Dumfries and Galloway CollegeBoard of Management
Dumfries and Galloway College

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Dumfries and Galloway College Board of Management was established under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992.  The College is also a charity registered in Scotland in terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 with registered number SC021189. 

The Board of Management comprises of representative from industry, commerce and educations, and benefits greatly from Members’ extensive expertise of business and public life together with practical experience in education and training. 

Committee Members

The Board has 16 members comprising:

  • The Chair of the Board as appointed by the Scottish Ministers;
  • the Principal of the College;
  • a staff member elected by the teaching staff of the college;
  • a staff member elected by the support staff of the college;
  • two student members nominated by the Students’ Association; and
  • 10 non-executive members appointed by the Board.

Non-executive members of the Board serve on a voluntary basis, without remuneration, take an active interest in the work of the College and attend various college events. The Board normally meets four times a year.  Agendas, minutes and supporting papers are published on this website once the minute has been approved.

The Secretary to the Board is Lorraine Grierson. boardsecretary@dumgal.ac.uk

The private and public sectors are represented, as is the College’s Executive Management Team (by the Principal), teaching and support staff and the student body.  The Board’s key duties are to:

  • Set the strategic direction and priorities of the College
  • Promote commitment to the values and ethos of the organisation, including equality and diversity
  • Ensure satisfactory delivery of the organisation’s performance and financial objectives, high quality learning and outcomes, and a good learning experience
  • Be accountable to and maintain the trust of key stakeholders
  • Comply with relevant legal and financial requirements, including the Scottish Public Finance Manual
  • Ensure identification and control of the main risks to the organisation’s responsibilities and business objectives
  • Adhere to the sector’s Code of Good Governance and the organisation’s Financial Memorandum.

Board of Management

Biography

A Technology and Business Studies graduate, Caroline initially worked in the City of London where she trained as an Investment Analyst. She returned to Scotland and managed three companies before moving into business consultancy and then joining Oracle as global industry advisor for 16 years. She is now an independent consultant.

She has been a Commissioner on both the Widening Access and Make Maths Count Commissions.

Caroline sits on various Boards and Committees including SFC and SPA.  She joined Dumfries and Galloway College as Chair of the Board of Management in February 2022 and sits on the following Committees: Chair of Board Development Committee, Grievance Committee, Remuneration Committee, and Finance and General Purposes Committee.

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Biography
A former graduate of Dundee University, Joanna commenced her Tertiary Education career, spanning over 22 years, as a Lecturer in Computing before progressing into a number of senior management roles.

Joanna joined Dumfries & Galloway College as Principal in June 2019 from City of Glasgow College, where she held the post of Vice Principal Student Experience. Here she gained a wealth of experience in leading transformational change, curriculum innovation, widening access, and performance excellence. Whilst at City of Glasgow, Joanna was the Chair of the Regional Learning and Teaching Group and the Glasgow Regional STEM Hub.

Prior to working at City of Glasgow College, Joanna was Assistant Principal for Learning and Teaching at Fife College where she was instrumental in establishing the first regional STEM Strategy and the award-winning ‘Girls into Energy’ programme with Shell UK.

Whilst Head of Department for Life Sciences, Maths and Computing at Forth Valley College, Joanna initiated the Engineers of the Future programme; an award-winning work based learning degree in partnership with Heriot Watt University and INEOS Manufacturing Ltd. She also led the college to become the first STEM Assured College in Scotland in 2012 an innovative skills-based Life Science degree with the University of Stirling.

Joanna also works as an Associate Assessor for Education Scotland, Chairs the Digital Skills Partnership Board and is a member of The Data Lab’s Skills Advisory Board.

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Biography

Ann is a highly experienced further and higher education professional, working at Director Level in the UK College sector. Her most recent post involved responsibility for improving quality assurance standards in respect of professional development for over 800 staff at a large college. This involved developing a successful and bespoke two year coaching programme for senior managers and governors.  Alongside this, Ann was responsible for the strategic development of learning technologies/digital strategies across the College.

Ann left fulltime employment seven years ago, and is currently employed as an Independent Further and Higher Education Consultant, working primarily for the UK Quality Assurance Agency as a higher education Reviewer, and also as an Elite Independent Reviewer. She enjoys working with a wide variety of colleges and universities to improve academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities for students. She also works on academic appeals with the Quality Assurance Agency, and is experienced in judicial review processes.

Ann originally qualified in Librarianship and Information Sciences and practised as an academic librarian for several years, teaching Research Skills. She is experienced in commissioning new library builds, and particularly enjoyed a placement in Kentucky, USA, developing a new college library. She was awarded a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies (1985) and is vocationally qualified as an Assessor (Customer Care.) and as a Mental Health First Aider.

