The Co-operative College has co-opted four new trustees to its board, which it says will add “significant experience and expertise”.
All new trustees will also stand for re-election at the College’s AGM later this year.
The new appointments are:
- Simon Thomson, a senior leader and director of the Centre for Innovation in Education at the University of Liverpool, with over 20 years’ experience in higher education
- Dr Gregory Roberts, who holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Birmingham and is co-chair of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Network of the Co-operative Party
- Rosie Harvey, a qualified secondary school teacher, who currently works as a training and behaviour advisor for UK charity Guide Dogs
- Chris Jardine, former secretary of the Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative and experienced charity governance professional
The new trustees join as the College prepares to launch a new strategy later this year; the organisation is also celebrating new partnerships with Imperial College, London and the Lagos State Co-operative College, Nigeria.
CEO and principal Neil Calvert said: “The next 12-18 months will be a very important time for the College. Trustees play a crucial role in both supporting and scrutinising the work of the leadership team, so we are delighted to have made such a strong set of appointments to the board.
“Our new trustees bring expertise from the co-operative movement, the charitable sector and all phases of the education system, and will complement the skills and experience of existing trustees to allow the board to operate even more effectively moving forward.”
Chair of trustees Jon Nott said: “The past two years have been a time of real change for the College and, as we enter the next phase, we are keen to ensure that our board of trustees starts to reflect not only the existing co-operative movement, but all the co-operators in the communities we work with both here in the UK and internationally. I’m really pleased to welcome our new trustees and look forward to working with and learning from them”
Rosie Harvey, new trustee at the College, said: “I’m really looking forward to being part of the College’s board, in what is my first trustee role. The College’s ambitions to put learners very much at the centre of what they do is what attracted me to this role, and it’s going to be a very exciting journey.”
Further details about the new Trustees are available on the College’s website
