Steve Decent
{{Short description|British mathematician and university administrator}}
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{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Steve Decent
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|FIMA}}
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| office = Principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University
| term_start = {{start date|2023|01}}
| term_end =
| predecessor = Pamela Gillies
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| alma_mater = Brunel University (BSc)
University of St Andrews (PhD)
| module = {{Infobox academic|child=yes
|thesis_title = Hysteresis and mode competition in Faraday waves
|thesis_url = https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/14054/StephenDecentPhDThesis.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
|thesis_year = 1995}}
}}
Stephen Paul Decent {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FIMA}} is a British applied mathematician and university administrator who has served as the principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University since January 2023. He has previously held a number of senior leadership positions across different universities and holds research interests in free-surface flows and hydrogen fuel cells.{{cite news |title=New Vice-Chancellor announced at Lancaster University |url=https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/new-vice-chancellor-announced-at-lancaster-university |work=Lancaster University |date=21 March 2025 |language=en}}
In March 2025, he was announced as the eighth vice-chancellor of Lancaster University and will succeed Andy Schofield in January 2026.{{cite news |last1=Lambert |first1=Greg |title=Lancaster University announces new vice-chancellor |url=https://www.beyondradio.co.uk/news/local-news/lancaster-university-announces-new-vice-chancellor/ |work=Beyond Radio |date=21 March 2025 |language=en}}
Early life and education
The first member of his own family to go to university, Decent holds a BSc in mathematics from Brunel University and a PhD from the University of St Andrews.{{cite news |last1=Tariq |first1=Fahad |title=New Vice-Chancellor appointed at Glasgow Caledonian university |url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/new-vice-chancellor-appointed-glasgow-25873050 |work=Glasgow Live |date=2 January 2023 |language=en}} His doctoral thesis was on the theory of wave motion and was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.{{cite thesis |title=Hysteresis and mode competition in Faraday waves |date=1996 |url=https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/14054 |publisher=University of St Andrews|hdl=10023/14054 |last1=Decent |first1=Stephen Paul }}
Career
After completing his PhD, Decent joined the University of Birmingham as a research fellow and was eventually promoted to the head of the School of Mathematics. He then moved to the University of Dundee to take up the position of vice-principal and head of the College of Art, Science and Engineering. Afterwards, he joined Lancaster University as pro-vice-chancellor of research and enterprise and later pro-vice-chancellor of academic development before moving again to take up the position of provost and deputy vice-chancellor at Manchester Metropolitan University.{{cite web |title=Principal and Vice-Chancellor |url=https://www.gcu.ac.uk/aboutgcu/leadership/principal |publisher=Glasgow Caledonian University |access-date=29 March 2025 |language=en |date=2 October 2024}}
He was appointed as the vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University in January 2023. He will return to Lancaster in January 2026 to take up his next appointment as the university's vice-chancellor.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.gcu.ac.uk/aboutgcu/leadership/principal Glasgow Caledonian University Profile | Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Steve Decent]
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{{succession box|title=Principal and Vice-Chancellor of
Glasgow Caledonian University|before= Pamela Gillies |years= January 2023–present|after= Incumbent}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Decent, Stephen}}
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Alumni of Brunel University London
Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Category:People associated with Glasgow Caledonian University
Category:Principals by university in Scotland
Category:20th-century British mathematicians
Category:Fellows of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
Category:Academics of Lancaster University
Category:Academics of Manchester Metropolitan University