Ann relocated to Dumfries and Galloway two years ago, after spending many happy years holidaying in the area (from 1971). She also works for the Law Society of Scotland and was selected to sit on the Legal Aid Quality Assurance Committee, which monitors the work carried out by solicitors offering Civil Legal Assistance.

Implicit through all the work and life experience that Ann has, is her commitment to fairness and social justice, and the provision of life long educational opportunities for all sectors of our multi-cultural society.

Ann is a member of the following Committees:  Audit, Learning and Teaching, Remuneration, Grievance and Appeals and HR Sub-Committees.

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Biography

Claire studied photography in Edinburgh and then spent over 15 years as an HR practitioner in Scotland working for a variety of different businesses such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, AO.com and Specsavers before she founded Realise HR, an HR consultancy in 2015. Claire founded Realise HR to make a difference to people’s working lives and works with small to medium businesses and large organisations, both locally and across the UK. Realise HR has created 9 jobs for people in that time and has further ambitions to grow. Claire started her career with the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh then progressed to HR management of small teams within global businesses before moving into HR Director roles where she focused on strategic people planning and building competent teams to support company growth. To relax at the weekend Claire loves to read, travel and enjoys good food with her husband David and daughter Molly Rose.

Claire joined DGC Board of Management in April 2022 and sits on Remuneration Committee, Finance and General Purposes Committee, Chair of HR Sub Committee, Board Development Committee and Grievance Committee.

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Biography

David Burns is currently employed in Digital Services at Dumfries and Galloway College and represents UNISON as the local shop steward.

He has over 40 years’ experience working in I.T. and prior to moving back to Dumfries in 2011, was employed by Glaxo Smith Kline, Shell and Hewlett Packard in Annan, London and Munich in a variety of I.T. infrastructure roles.

David joined DGC Board of Management in March 2024 and is a member of Finance and General Purposes Committee.

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Biography

George Clark FIOR, FCIB, MSc (Risk), CIRSC, is an experienced Non-Executive Director and Charity Trustee and a previous Chair and Founding member of The Institute of Operational Risk, an international professional body. He has over 45 years experience in the financial services sector leading both business and risk functions at senior leadership level. As an independent consultant he has advised some of the industry’s leading financial services firms on change, risk and governance issues in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Netherlands and the UK. George is a passionate advocate for personal growth, learning and skills development.

George joined DGC Board of Management in September 2024 and is a member of Finance and General Purposes Committee and HR Sub Committee.

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Biography

Gillian is the Director of Skills, Education and Learning with responsibility for all schools in Dumfries and Galloway. She has strong regional roots, a commitment to the students and employers in Dumfries and Galloway and over 25 years of education management experience from the College, University and School sectors.

In her early career she qualified as a physiotherapist and following clinical work for the NHS, gained postgraduate qualifications in Biomechanics from Strathclyde University and worked as a lecturer for Queen’s College and Glasgow Caledonian University. As a senior lecturer at GCU she was responsible for Masters programmes within the Faculty of Health which led to an ongoing commitment to develop routes for the professional accreditation of skills and work related learning. A change of direction to the school education sector brought the chance to return home to Dumfries and Galloway and she has worked for the Dumfries and Galloway Council Education Authority for the last 18 years in senior management roles.

She has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Glasgow which focussed on developing leadership of learning to shape schools for the future and is an advocate of lifelong and professional learning.

Gillian joined DGC Board of Management in April 2021 and is a member of the following Committees:  Audit Committee and Learning and Teaching Committee.

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Biography

Honor recently graduated from Dumfries and Galloway college with an HNC in Childhood Practice. She is currently taking a year out to be this years Student President before moving on to study primary teaching at university.

Honor has extensive customer service experience, having worked in the hospitality industry since a teenager, and she is currently working in the local supermarket on the self-service checkouts.

Out with work, Honor is a single mum and enjoys attending conventions where she can meet people who like the same things her, and meeting some celebrities along the way. She is a a sci-fi geek and loves building LEGO, either with or without her child. She also volunteers as a parent helper within her child’s school, and is keen to become a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) ambassador for the area to allow children and young people to learn things from all around us.

As student president, she is looking forward to being a member of the board and being part of the team helping the students become the best versions of themselves. For this, she is keen to make sure their well-being is taken care of, and their mental health is put first within the college setting.

Honor is keen to represent the students at all levels across all the varied curriculum areas.

