Colin Campbell (academic)
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Sir Colin Campbell, DL, FRSA, an academic lawyer, is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, England and Her Majesty's First Commissioner of Judicial Appointments.
Since 1988, when he was appointed as the country's youngest Vice-Chancellor at the age of 43, he has done much to expand the University of Nottingham and consolidate its position as one of the country's leading higher education institutions. Recently, he has been the driving force behind the expansion of the university overseas - the first such move amongst British universities.
A self confident individual, Sir Colin has consistently shown himself to be unafraid of supporting unpopular causes, and he has been a loud advocate of controversial plans to introduce tuition fees. He attracted considerable controversy in the early 1990s after the suicide of Nottingham Professor David Regan, who left notes critical of the university. More recently, he was criticised for the university's decision to accept a £3.8m endowment from a tobacco company in 2001.
He has shown little inclination to be any less controversial in his new job as commissioner for judicial appointments, and has been heavily critical of the current appointments procedure.
Sir Colin graduated with First Class Honours in Law from the University of Aberdeen. He subsequently held appointments at the University of Dundee and the University of Edinburgh before becoming Professor of Jurisprudence at the Queen's University, Belfast, where he was Dean of the law faculty and a Pro Vice-Chancellor, as well as Chairman of QUBIS Ltd. He was a member of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights for Northern Ireland, the Legal Aid Advisory Committee, the Mental Health Legislation Review Committee, as well as chairing various committees of inquiry in Northern Ireland.
He has previously served on the University Grants Committee, as Vice Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals and as a member of the Board of the Higher Education Funding Council for England. He was chairman of the Northern Ireland Economic Council from 1987 to 1994, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology authority from 1990 to 1994, the Human Genetics Advisory Commission from 1996 to 1999 and the Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee from 1991 to 2001. He was a member of the Sheehy Inquiry Team into Police Responsibilities and Rewards and a member of the Trent Regional Health Authority from 1993 to 1996. He was Chairman of the Food Advisory Committee from 1994 to 2001. In 1999 he was appointed to the Board of Swiss Re.
He was knighted in 1994 and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire in 1996. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was elected a member of the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences in 2000. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Aberdeen in 2001.
| Preceded by: Professor Basil Weedon | Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham 1988– | Followed by: Incumbent |