Sir Geoffrey Holland | |
---|---|
Born |
North Surrey |
9 May 1938
Died | 20 April 2017 | (aged 78)
Occupation | Civil servant, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter from 1994-2002 |
Title | KCB |
Spouse(s) | Carol Challen |
Parent(s) | Frank Holland |
Sir Geoffrey Holland, KCB (9 May 1938 – 20 April 2017) was a career civil servant who became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter from 1994 to 2002, when he was succeeded by Professor Steve Smith. Holland Hall, a large student hall of residence which opened in 2004 on the Exeter campus is named after him.
Holland was born on 9 May 1938 to Frank Holland CBE and his wife Elsie Freda Holland. His father was a civil servant for London County Council. Both parents came from the Potteries in north Staffordshire.
He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood on a scholarship and spent two years in the Royal Tank Regiment for National Service, becoming a Second Lieutenant. He received a first class BA honours degree in Modern Languages from St John's College, Oxford.
He joined the Ministry of Labour in 1961, working as a civil servant until the 1990s in the Department of Employment, becoming the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education (DFE) from 1993-4. He was knighted in 1989. In 1994 he became VC of the University of Exeter. He was a member of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education that published an influential report in 1997.