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Jenny Higham

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Jenny Higham
Born
Warrington, England, UK
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity College London
OccupationVice-Chancellor & CEO University of Suffolk

Jenny Higham FRCOG, FRCP was the first woman to serve as Principal of St George's, University of London, which she took up an appointment in November 2015.[1] St George's, University of London obtained University status in June 2022, meaning Higham's position became Vice-Chancellor.[2][3] She was the first female to be elected Chair of the Medical Schools Council (August 2016).[4] Higham is also an Honorary Consultant at St. Georges NHS Foundation Trust and a visiting professor at the Imperial College London.[5]

Higham was born in Warrington and also lived in Gloucestershire and Norfolk during her childhood. She undertook her secondary education at Thorpe Grammar School, Norwich.[6]

Career

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Higham studied for her MBBS at University College London (UCL), graduating in 1985 with Distinction. She received the Atchison Scholarship, which is an annual award presented by UCL to the student who showed the best work and greatest proficiency in the medicine graduating year.[6] She undertook specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, obtaining her MRCOG in 1992 and FRCOG in 2005.[7] In addition to clinical training, she worked towards a research higher degree, investigating the clinical association and treatment of menorrhagia, awarded by the University of London in 1993.[8] She remains clinically active as a gynaecologist until 2024.[5]

Higham has previously held senior positions at Imperial College London, including Head of Undergraduate Medicine (2006–2009) and Vice Dean for Institutional Affairs and Director of Education for the Faculty of Medicine.[1][9]

She led Imperial College London's work to establish the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore, a partnership between Nanyang Technological University and Imperial, which opened in 2013. She then served as the school's senior vice dean from 2013 to 2015.[10][11] In recognition of her work, she was awarded the Nanyang Education University Gold Award,[12] the Imperial College Medal (2014),[13] and honoured as a Fellow of the Teaching Excellence Academy at Nanyang Technological University (2015).[14]

Higham received “Mentor of the Year” at the Women of the Future [WOF] Awards in 2011[15] and the Imperial College President and Rector's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Excellence in 2013.[16]

She previously worked at St Mary's (now Imperial College Healthcare Trust), appointed as Senior Lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology in 1997. Here, she contributed to the amalgamation of the curricula from the three medical schools (St Mary's, Charing Cross and Westminster) that merged to form the new medical school at Imperial College London.

Research interests included using advanced simulation in medical education.[17][18] Her previous research publications having focused on reproductive medicine.[19]

Higham delivered the Academy of Medical Educators’ Annual Calman Lecture 2017 and then accepted an Honorary Fellowship.[14] In July 2018 Jenny Higham was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Brighton and Sussex Medical School.[20] The previous month she was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.[6]

Higham has sat on many boards, including the Clinical Academic Staff Advisory Group (2013–2015); the Higher Education North West London Board (2012–2015); the General Medical Council's Education and Training Advisory Board; West Middlesex University Trust (2009–2015) [6] and University of London Institute of Paris (2018-2022).

She has been involved with the academic medical policy Medical Schools Council and has chaired the council's Education Sub-Committee (2015–16). She was Treasurer until 2016 when she took the position of Chair from 2016-2019.[17] She currently is on the Boards of St Georges University Hospital Foundation Trust, now George's Epsom St Helier (GESH), and the South London Health Innovation Network. Higham became a Member of the Board of the Universities & Colleges Employers Association in June 2019 to June 2023 and was then renewed for a further term. Higham is also Deputy Chair of the Universities & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).[21] In April 2024, Higham took up the position of Chair of the Remuneration Committee for the Universities & Colleges Employers Association Clinical Academic Staff Advisory Group for an initial term of office from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2027.

Higham joined the Universities UK (UUK) Board in 2019, joining the Audit and Risk Committee in 2020 and more recently the Remuneration Committee. Higham was elected as the Universities UK Funding Policy Lead for an initial term of three years from 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2024.[22] She was re-elected in May 2024 to serve another term as Financial Sustainability and Regulation Policy Lead.

