Julie Lydon
Chair
Professor Dame Julie Lydon
Chair | Board member
Professor Dame Julie Lydon was the first female vice-chancellor in Wales on her appointment to the role at the University of Glamorgan in 2010. She oversaw the merger with the University of Wales, Newport to create the University of South Wales (USW) in 2013. The USW group includes the Coleg Merthyr Tydfil and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She retired in 2021 after 11 years at the helm of the University group.
In addition to her non-executive role as Chair of Medr, she is Deputy Chair of the Nelson Trust and sits on the boards of the University of the West of England and Solent Southampton University. She continues to support leadership across the higher education sector in the UK and Ireland through her consultancy projects with AdvanceHE and Mazars Ireland.
She brings governance and leadership experience through her current non-executive roles and from her previous experience as the first female elected to the position of UUK Vice President (Wales) and Chair of Universities Wales; she was also Deputy Chair of University Alliance and Deputy Chair of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), a member of the CBI Wales board.
She was awarded a DBE for her services to higher education across the UK in 2022 New Years Honours List.