David Watson (academic)

Sir David John Watson (22 March 1949 8 February 2015) was a British academic and educationalist. He was Director of Brighton Polytechnic from 1990 to 1992 and Vice-Chancellor of its successor the University of Brighton from 1992 to 2005. In 2005 he was appointed Professor of Higher Education Management at the Institute of Education and was Course Director of the Institute's MBA in Higher Education Management. Between 2010 and 2015 he was Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford and Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford. Watson was born on 22 March 1949 in Broxbourne, England. He was educated at Cheshunt Grammar School before winning a Fleming Scholarship (paid for by Hertfordshire County Council) to attend Eton College. From January 1967-August 1968 he taught at a boy's secondary school in Minaki,Tanzania, returning to the UK to matriculate at Clare College, Cambridge where he was a choral exhibitioner. He graduated with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. He won a Thouron Award to attend the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in intellectual history in 1975. Watson's first post upon returning to the UK in 1975 was at Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education. His major responsibility was the development of a new suite of courses in the humanities leading first to a Diploma in Higher Education, and then to a BA degree. In 1981 he was appointed Dean of the Modular Course at Oxford Polytechnic and then Deputy Director. In 1990 he was appointed Director of Brighton Polytechnic. In 1992, Brighton Polytechnic was granted university status and Watson became the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton. In 2005 Watson retired from the University of Brighton and joined the Institute of Education, then part of the University of London, as Professor of Higher Education, Course Director of its MBA in Higher Education Management and Co-Director of its Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES). In 2010, he was elected Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford.