Greg Clark replaces David Willetts as minister for universities and science, following the government's pre-election cabinet reshuffle.
The change comes after Willetts announced last night that he was resigning after being in the role since 2010.
Clark, who has been the Conservative MP for Royal Tunbridge Wells since 2005, will continue his role as minister of state in the cabinet office, where he is responsible for cities and local growth.
As Clark updates his Twitter bio to 'minister for universities, science & cities', he posts: 'Thrilled to be appointed minister for universities, science & cities - building on the work of the brilliant David Willetts.'
Who is Greg Clark?
Age: 46
Family: Married, three children
Born in: the South Bank, Middlesbrough - one of the most deprived areas in the country - to a milkman and Sainsbury's checkout worker
Home: Tunbridge Wells (where he is MP) and London
Educated at: local comprehensive, St Peter's RC School, followed by an economics degree at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and a PhD from London School of Economics
Career: 2013-present, minister of state for cities and constitution; 2012-13, financial secretary to the treasury; 2010-12, minister of state for decentralisation; 2006-08, shadow minister for charities, social enterprise and volunteering; 2008-10 shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change; 2005-present MP for Tunbridge Wells; 2005-06, member of public accounts committee; 2002-03, cabinet member, Westminster city council; 2001-05, director of policy, Conservative party; 1997-2001, BBC controller, commercial policy; 1996-2007, special adviser, secretary of state for trade and industry; 1996-96, lecturer, LSE; 1991-94, consultant, Boston Consulting Group
Reactions from the sector:
For some, his resignation will come as an unwelcome shock - during last year's reshuffle the Telegraph even launched a Save David Willetts campaign. But as he steps aside, we hear your reactions to the news, and ask, what do you want from your new minister in the coming years?
'Back in 2010, ministers said the only options for an austerity government in higher education were fee increases, fewer places or less spending per student. Now, fees are maxed out and student number controls are disappearing so the only variable left to squeeze is spending per student. Greg Clark's top task is therefore to convince the Treasury that higher education and research should be protected as sources of future prosperity in the run-up to the second austerity general election of recent years.'
Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent
'It was a real mistake by Willetts to put such an emphasis on the consumer experience of students. Willetts believed that the way you reign in academia and scrutinise its behaviour is by getting students to act as angry consumers. Although that trend began before Willetts, he really played up to that, with horror stories about students not getting any teaching and so on. We need students to be in an academic relationship with their teachers - we need to cultivate that partnership.'
Sally Hunt, General secretary, University and College Union
'We hope he will take a look at the proliferation of casualised staff in our universities and the use of short-term, part-time and zero-hours contracts, which demoralise the workforce and diminish the student experience by limiting contact time between staff and students.
'We also need a strong voice in cabinet speaking up for the sector and students. Recent negative coverage about immigration has failed to make the distinction for overseas students. We hope Clark will defend international students, who have a valuable role to play in our education system, and help make the case to exclude them from immigration figures.
We would suggest he quickly gets up to speed with the scandal of poor quality and low attendance at for-profit colleges, as recently exposed by the Guardian and due to be investigated by the Public Affairs Committee. He is very welcome to pick through the wealth of evidence we pulled together that was ignored by his predecessor.'
Bob Cryan, vice-chancellor, University of Huddersfield
'Greg Clark has ministerial responsibility for a sector that is at the heart of the economic recovery. I would ask that he recognises the diversity of the sector - excellence exists in many forms, not just in the intensity of an institution's research. All higher education providers make a significant difference to the region that they serve and so policies should reflect this and not be unduly influenced by any particular lobbying group.
'Two key areas that I hope attract the minister's immediate attention are (i) the significant decline in part-time students - how can we hope to have a sustained economic recovery when the existing labour force are not updating their skills? (ii) financial support for postgraduate study - how can UK Ltd compete internationally if we don't develop these higher level skills in our workforce?'
Pam Tatlow, chief executive, Million+
'Greg Clark will know from his work on cities and the regional growth fund that there's more to universities than his alma maters (Cambridge and the LSE). It's a bonus that he is retaining the cities brief. Our report Smarter regions, smarter Britain will be on his desk and outlines new ways to boost the role of universities and their work with small businesses.
His PhD in economics should stand him in good stead in negotiating a sustainable funding settlement for both teaching and science with the Treasury. He'll find out early on that no-one believes that the expansion of higher education based on the (optimistic) sale of £2bn of student loans, adds up. He will also need to pick up the cudgels on behalf of international students. Both they and the universities which they attend are being short-changed by the Home Office. This is one battle that he needs to win.'
Share your reaction to the #reshuffle and tell us what you want from your new minister in the comments below. Join the higher education network for more comment, analysis and job opportunities, direct to your inbox. Follow us on Twitter @gdnhighered. Entities 0 Name: Greg Clark Count: 5 1 Name: Willetts Count: 4 2 Name: Clark Count: 3 3 Name: David Willetts Count: 3 4 Name: Treasury Count: 2 5 Name: LSE Count: 2 6 Name: Tunbridge Wells Count: 2 7 Name: Cambridge Count: 2 8 Name: Public Affairs Committee Count: 1 9 Name: Boston Consulting Group Reactions Count: 1 10 Name: Conservative Count: 1 11 Name: Telegraph Count: 1 12 Name: Magdalene College Count: 1 13 Name: South Bank Count: 1 14 Name: University of Kent Count: 1 15 Name: Royal Tunbridge Wells Count: 1 16 Name: Sally Hunt Count: 1 17 Name: academia Count: 1 18 Name: Middlesbrough Count: 1 19 Name: St Peter Count: 1 20 Name: BBC Count: 1 21 Name: Bob Cryan Count: 1 22 Name: Sainsbury Count: 1 23 Name: University and College Union Count: 1 24 Name: Nick Hillman Count: 1 25 Name: Higher Education Policy Institute Count: 1 26 Name: RC School Count: 1 27 Name: London School of Economics Career Count: 1 28 Name: University of Huddersfield Count: 1 29 Name: General Count: 1 30 Name: Born Count: 1 31 Name: Britain Count: 1 32 Name: Pam Tatlow Count: 1 33 Name: London Count: 1 34 Name: Frank Furedi Count: 1 35 Name: UK Ltd Count: 1 36 Name: Guardian Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1qB6MYL Title: Ministerial reshuffle: Who's out Description: Prime Minister David Cameron has been reshuffling his top team. Details of new appointments have yet to be unveiled, but who do we know is out of a job so far? Mr Clarke first became an MP in 1970 and attended cabinet as minister without portfolio.
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