David Eastwood

For the English cricketer, see David Eastwood (cricketer). For the army officer, see David Eastwood (British Army officer).

Sir David Stephen Eastwood, (born 5 January 1959), is a British academic and long serving university leader who was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham between 13 April 2009 and December 2021.

Early life

Eastwood was born on 5 January 1959 in Oldham, Lancashire, and educated at Sandbach School. In 1980, he graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford, with a First Class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Modern History, and was promoted to Master of Arts (MA) in 1985. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in 1985, also from the University of Oxford.

Career

Eastwood has held the posts of Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University. His academic specialism is modern history, and he was fellow and senior tutor of Pembroke College, Oxford.

He was Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), a post he had held since September 2006. His former posts also include Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia and Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board.

On 13 April 2009, he succeeded Michael Sterling as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. In March 2011, Eastwood announced plans to raise the undergraduate tuition fees at the University of Birmingham to the maximum of £9000 (subject to OFFA approval) for courses commencing 2012/13. Eastwood retired from the position in December 2021 and was succeeded by Adam Tickell.

Eastwood is a former chair of the QAA Steering Group for Benchmarking and a former member of the QAA Board. He has contributed numerous times to several newspapers, among them The Guardian, The Sunday Telegraph and The Times. His specialist subject is 19th- and 18th-century British and American politics.

He has been a member of the board of the Universities Superannuation Scheme since 2007.

Honours

Eastwood was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) in 1991. On 25 January 2012, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands. He was knighted in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to higher education.