Association of Colleges
AoC Board
AoC is governed by an elected Board of members, both Principals and Chairs of Governors of member Colleges. The AoC’s Governors’ Council aims to be the central voice and source of guidance and support for Governors in AoC policy developments.
Below is a selection of Board member biographies.
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Kim Clifford, Principal, Cirencester College
Biog to follow.
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Mark White, Vice-Chair, Stockton Riverside College
Mark is Vice-Chair of Stockton Riverside College and Chair of the College Remuneration Committee; a Member of the Court of the University of Bradford; and a Board Member of the Friends of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. Previously, he was Chair of Governors of Bede Sixth Form College, Billingham (until its merger with Stockton Riverside College). Mark also represents the Governors' Council on the main AoC Board. He chairs the AoC Governance Portfolio Group and is Vice-Chair of the AoC Finance and General Purposes Committee. Mark has acted as Head of the Vice-Chancellor's Office at Teesside University since 1999, previously holding other roles within the University (and formerly as a polytechnic) since 1982. Between 1979-80 and 1981-82, Mark was President of Teesside Polytechnic Students' Union (and Polytechnic Governor). Mark is also a member of the Association of University Administrators, a member of the Friends of NUS, a Companion of the Institute for Learning and a Fellow of the RSA.
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Martin Doel, Chief Executive, AoC
Martin Doel took up his appointment as Chief Executive of AoC in 2008, after a successful career in the Royal Air Force. Martin's final appointment in his former career was as the Director of Training and Education for all 3 Armed Services, working in the Ministry of Defence; the MoD is the largest employer of apprentices in the UK. Prior to this he filled several operational support, personnel and training posts in the RAF, including service as the equivalent of a Director of Studies at the Joint Services Command and Staff College providing postgraduate level education to officers from across the world. He has published articles on military assistance in humanitarian aid operations and strategic planning. He was appointed OBE in 1998 for his work in support of operations in the Balkans and for his contribution to Anglo-German relations.
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Neil Hopkins, Principal, Peter Symonds College
Brought up in Essex and Hertfordshire. Studied Maths at the University of East Anglia and later also obtained a Master's Degree in Education from Manchester University. Began as a Maths Teacher (and a little Physics) in a large comprehensive school in Humberside, then 'moved with the career' to Sixth Form Colleges in Salford and Rutland, before moving to Peter Symonds as Principal in 1993. Other roles include being a non-executive Director of the AoC and of UCAS, UCAS Media and the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR), and sits on the Qualifications Committee of Edexcel.
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Richard Atkins, Principal, Exeter College
Richard Atkins joined the AoC Board in January 2007 as the elected Principal representative from the South West region. Richard has been Principal of Exeter College since January 2002 and was previously Principal of Yeovil College for seven years. Both Exeter and Yeovil Colleges are Tertiary Colleges which offer the full curriculum range to 14-19 year olds, adults, employers and the wider community. Richard's career in Further Education Colleges has included teaching and leadership roles in Colleges in Sussex, Surrey and York. Richard was President of the Association for College Management (ACM) for 2 years and a member of the Learning and Skills Adult Learning Committee (2005-2007). He is also a member of the Devon Children's Trust Executive.
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Roger Morris, Chair, Northampton College
Roger Morris became Chief Executive of the City of Durham in 1981, moving in 1986 to become Chief Executive and Town Clerk of Northampton Borough Council. He retired from there in July 2004. Roger Morris is now Chairman of the Corporation of Northampton [Further Education] College, and Chair of the Governors' Council of the Association of Colleges; a member of the Connexions Board for Northamptonshire and the Northamptonshire Pensions Committee; and a consultant for the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives (ALACE).
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Sally Dicketts, Principal, Oxford and Cherwell Valley College
Sally Dicketts started teaching in Newport, South Wales in 1977. She became Head of Department at a school in Islington in 1979 and moved to Hackney College in 1984. In 1988, she joined the Senior Management Team at Milton Keynes College. In 1996, she became Principal and Chief Executive, and in 2003, she became the first Principal of Oxford & Cherwell Valley College. Sally is a member of the City & Guilds Learning and Assessment Policy Committee. She is a Trustee of the Helena Kennedy Bursary Scheme, a Board Member of ACM and AoC. She chairs the Oxfordshire Area programme, the Communications Gateway Practitioners Panel and the Women's Leadership Network, is a member of the Oxfordshire Management Club, All Souls group and is a leading thinker for the National Education Trust.
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Tim Jackson, Principal, Sparsholt College Hampshire
Tim is the Principal of Sparsholt College Hampshire, which is one of the largest Land-based FE Colleges. Sparsholt College has recently taken over (merged with) the former Cricklade College (Tertiary College) in Andover, now renamed Andover College (a campus of Sparsholt College Hampshire) and is still operated with very much the Tertiary College curriculum. Tim graduated in Applied Biology and worked with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) before training to teach in FE. Sparsholt College is a CoVE for Wildlife, Countryside Management, Gamekeeping, Fishery Management, Animal Management, Veterinary Nursing, and Leadership and Management. Tim is Chair of the Hampshire Principals Group and an AoSEC Board Member. He has also been Chairman of Napaeo (now Landex) which represents the Land-based Colleges and has been nominated by Landex members to the board of AoC.
