I have had the privilege of meeting both Debra Humphris and Olivia Pinkney over a number of years. Olivia was the person I met when she was the deputy Chief Constable in Sussex Police and she was very significant in how she engaged with people in Sussex. I had the privilege of working with her on a number of meetings. She was then selected as the leader of the Hampshire Police. I also had the privilege of meeting Debra when she arrived as the leader of the University of Brighton and she continues to do that work here in Sussex. Both of them have been endorsed by the King in the last few days. Here is some of the text from Debra in the University of Brighton website.

Her honour, for services to higher education and the NHS, comes after Professor Humphris’ 45 years of public service, first in the health service and then in an academic career at St George’s Hospital Medical School, Southampton University, Imperial College London and the University of Brighton.

Professor Humphris began her career as a nursing student in Chichester, qualifying as a registered nurse and working in the NHS in roles including Senior Research Fellow at the South Thames Regional Health Authority and at St George’s Hospital Medical School. She achieved her PhD in 1999, considering the implementation of policy into clinical practice, before moving to the University of Southampton from 2000-2012 as Director of the Health Care Innovation Unit and, from 2008, as Pro-Vice-Chancellor.

In 2012, Professor Humphris became Vice-Provost Education at Imperial College London, before taking up the role of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton in 2015.

Professor Humphris’ honour acknowledges the major impact she has had, including her role as an openly LGBTQ+ senior leader who has been passionate about promoting equality and diversity for all at the University. It also highlights her crucial personal role as a member of the Universities UK (UUK) Board in shaping policy positions on key issues in the sector including the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), quality and standards, grade inflation and lifelong learning, as well as her position as Director and Chair of the University Alliance.