Janet Finch biography

Professor Dame Janet Finch DBE was vice-chancellor of Keele University between 1995 and 2010. A sociologist by academic training, she is a leading author and researcher in the field of family relationships. Under her leadership the university established new Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy to complement existing programmes in nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy.

For four years (2002-2007) she was the lead vice-chancellor for all health and medical issues, managing the interface between the university sector, the Department of Health and the NHS.

She has held a number of non executive public roles including: director of the Identity and Passport Service; as co-chair of the Council for Science and Technology; chair of the Trustees of the National Centre for Social Research; board member of the Office for National Statistics; chair of the Equality Challenge Unit for Higher Education; member of the BBC Charter review panel. In 2007 she chaired the task group that led to the report on building research capacity in nursing and allied health professions (the Finch Report).