The recent success of the University of Sunderland’s School of Pharmacy — once again ranked number one in the UK by The Guardian — is a reminder not only of the quality of pharmacy education and training at the university but also of the guiding role pharmacists can and do play in shaping higher education strategy itself.
The University of Sunderland’s Board of Governors currently includes four pharmacy graduates — three of them University of Sunderland graduates — whose collective expertise illustrates the breadth of skills our profession can contribute at the highest level of institutional leadership.
Mark Burdon, chair of the University of Sunderland’s Board of Governors (BPharm, 1999), has combined entrepreneurial success in community pharmacy with national and international governance experience, including four terms on the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (now Community Pharmacy England). Helen Milford (BPharm, 1988) offers decades of executive-level leadership with some of the UK’s most prominent retail organisations, bringing strategic and operational insights into consumer behaviour, business transformation and organisational change.
Debra Leeves (BPharm, 1985) brings global experience from the pharmaceutical and MedTech sectors, including expertise in mergers and acquisitions, regulatory affairs and emerging technologies. Finally, Gavin Brooks (BPharm, 1984), a pharmacist who founded the University of Reading’s School of Pharmacy and an academic leader, adds deep knowledge of pedagogy, research, innovation and institutional strategy to the board’s deliberations.
This breadth of experience demonstrates that pharmacists’ contributions to higher education governance extend far beyond curriculum oversight or professional accreditation. With backgrounds spanning clinical practice, academia, business leadership, entrepreneurship, research and global health policy, pharmacists bring strategic thinking, commercial acumen and a deep understanding of healthcare systems — qualities that are increasingly essential on university governing boards, as institutions navigate complex social, economic and technological challenges.
Examples of how pharmacists have influenced strategy and portfolio development in universities include:
- The genesis of the medical school at the University of Sunderland, which can be traced back to Scott Wilkes, a medic who at the time was professor of general practice and primary care in the University of Sunderland’s School of Pharmacy. Since 2018, Wilkes has led the multi-year General Medical Council quality assurance process to establish the new medical school and is now head of the University of Sunderland’s School of Medicine; and
- The establishment of the University of Reading’s School of Pharmacy, where Brooks, a registered pharmacist and then professor of cardiovascular research at the University of Reading, wrote a business case in 2003 to establish a brand new school of pharmacy in Reading to help address both the shortage of pharmacists and the lack of a school of pharmacy in the Thames Valley region that not only could train new pharmacists but also could serve as a regional centre for postgraduate pharmacy education and training. The University of Reading’s School of Pharmacy enrolled its first MPharm students in 2005.
The above two examples provide strong evidence for how pharmacists and schools of pharmacy can help influence higher education providers to address regional and national shortfalls in the NHS and in healthcare more generally.
As healthcare continues to evolve, and as universities seek to remain relevant and responsive to local, regional and national societal needs, pharmacy professionals are uniquely positioned to bridge the worlds of academia, science, business, policy and practice. The example set by the University of Sunderland’s Board of Governors should encourage other institutions to look more broadly at the skills and perspectives pharmacists can offer in shaping the future of higher education strategy and governance.
Mark Burdon, chair of the University of Sunderland’s Board of Governors
Helen Milford, Debra Leeves and Gavin Brooks, University of Sunderland’s Board of Governors
