Board of Trustees
Dr William Durden
Chair of the Board of Trustees
BA Dickinson College
MA, PhD Johns Hopkins University
Biography
William G. Durden is President Emeritus of Dickinson College, where he served for 14 years (1999-2013). He is currently President of the International University Alliance (IUA)—a non-profit association of top-tier U.S. research universities committed to international education, Chief Global Engagement Officer at Shorelight Education and Courtesy Professor (research) in the School of Education, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Durden received his undergraduate degree from Dickinson College in German and philosophy and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in German Language and Literature from Johns Hopkins University. Directly following graduation from Dickinson, he was a Fulbright-Hays Scholar at the University of Basle, Switzerland. He has also studied at the University of Freiburg and the University of Muenster, Germany. Dr. Durden is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Directly prior to his 14-year tenure at Dickinson College, Dr. Durden was simultaneously president of a division of the Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. and vice president of academic affairs for the Caliber Learning Network. Dr. Durden was a member of the German Department at the Johns Hopkins University and founding Executive Director of the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) for 16 years. During his Hopkins’ engagement at CTY, he was also a senior education consultant to the U.S. Department of State for 11 years and chaired the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth.
Dr. Durden served as chair of the national advisory board of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (the Faculty Fulbright program) and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of International Education (IIE) as well as chair of the German Chancellors Fellowship U.S. Selection Committee (Humboldt Foundation in Berlin—counterparts from Russia, China and Brazil).
In 2022 he received the Global Achievement Award by the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association.
Professor Phil Deans
President and Vice Chancellor
BA, PhD University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Biography
Before taking up the role of President and Vice Chancellor Phil Deans served as the Provost of Richmond from 2011 to 2019 where he led the successful application for Taught Degree Awarding Powers, and registration with the Office for Students. He oversaw the creation of Richmond’s dual degree award and worked with faculty on revising Richmond’s unique international liberal arts curriculum of four-year undergraduate programmes. He has a BA in Politics and East Asian Studies and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and spent time as an undergraduate in China (1987-89) and as a graduate research fellow in Japan (1991-93). He was fortunate to have the opportunity learn Chinese and Japanese at university, and is keen to make similar international opportunities open to students at Richmond. Before joining Richmond he was the Chief Academic Officer at the Tokyo Campus of Temple University, Director of the Contemporary China Institute and Associate Dean at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and Lecturer in East Asian Politics at the University of Kent.
Dr Deans is a Director and Trustee of the Quality Assurance Agency, serves on the Board of Independent Higher Education, the UK’s representative body for independent and alternative providers of higher education, and is a School Governor at the Coombe Academy Trust.
Phil has dedicated his career to furthering international education opportunities for students and promoting diversity and international perspectives on learning, teaching and curriculum development and content. He is a proud single father to three children, and a season ticket holder at Fulham FC.
Professor Kelly Coate
Provost
BSc, Northwestern University, MA, Middlesex University, PhD, University College London
Biography
Professor Kelly Coate joined Richmond as Provost in September 2023. She was previously in the role of Pro Vice Chancellor for Students and Education at the University of Sussex, from 2018-2023.
Her career prior to that time has always been in higher education: from working as a programme administrator at King’s College London in the early 1990s, to undertaking a PhD and conducting further research at the Institute of Education (which is now part of UCL), and then on to the University of Galway in 2007 where she worked in the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. She then returned to the UK and became Director of the King’s Learning Institute at King’s College London, followed by the role of Vice Dean Education in the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy there.
She has been an active researcher of higher education, publishing books, chapters and articles on such topics as the curriculum in higher education, gender and academic careers, and internationalisation. She was on the Governing Council of the Society for Research into Higher Education for 6 years, and serves on the Editorial Boards of the journals Teaching in Higher Education, Higher Education Research and Development, and the Journal of Education Policy.
Dr. Michael Meissner
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
LLM (UCLA), PhD (Saarland University), Attorney at Law (New York), Rechtsanwalt (Frankfurt am Main)
Biography
Michael has 20 years of experience in finance law, compliance and corporate law in practice and academia. He had started his legal career at the New York office of a Magic Circle law firm and subsequently moved to an international law firm in New York. Upon his return to Europe, Michael held partner roles at the legal arm of a Big Four accounting firm and another international law firm working out of their Frankfurt, London and Munich offices. Subsequently, he has served as chief compliance officer of a public sector bank for 9 years.
In academia, Michael has taught banking and finance law as well as compliance at London Business School, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of St. Gallen. He is married and has one daughter.’
Judith S. Eaton
Trustee
BA Philosophy, University of Michigan; MA, History, University of Michigan; PhD, Curriculum Development, Wayne State University
Biography
Judith is president emeritus of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a national higher education membership organization providing coordination of accreditation and quality assurance throughout the United States as well as engaging with quality assurance bodies around the world. Judith was the founding president of the organization that focuses on advocacy for enhancing quality in higher education as essential to sustaining and strengthening the institutional autonomy and academic freedom of colleges and universities.
Prior to her work at CHEA, Judith served in executive roles in a range of higher education institution and associations. She held the positions of chancellor of the Minnesota State System, president of the Council for Aid to Education, president of the Community College of Philadelphia and president of the Community College of Southern Nevada as well as vice president at the American Council on Education. Judith has also served as a full- or part-time faculty member at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and Teachers College, Columbia University,
Judith has authored numerous articles and books on higher education that address quality assurance, higher education policy and international higher education. She has served on a range of governing and advisory boards and committees in the United States and internationally.
Caroline DeLaney
Trustee
BA(Hons) University of Kent at Canterbury, LLM (University of Michigan Law School
Biography
Caroline is an experienced lawyer specialising in the full range of commercial, residential and agricultural real estate disputes, arbitrations, mediations, Land Registry adjudications, judicial reviews and planning matters.
