Brian Roper (academic)

Brian Roper (born 15 December 1949) is a British economist and former vice-chancellor of London Metropolitan University.

Roper was born and raised in southeast London, and studied economics at the University of Wales. After a stint at Unilever he studied for a master's degree at the University of Manchester.

In 1980s Roper held a number of administrative posts at the Newcastle Polytechnic, including the Head of the School of Economics, the Head of the Faculty of Professional Studies and Assistant Director. Roper then moved to Oxford Polytechnic (renamed in 1992 into Oxford Brookes University) to take up the Deputy Director post there. He later served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Oxford Brookes.

In early 1994 Roper moved to the University of North London to become Vice-Chancellor there. He remained at that post until the 2002 merger of North London with London Guildhall University, which produced the London Metropolitan University.

After the merger Roderick Floud was appointed as the vice-chancellor and chief academic officer and Brian Roper appointed as the chief executive and accounting officer. Effective 1 April 2004, Brian Roper became the Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University, with Roderick Floud becoming the university's President. His salary for 2006-7 was £276,000 before bonuses, making him the highest paid vice-chancellor in the country. Since the formation of London Met he caused controversy due to the receipt of large pay increases. In February 2005 the Times Higher Education reported that he was the "biggest winner" among V-Cs over the past decade, having seen a 124% increase in his salary. It also noted that his pay rise from 2003–4 occurred at a time when the university was seeking job cuts "because the institution has failed to meet internal financial targets".

...
Wikipedia