacher Education Group. This interest was also reflected in his appointment, by Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, to the Board of the Teacher Training Agency and its successor body, the

Training and Development Agency for Schools The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) was a body responsible for the initial and in-service training of teachers and other school staff in England. It was an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Education. ...

(1999–2006), where he chaired both the Audit and the Accreditation Committees. He was appointed Vice-Chair of the Standing Conference in 1997 and served as Chair from 2001 to 2003, being heavily involved in negotiations around the future status of what became the 'post-2004 universities'. Within his region, he also Chaired Higher Education North West (1999–2001), Liverpool City of Learning (2003–2005) and the Greater Merseyside and West Lancashire Lifelong Learning Network (2006–2010). In addition to his role as Vice-Chancellor, his current responsibilities include involvement in social work education and training for Universities UK, having been a past member of the Social Work Reform Board. He currently represents the sector in negotiations on the future funding of nurse education and training and is the Chair of the

Teacher Education Advisory Group. Cater was appointed a

(CBE) in the

for services to Higher Education and Teacher Training. He was also appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire in 2019. Cater's paper 'Whither teacher education and training?' was published by the

Higher Education Policy Institute Higher may refer to: Music * The Higher, a 2002–2012 American pop rock band Albums * Higher (Ala Boratyn album), ''Higher'' (Ala Boratyn album) or the title song, 2007 * Higher (Chris Stapleton album), ''Higher'' (Chris Stapleton album) or the ...

(HEPI) in April 2017. Cater retired as Vice-Chancellor on 31st January 2025. His successor has yet to be appointed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cater, John People from Northampton Living people 1953 births People associated with Edge Hill University Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter Academics of Liverpool John Moores University Academics of Edge Hill University Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Lancashire