Posted 28 March 2023

Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) is pleased to welcome Jane Owen-Lynch as the new Chair of its Board. 

Jane will replace Tracey Lancaster, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Resources) at Leeds Beckett University, who served in the role between 2018-2023. Tracey successfully steered GHWY through several periods of change and the whole team would like to pass on thanks for her support and stewardship. 

Jane is Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Huddersfield, which is one of GHWY’s 13 member institutions. She was previously the Head of Biomedical and Life Sciences in the Faculty of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University. 

Jane will bring a wealth of experience to her position as Chair of GHWY’s Board. This includes roles linked with student facing activities, primarily in admissions but also development of international courses and acting as project lead for building projects.  

She is an active supporter of the Athena Swan agenda, which is a framework that is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research. 

Helen Sykes, Head of GHWY, said: “We are very much looking forward to working alongside Jane on the Access and Participation agenda. I know that Jane shares our passion for ensuring that an individual’s background should not prevent them from getting into and benefitting from higher education.”