She is an ADR Group Accredited Civil & Commercial Mediator and Panel member.
Caroline also advises on general real estate law, construction-related disputes, licensing law and environmental law.
Marguerite Dennis
Trustee
Biography
Marguerite J. Dennis is an internationally recognized expert on higher education administration, admission, financing, and international student strategic planning.
She is the author of six books on higher education, two books on trends in international education, and more than 200 articles on higher education.
Previous administrative experience included employment at St. John’s University in New York, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Suffolk University in Boston where she managed 100 employees and was responsible for the university’s recruitment, admission, financial aid, international programs and fundraising activities.
Marguerite is the director of the Society of Transnational Academic Research Mentoring Initiative. In addition, she is a member of the Advisory Board for the Comparative and International Education Society.
Dennis has conducted a series of seminars for staff in the United States State Department through USA offices around the world and has conducted seminars on trends in international higher education in Germany, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Italy, Vietnam, and Korea.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Marguerite has conducted more than ten webinars on the impact of the virus on higher education and was a featured speaker on the subject for presentations for UNESCO and the Canadian Education Ministers Office.
A frequent contributor to University World News, Marguerite has written several articles on the reimagined university and the opportunities created by the pandemic for higher education.
Professor Huang Futao
Trustee
Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University Japan
Ph.D (Xiamen University), M.Edu (Anhui Normal University)
Biography
Professor Futao started his academic career as a Research Associate at Wuhu Teachers’ College, China from 1984-85 and worked his way to an Assistant Professor and Lecturer at Xiamen University from 1995-99. He then became an Associate Professor for the Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University, Japan in 2001 and subsequently earned his Doctoral degree in education.
Futao has been a Professor at the Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, Japan since 2001. Futao’s major academic fields include internationalisation of higher education, academic profession and designing university and colleges’ curriculum in the comparative perspective.
Futao is also a Co-Investigator at the Centre for Global Higher Education, University College London.
Amarjeet Hans
Trustee
BA Accounting and Finance (University of West London), FCMA, CGMA, MBA (Henley Management College)
Biography
Amarjeet has a wealth of experience in a wide range of commercial activities, having worked in the UK, US, Europe and extensively in the Middle East in industries ranging from IT to Real Estate Investment and Development, advised a number of business entities on expansion into the Middle East.
He runs a small boutique business consultancy offering a range of services which includes FD services, Fund raising for SME’s and the full range of Accountancy services to a wide range of SME clients in a variety of industries. He also acts as Mentor / Advisor to a number of UK companies in a NED capacity.
He is CIMA qualified and became a Fellow in 2008. He was appointed as a Council Member in June 2015. Since then, also been appointed to the MIP Panel and is an active Membership Assessor. Recently he has served 3 years as Association Board member to the Management Accounting Professional Unit. He is currently Vice chair of the Global Member Engagement committee.
Amarjeet is chairman of Denham Community Charity and an active involvement with Denham Parish Council as a Councillor (Vice Chairman) and has been Chairman of the Finance Committee
Janet Ilieva
Trustee
Founder and Director of Education Insight
Ph.D in Economics (MMU), MA (Varna University of Economics)
Biography
Janet Ilieva is the founder and director of Education Insight, a research consultancy specialising in international higher education. Her focus over the past years has been on national policies for higher education engagement and developments in transnational education.
Janet started her career as a university lecturer in economics before joining the British Council in 2004, to lead the department’s work for higher education research and market intelligence. Under her leadership, the British Council published several widely cited reports and publications, including the “Shape of things to come” which informed institutional and national strategies on international higher education.
Janet joined the Higher Education Funding Council for England in May 2013 as head of the HEFCE Observatory. There, she published on international student demand for higher education in England with a strong focus on transnational education. Her latest work for HEFCE studied the contribution of transnational education to first degree programmes in England and the propensity of these students to stay on for postgraduate degrees.
Janet is an adviser on the Philippine – UK Transnational Education Programme run by the British Council and the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines.
Ian Leroni
Trustee
CA (SA), BCom in Economics and Finance (Wits), BAcc in Accountancy (Wits)
Biography
Ian is a qualified chartered accountant with over 30 years of expertise in the financial sector, particularly in the areas of financial and internal control, financial reporting and financial transformation processes. He has held senior finance roles in the United Kingdom, France and the United States dealing with all aspects of finance reporting, risks and internal control and corporate governance (including leading relationships with external auditors and regulators).
Ian is also currently the Chair of Finance for the Board of Governors of an independent school for girls aged 3 to 18.
Qing Miao
Trustee
Msc (University of Glasgow), LLM (University of Law), CTA, FCCA
Biography
Qing is a Director at Vialto Partners (formerly PwC Global Mobility Business) and a qualified Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor. Qing specialises in advising international organizations on their people related internationalisation strategies and assisting with cross-border issues to ensure global compliance from a tax and people perspective. Qing works with a wide range of client portfolio and markets including a number of universities supporting their expansion overseas and achieving their internationalisation strategies. Prior to Vialto Partners, Qing was a Director in the PwC UK tax team and started to specialise in the HE sector in 2014 leading London and Great London Region Global Mobility practice.
Qing is also a lay Court member for Edinburgh Napier University and member of the Finance and Property Committee.
Helen Dalrymple
Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Biography
Helen graduated from Queen Mary and Westfield College (University of London) in Medieval History and English. She managed a bookshop for a couple of years and then moved into administration.
Whilst working in pharmacy regulation she joined the Governance Team and was Council Secretary of the General Pharmaceutical Council for two years before joining Richmond University as Secretary to the Board in 2018.
