Brian Roper (academic)

Brian Roper (born December 15, 1949^[1][2]) is a British economist and former vice-chancellor of London Metropolitan University.

Career

Roper was born and raised in southeast London, and studied economics at the University of Wales. After a stint at Unilever he studied for a masters degree at the University of Manchester.^[3]

In 1980s Roper held a number of administrative posts at the Newcastle Polytechnic, including the Head of the School of Economics, the Head of the Faculty of Professional Studies and Assistant Director.^[4] Roper then moved to Oxford Polytechnic (renamed in 1992 into Oxford Brookes University) to take up the Deputy Director post there.^[4] He later served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Oxford Brookes.^[5]

In early 1994 Roper moved to the University of North London to become Vice-Chancellor there.^[6] He remained at that post until the 2002 merger of North London with London Guildhall University, which produced the London Metropolitan University.

London Metropolitan University

After the merger Roderick Floud was appointed as the vice-chancellor and chief academic officer and Brian Roper appointed as the chief executive and accounting officer.^[7] Effective April 1, 2004, Brian Roper became the Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University, with Roderick Floud becoming the university's President.^[8] His salary for 2006-7 was £276,000^[9] before bonuses, making him the highest paid vice-chancellor in the country. Since the formation of London Met he caused controversy due to the receipt of large pay increases. In February 2005 the Times Higher reported that he was the "biggest winner" among V-Cs over the past decade, having seen a 124% increase in his salary. It also noted that his pay rise from 2003-4 occurred at a time when the university was seeking job cuts "because the institution has failed to meet internal financial targets".^[10]

Role in London Met financial crisis

In 2009 Roper resigned his position as London Metropolitan's Vice-Chancellor in the wake of a financial crisis at the university that followed from submission of inaccurate data on its dropout rate, resulting in overpayments of government support.^[11] A report commissioned by the university found that Roper had “the major responsibility and culpability” for the financial situation: Roper and some members of the executive were aware that the university had been applying its own interpretation of funding rules on student dropouts – rather than the funding council’s – since 2003, but took no action. The university’s board of governors and audit committee had an oversight role, which made them ultimately “accountable for a financial failure of this magnitude” and meant that they “must take overall responsibility”.^[12] Roper threatened to sue for defamation if records were made public, but in the end did not.^[13]

Views

In 1997 Roper was a vocal opponent of the government's plans to increase student tuition fees, arguing that such a move would significantly reduce university enrollment by low-income students.^[14][15] He also spoke against the use of A-levels as the sole screening test in university admissions, arguing that the students' background and social circumstances must also be taken into account.^[16]

During his service as the London Metropolitan's Vice-Chancellor, Roper was involved in a series of contentious battles with the union representing the university's lecturers.^[17][18][19]

In 2008, Roper attacked the government funding of Oxford University and Cambridge University, calling them "finishing schools" that had not delivered on government priorities for social mobility.^[20][21][22]

References