Appointed January 1991

Professor Alan Smithers served on the Council of SRHE from 1976 to 82 and was in 1986 one of the first three to be honoured with a Fellowship. He is currently the Director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, his fourth Chair. Initially a scientist (cell biologist), he holds strong views on what educational research can and cannot do. He publishes regularly for those who make and use education, and is a prominent voice in policy debates. From 1997 to 2015 he served as the standing adviser to the House of Commons Education Committee.