Bob Cryan to step down as Huddersfield vice-chancellor after 20 years

Professor Bob Cryan is set to step down as vice-chancellor of the University of Huddersfield on February 1, 2027, ending a 20-year tenure at the institution in his hometown.

Cryan, a chartered engineer, returned to Huddersfield as vice-chancellor in January 2007. He first joined the university as an academic in September 1986, before leaving in 1992 to work at other institutions, including Manchester Metropolitan University and Northumbria University.

He is believed to be the longest-serving leader of a major UK university currently in the sector, according to Times Higher Education.

The university has appointed its current deputy vice-chancellor, Professor Tim Thornton, as interim vice-chancellor from February 1 while an external recruitment process takes place to identify a permanent successor.

University credits Cryan with academic and financial progress

During Cryan’s tenure, Huddersfield achieved a gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and strengthened its research performance, placing it in the top third of UK universities in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF), according to the university’s council chair, Mark Fisher.

Fisher also said the institution had maintained a financial position in the sector’s upper decile and remained debt-free. He thanked Cryan for his leadership and service to the university.

However, the institution has also faced financial and staffing pressures. In 2024, it proposed nearly 200 job cuts as part of a series of redundancy rounds.

Cryan describes role as defining professional experience

In a statement, Cryan described leading Huddersfield as “the defining professional experience of my life and an enormous privilege”. He credited colleagues and students for the institution’s achievements and said he remained ambitious for the university’s future.

His connection with Huddersfield also extends beyond his professional career. He studied at the university, met his wife there, and both his wife and two children later became graduates of the institution.

The university will now begin the process of appointing a permanent successor, with Thornton providing interim leadership during the transition.