In July 2021 it was confirmed that Jenny Higham will sit on the London Higher Board of Trustees[23] as a co-opted member.

In July 2022 Jenny Higham was confirmed as a member of the Government's R&D People and Culture Ministerial Coordination Group. [24] Higham is also a council member for the All-Party Parliamentary University Group, sitting until 2024.[25]

In her role as Vice-Chancellor, Higham has successfully led the merger of St George's, University with City, University of London on behalf of St George’s and will continue to do so until the formal creation of the new City St George's, University of London in August 2024.[26]

Her appointment to become Vice-Chancellor of the University of Suffolk in August 2024 was announced in March 2024.[27]

In May 2024 Professor Higham's was awarded Freedom of the City of London which was unanimously approved by the Court of Common Council.

References

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  1. ^ a b "St George's, the University of London names new principal". Times Higher Education. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  2. ^ "login". www.sgul.ac.uk. 13 February 2024.
  3. ^ "St George's, University of London has obtained University status". St George's, University of London. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  4. ^ British Medical Journal (5 August 2016). "Five minutes with. .. Jenny Higham, chair of the Medical Schools Council". BMJ. 354: i4339. doi:10.1136/bmj.i4339. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 27496129. S2CID 34136182.
  5. ^ a b "Professor Jenny Higham: Obstetrics and gynaecology". finder.bupa.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ a b c d "Principal". St George's, University of London. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  7. ^ Barrett, Anne (24 February 2017). Women at Imperial College: Past, Present and Future. World Scientific. ISBN 9781786342645.
  8. ^ Jennifer, Higham (1993). The clinical evaluation of unexplained menorrhagia and its treatment with danazol and norethisterone (Ph.D).
  9. ^ "Professor Jenny Higham". www.demec.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Interview with Jenny Higham". Times Higher Education. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  11. ^ "LKC Medicine collaboration sees Imperial shortlisted for sector award". Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  12. ^ "NTU launches highest award to honour teaching excellence". news.ntu.edu.sg. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Professor Jenny Higham". Developing Excellence in Medical Education Conference. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  14. ^ a b "AoME's Calman Lecture & President's Evening". Academy of Medical Educators. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  15. ^ "2011 Women Of The Future Awards". Stylist Magazine. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  16. ^ "President & Rector's 2013 awards and medals". Announcements. 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Medical Schools Council appoints first woman leader". Medical Schools Council. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  18. ^ Nestel, Debra; Clark, Susan; Tabak, Diana; Ashwell, Victoria; Muir, Elizabeth; Paraskevas, Paraskeva; Higham, Jenny (June 2010). "Defining Responsibilities of Simulated Patients in Medical Education". Simulation in Healthcare: The Journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. 5 (3): 161–168. doi:10.1097/SIH.0b013e3181de1cb6. PMID 20651478. S2CID 26113758. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  19. ^ Brosens, Jan J.; Hodgetts, Andrea; Feroze-Zaidi, Fahkera; Sherwin, J. Robert A.; Fusi, Luca; Salker, Madhuri S.; Higham, Jenny; Rose, Gillian L.; Kajihara, Takeshi (April 2010). "Proteomic analysis of endometrium from fertile and infertile patients suggests a role for apolipoprotein A-I in embryo implantation failure and endometriosis". Molecular Human Reproduction. 16 (4): 273–285. doi:10.1093/molehr/gap108. ISSN 1460-2407. PMC 2834406. PMID 20008415.
  20. ^ "Honorary Graduates". Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Principal". Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Who We Are". Universities UK. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  23. ^ "London Higher Board – London Higher". Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  24. ^ "R&D People and Culture Ministerial Coordination Group". GOV.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  25. ^ "The All-Party Parliamentary University Group University Members". The All-Party Parliamentary University Group. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  26. ^ "City, University of London and St George's, University of London agree to merge". St George's, University of London. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  27. ^ "New Vice-Chancellor to Drive University's Continuing Growth". www.uos.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
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