Introducing the new University College Secretary

Posted 30 October 2009

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Dr Catherine Baxter has taken up the role of University College Secretary at Harper Adams. Her post replaces that of Director of Corporate Affairs, previously held by Dr David Llewellyn, who took over as Harper’s Principal when Professor Wynne Jones OBE retired recently.

Born in England and raised in Northern Ireland, Dr Baxter was a student at the University of Aberystwyth, Wales.

“I stayed on afterwards to work in administration for three years,” she said. “After that I worked at Nottingham University for six years, within the science, engineering and agriculture departments, and also helped them to set up their campus in Malaysia. I’ve also worked in Thailand and for other international operations.

“I returned to Wales for the past eight years where I worked as the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Administration at Glyndwr University, Wrexham. I helped them to achieve university title and degree awarding powers.

 “A key aspect of my role at Harper is to work closely with the Chairman of Governors and other governors, the Principal and other senior staff to meet the requirements of good governance. Harper has a good reputation for this, something I want to continue with to ensure we go from strength to strength.

“I’m also part of the Principal’s team and will make contributions, including working closely with Student Services and the Student Union President.

“And I will be directly line managing various departments. I will also, as David Llewellyn was, be secretary to key committees such as the College Executive and other important bodies.”

Dr Baxter will have responsibility for managing the Estates, Catering, Corporate Communications, Personnel, Farm and Health and Safety operations at the University College. She explained that her greatest challenge would be understanding Harper Adams, a specialist higher education institution for the food chain and rural economy.

“Everyone has been extremely helpful in this and always happy to help answer my questions. I’m delighted to be working here, I find it extremely positive and colleagues have welcomed me and made me feel at home. I’m looking forward to the months to come.”