Steven George West (born March 1961) is a British

podiatrist A podiatrist ( ) is a medical professional devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. The term originated in North America but has now become the accepted term in the English-speaking world for ...

, the Vice-Chancellor, President and Chief Executive Officer of the

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

since 2008. He holds a number of national and international advisory appointments in higher education, healthcare policy and regional government.

Career

West trained as a podiatrist and podiatric surgeon in London, working in the NHS and private/commercial sector from 1982. He entered academia in 1984 as a lecturer, then senior lecturer, at The Chelsea School of Chiropody and Podiatric Medicine, The

London Foot Hospital The London Foot Hospital was founded in 1913 as The Pedic Clinic for Gratuitous Treatment of the Feet. It was the first free clinic for treatment of feet in England, and its School of Podiatric Medicine, which started as evening classes in 1919 ...

and Westminster University. He developed his research interests at

King’s College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in the Department of Bioengineering. In 1990 he took up a post as Associate Dean and Head of the Department of Podiatry at

Huddersfield University , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancel ...

, and became Dean of the School of Health and Behavioural Sciences in 1992. In 1995 he joined the University of the West of England as Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care and Professor of Health and Social Care. In this post he merged three Colleges of Health into a new faculty, establishing one of the largest faculties of Health and Social Care in the UK. In 2005, Professor West became Pro Vice-Chancellor at the university, with the planning and resources portfolio. Then in 2006 he became Deputy Vice-Chancellor and was later appointed Acting Vice-Chancellor in August 2007. In May 2008 he took up post as Vice-Chancellor, at the age of 46. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...

, the College of Podiatric Medicine and the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

Other roles

In June 2013, West was appointed as the first Chair of the West of England Academic Health Science Network (WEAHSN). The network is one of 15 across the country that aim to transform health and healthcare by putting innovation at the heart of the NHS, bringing together bodies including health commissioners and providers, universities, and industry. West is Chair of the UK Mental Health in Higher Education Advisory Group and a non-executive director of

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust The University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is a National Health Service foundation trust in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, England. The trust runs Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol Heart Institute, Bristol Royal Hosp ...

. He 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 ...

, 2021–2023. From 2017 to 2021, West was chair of the West of England

Local Enterprise Partnership In England, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses, set up in 2011 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine local economic priorities and lead econom ...

(LEP), and consequently a non-voting member of the

West of England Combined Authority The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is a combined authority within the West of England area, consisting of the local authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The combined authority is led by ...

(WECA). West’s other previous external commitments include non-executive director for the Office for Students, Chair of

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

, President of Bristol

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

, Chair of the West of England Initiative, and President of the South West CBI.

Personal life

West's leisure-time interests include scuba diving. He lives in

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and is married with five children. Since 2014, West has been a member of

The Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea tradi ...

Honours

Professor West 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...

for services to higher education and was made a deputy lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 2012.

References

External links

Steve West (VCUWE)
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Steven Academics of the University of the West of England, Bristol British podiatrists Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Westminster People from Mangotsfield Living people 1961 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Academics of the University of Huddersfield Deputy Lieutenants of Gloucestershire Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers