David Eastwood

Professor David Stephen Eastwood (born 5 January 1959) is a British academic who became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham on 13 April 2009, taking over from Professor Michael Sterling upon the latter's retirement. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), a post he had held since September 2006. Former posts also include Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia and Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board.

He was educated at Sandbach School, St Peter's College, Oxford (MA) from where he graduated in 1980, and was subsequently made an Honorary Fellow, and at the University of Oxford (DPhil). He has held the posts of Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University. His academic specialism is modern history, and he was fellow and senior tutor of Pembroke College, Oxford.

Professor Eastwood is also Chair of the QAA Steering Group for Benchmarking and a member of the QAA Board. He enjoys music, politics, walking, wine; and includes writing on football among his publications. He has contributed numerous times to several newspapers, among them The Guardian,The Sunday Telegraph and The Times.His specialist subject is 19th and 18th century British and American politics. He has expressed his support for the governments actions to increase tuition fees to between £6000 and £9000.

In March 2011 he announced plans to raise the undergraduate tuition fees at the University of Birmingham to the maximum of £9000 (subject to OFFA approval) for courses commencing 2012/13. Freedom of information requests have shown that David Eastwood's total renumeration, including pensions contribution and other benefits, was £419,000 in 2011, up 7% on 2010 and 18% on 2009.

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