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Biography

Inga studied English Literature and History at The University of Edinburgh, and has worked across multiple sectors, including retail, publishing, marketing, hospitality, tourism and the third sector. Now in her second time of living in Galloway, Inga previously worked in the region as Project Manager of Destination Dumfries & Galloway and provided freelance services to various regional organisations, including Dumfries & Galloway Council, Dumfries Ice Bowl, Youth Beatz, the Creative Arts Business Network (CABN) and SUSTRANS.

Inga is passionate about Dumfries and Galloway, its people, its landscape and its potential. That includes working as a volunteer caseworker at SSAFA (the armed forces charity), working throughout Dumfries & Galloway’s community to support British Armed Forces veterans and their families, dependents and being a season ticket holder at Queen of the South.

Inga is now Operations Director at Springboard (The Springboard Charity/Springboard UK Ltd), mobilising Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism employability services throughout the UK; managing all of the charity’s activities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and North of England; and contract managing key partnerships with private sector, public sector and trust & foundations funders.

Inga joined DGC Board of Management in September 2024 and is a member of Finance and General Purposes Committee and Learning and Teaching Committee.

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Jamie joined the DGC Board of Management in April 2022.

His career has spanned more than two decades in senior leadership positions across the transport sector.

Most recently he was Global Commercial Director for Menzies Aviation and a member of the Executive Management Board of John Menzies plc and prior to that he held senior commercial and business development positions at Serco and the Go-Ahead Group.

Starting his career within the Ferries Division of multi-national company Sea Containers, other roles have included operational and general management positions in the UK rail industry with GNER and Northern Rail and Jamie also had a four year spell as a Senior Civil Servant in the Scottish Government with responsibility for a wide-ranging transport portfolio.

Jamie was born and grew up in Stranraer and graduated with a law degree from the University of Aberdeen. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Jamie is the Chair of Audit Committee and is a member of Remuneration, Board Development and Grievance Committees.

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Biography

Kate is a graduate from Strathclyde University with an Economics Degree.  She joined DGC in February 2019 as Performance Manager and in 2022 became the Student Journey Manager.  Kate is very passionate about improving the student journey and the experiences that our students have.  Prior to working at DGC Kate was in the private sector working in various outsource call centres.  Kate coaches at a local girl’s football team.

Kate is a member of  Finance and General Purposes Committee and the HR Sub-Committee.

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Kirsty is responsible for Built Environment Smarter Transformations Skills Infrastructure programme which looks to support industry, tertiary education, and schools to develop a workforce that can have a positive impact on the current skills imbalances within the built environment. Kirsty’s experience is within developing skills programmes and digital learning design and will be using this knowledge to grow and deepen relationships across the education and built environment sectors and build the necessary educational structures to support the delivery of a competent workforce.

Kirsty joined DGC Board of Management in September 2024 and is a member of Audit and Learning and Teaching Committees.

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Biography

Peter has been a full time Lecturer at Dumfries and Galloway College since starting in 2007. Predominantly teaching in Fitness, Health and Exercise but also delivering across the full suite of Sport and Fitness courses in Further and Higher Education. From 2012 to 2020 Peter held an additional role as a Learning and Teaching Mentor, working with colleagues in nearly all curriculum areas. Peter has typically wide-ranging experience as a Lecturer meaning involvement of Quality Assurance, External Approval, Curriculum Design, Technology use, Partnership Working and a range of Learning and Teaching initiatives.

In 2015 Peter joined the Learning and Teaching Committee as a Faculty Rep. As well as Learning and Teaching Peter has an interest in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion and as such joined the Local E+D Committee and the College Equality and Diversity Forum.

Further Equality and Diversity training led to an interest and involvement as a local EIS FELA rep. Peter has been on the EIS FELA National Executive Committee since 2017. Locally, Peter was one of the signatories of the local RPA (Recognition and Procedures Agreement) for the revised LJNC and is currently the EIS FELA Branch Secretary.

Peter graduated from Exeter University and went on to complete TQFE from University of Dundee. Peter has spent time as an SQA External Verifier and is GTCS registered.

 

Peter joined DGC Board of Management in March 2024 and is a member of Learning and Teaching Committee.

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Professor Alastair Irons is a Professor of Computer Science, Deputy Principal and Deputy Vice Chancellor at Abertay University in Scotland. Before coming to Abertay in July 2022 he was Academic Director for Digital Education at the University of Sunderland, having previously been the Dean for the Faculty of Technology. Prior to joining the University of Sunderland in 2008 he worked at ONE North East, Northumbria University and ICI. Alastair became a National Teaching Fellow in 2010. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Cape Town in South Africa from 2013 – 2017 and is currently a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg and at the British University in Egypt.

