Dame Julia Mary Goodfellow (née Lansdall; born 1 July 1951) is a former

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 ...

of the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

, and Chair of the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chief ...

. She was the president of

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 ...

from 1 August 2015 until July 2017.

Early life, education and career

Goodfellow completed her BSc degree in physics at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Faculty of Science: Alumni and friends
, bristol.ac.uk; accessed 9 April 2016. and obtained a

PhD 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 graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in biophysics at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

Research Unit in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. She began her career as Professor of Biomolecular Science at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

in 1995, and was promoted to Vice Master in 1998. In 2002, she was appointed chief executive of the

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds science, scient ...

, the first woman to lead a UK research council. Goodfellow served as chair of the

from 2009 to 2014. In 2007, she was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent. In 2011, she was appointed to both the

Council for Science and Technology The Council for Science and Technology (CST) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government. Its role is to give advice on issues that cut across government departments to the Prime Minister, the First Minister of ...

and the

Science and Technology Facilities Council The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a United Kingdom government agency that carries out research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astr ...

. Currently, Goodfellow is a member of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) advisory board. Goodfellow was elected

president from 2015 to 2017, the first woman to hold the role. In 2015 Goodfellow stated that Universities UK supported staying in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, citing the “economic growth, employable graduates and cutting edge research discoveries” that the EU could provide in the education sector. In 2018 she became president of the

Royal Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

Honours

*2001: 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) *2002: Honorary

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(Hon DSc) degree from the University of Bristol *2002: Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

*2004: Doctor of the University (DUniv) degree from the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

*2005: Honorary Doctor of Science degree from 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 ...

*2005: Honorary Doctor of Science degree from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

*2009: Honorary Doctor of Science degree from 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 ...

*2010: Promoted to

Dame 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 ...

(DBE) 'For services to Science'

Personal life

In 1972 Julia Lansdall married Peter Goodfellow, with whom she has one daughter and one son.

Criticism

Goodfellow has been criticised for her travel expenses and pay for the 2014-15 year. Her travel expenses were reported to be £26,635, with 92% of flights being first or business class. She also received a pay rise of 3% in the same year, increasing her salary to £272,000.Florence Maher
UKC VC spent a staggering £26,635 on flying first class last year
thetab.com; accessed 9 April 2016. She received a £43,000 pay rise in 2012–13, a rise of 19%.University of Kent vice-chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow's salary increases to £265,000
kentonline.co.uk; accessed 9 April 2016. Other staff at the university were striking to secure a 2% pay rise in the same year. The university was criticised by the University and College Union for attempting to "obscure key information" by obfuscating records of the meeting in which her salary was decided.

Selected publications

* * * * * * *

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodfellow, Julia 1951 births Academics of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of the Open University Alumni of the University of Bristol British women scientists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English biophysicists English physicists Fellows of the Institute of Physics Living people Vice-chancellors of the University of Kent Place of birth missing (living people) Women academic administrators Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)