Neil Merritt

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Neil Merritt (born 3 March 1939) was the last President of Portsmouth Polytechnic (1991-2) and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth (1992-4), from which he resigned after financial irregularities. He was chairman of Hillingdon Hospital Trust, 1991-94, from which he resigned after a staff campaign.

[edit] Career

He was educated at Ilford County High School and the University of Hull (LLB). He lectured in law at various colleges, 1962-1973. (He was Secretary, then Chairman of the Association of Law Teachers, 1965-71.) He then became Vice-Principal of Mid-Essex Technical College, 1973-74. He was visiting professor of law at Indiana University in 1974. He was Pro-Director of Chelmer Institute of Higher Education, 1975-76, then returned to Indiana.

He was Director of Ealing Technical College (which became Ealing College of Higher Education, then the Polytechnic of West London), 1977-91. Throughout this time, he was a member of the Standing Conference of Principals.

Merrit was resigned as vice-chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, following his admission that overseas business expense claims which he had submitted were not accurate. He resigned also as chairman of Hillingdon Hospital Trust, after a union campaign against him and a poll of 1,380 members of staff, 93% of whom backed a vote of no confidence. At the time he earned £90,000 a year, and drove a Jaguar.[1]

[edit] Positions held

Throughout his career, Merritt served on committees connected with higher education. These included:

• Member: Advisory Committee on Legal Education, 1972-76
• Member: Council for National Academic Awards Legal Studies Board, 1978-84
• Member: National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education Boardd, 1982-88 (Member, Chairman's Study Group, 1983-88)
• Trustee, then Vice-Chairman, Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges, 1980-88
• Chairman: Committee for Business and Finance, Business and Technology Education Council, 1982-85
• Chairman: Polytechnic and Colls Employers Forum, 1990-92
• President, European Association of Higher Education, 1990-92
• Co-Chairman, Committee for Higher Education in the European Community, 1991-92

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

[edit] Publications

His book Business Law (with E. G. H. Clayton), published 1966, became a standard textbook.