Appointment of governing body members to five further education colleges

The Department for the Economy has appointed twenty new governing body members across five further education colleges.

Competition for new Chair for HSENI

Belfast Metropolitan College

Ms Rose Byrne, Dr Tom Hesketh, Mr Michael McKernan, Miss Sheena McKinney and Mrs Sinead Sharpe appointed from 1 August 2023.

Northern Regional College

Mr Brendan Devlin, Mrs Carla McGovern, Mr Brendan Patterson and Ms Jayne Taggart appointed from 1 August 2023.

North West Regional College

Mrs Sharon McMahon appointed from 1 July 2023 and Mr Paul Clancy appointed from 1 August 2023.

Southern Regional College

Mrs Geraldine Campbell, Mr Sean Fitzsimons, Mrs Monica Kelly, Mrs Patricia McCaffrey and Mrs Angela Whiteside appointed from 1 August 2023.

South West College

Mrs Elizabeth Armstrong, Mrs Maria Curran, Dr David Cutting and Mrs Maria Hackett MBE appointed from 1 August 2023.

All have been appointed for a four-year period.

The appointments were made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

Notes to editors: 

1. Pen pictures are available on the DfE website.

2. The five further education (FE) colleges are non-departmental public bodies of the Department for the Economy (DfE), which are established under the FE (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. The governing body (GB) of an FE college is responsible for securing the efficient and effective management of the college, the provision of suitable further education to its students and determining the college’s strategic direction. In delivering college services, the GB takes into account the educational needs of the business sector and the local community.

3. The post of GB member is remunerated at £250 for a governing body meeting and £150 for a committee meeting or event sanctioned by the Chair plus travel and subsistence allowances which are payable at Northern Ireland Civil Service rates in respect of activities carried out whilst fulfilling their duties.

4. These members have been appointed from the reserve lists of a multi-college public appointment competition held in 2021.

5. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees (if any declared) to be published. The individuals appointed have not undertaken any political activity in the last five years.

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7.  For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk

8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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