Alastair is currently Vice President (academic) of the British Computer Society (BCS) and is Chair of the BCS Academy board, he also sits on BCS Council and BCS Trustees and is a founding trustee of the BCS Foundation. He is also the UK representative on the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and serves on the IFIP Board.

Alastair joined DGC Board of management in September 2024 and is a member of Audit and Learning and Teaching Committees.

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Richard qualified as a chartered certified accountant back in 1997, progressing onto fellowship status (FCCA).  After starting his career within the finance department at Essex University, Richard progressed through a number of service-related industries including timber importers, freight forwarding and shipping agency, the cruise industry, and holiday travel agency.  In 2013, Richard moved himself and his family to SW Scotland to commence his current role as Finance Director and Company Secretary for a global renewable energy consultancy and service operations business.  In addition to finance, this also involves directing the business support functions for the company.

Richard’s voluntary interests have previously been successfully developing and growing a running club, progressing to chairing the county athletics association for several years.  After moving to Scotland, these running interests translated to directing local running events including the 10km run in Gatehouse of Fleet and the Half Marathon race in Kirkcudbright.

Richard was appointed to the Board of Management in March 2021.  He is Chair of the Finance and General Purpose Committee and is a member of the Remuneration Committee and Board Development Committee.

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Biography

Shane Saunders is the Student Association Vice President and an HND student studying Fitness, Health and Exercise. He is a very active person and likes to take on new fitness challenges when he can.  He has done several challenges to raise money for local charities close to his heart.

Shane took on the role as vice president because he wants to help all the students get the most out of their college experience and make their time here as stress free as possible.

Shane joined DGC Board of Management in August 2024 and is a member of Learning and Teaching Committee.

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Originally from N Ireland and with degrees in Spanish and European Studies and in Urban Regeneration, Sharon is an Economic Development Consultant, specialising in business planning and funding bids. She has had an extensive career in the public sector and worked in a number of key economic development roles within local government – most recently Sharon led the team who successfully negotiated and signed off the Ayrshire Growth Deal – a £250M investment package. Previous roles have included Head of Strategic Services at Riverside Inverclyde Urban Regeneration Company and Project Manager, Tall Ships Inverclyde 2011, and over a thirty year career, Sharon has gained extensive experience of business support and employability and training programmes; events management and inward investment.

Sharon joined DGC Board of Management in April 2022 and is Chair of Learning and Teaching Committee.  She also attends the Remuneration and Board Development Committees.

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Sue is Director of Housing Services for Loreburn Housing Association and was previously Chief Executive Officer of the award-winning Dumfries & Galloway Citizens Advice Service.  Sue worked for many years with third sector organisations supporting people affected by homelessness and spent four years working for the Scottish Government as their Health and Homelessness Coordinator.

As well as being on the College Board Sue is also a non-executive Director of Dumfries & Galloway Chamber of Commerce and a Trustee of Centre Stage Youth Theatre. She has a Master of Business Administration from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and returned to her native south west Scotland in 2008 having spent 20 years living and working in the north east of Scotland.  Sue’s other great passion in life is being a lifelong supporter of Liverpool Football Club.

Sue was appointed to the Board of Management in March 2021. She is currently Chair of the Remuneration Committee, is a member of the Audit, Board Development  and HR Sub Committees and is also Vice Chair to the Board of Management.

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Susan joined Dumfries and Galloway College as a Lecturer, Digital Health and Social Services in January 2016.  She graduated with a BSc (Hons) Psychology with the Open University. To enhance her role as a Lecturer in the College, Susan is also employed as an External Verifier, Marker, and Member of the Quality Development Team with SQA.

Prior to joining the college, Susan worked as a Co-Ordinator within the Third Sector, providing support to various organisations, employees and volunteers.  She also has previous experience  within the role of Director of a local voluntary organisation, and she has been involved as a member of the Exclusion and Appeals Panel, Education Department of Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Susan is a member of Learning and Teaching Committee, HR Sub Committee and Board Development Committee.

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Will joined the Board of Management in March 2021 and is currently the Agent for Scotland for the Bank of England. He has a wide range of policy making and leadership experience in internal and external facing roles. He is well known and respected within the Scottish business community, public and third sector. He joined the Bank of England in Glasgow in 2015, he is also the mentor to the Scottish Chief Commissioner, Girl Guiding Scotland.

Since 2019 he has been a Member of the Industry Advisory Panel for University of Edinburgh Futures Institute and is also Director of The David Hume Institute, a public policy research organisation since 2020.

Will acts as Senior Independent Member for the Board of Management and is a member of Audit Committee, and Remuneration Committee.

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