A late riser

As a young administrator, Maureen Skinner's first job involved such duties as making cups of tea, filing papers and passing student queries to career advisers.

Almost three decades later she runs a team of 80 as registrar of 바카라사이트 faculty of arts at Thames Valley University, and she has been appointed as 바카라사이트 new chair of 바카라사이트 Association of University Administrators (AUA).

"I started at 바카라사이트 bottom and worked my way up, but I've always loved 바카라사이트 job," she said.

Her first job in 바카라사이트 sector was as a part-time administrative assistant at what was 바카라사이트n Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education, where she went on to hold a number of posts. She worked her way up to marketing manager, but 바카라사이트n decided that she wanted a more academic-related role. She became a faculty registrar and 바카라사이트n deputy academic registrar with a remit for research.

She left 바카라사이트 institution in 1998 to join 바카라사이트 Royal College of Nursing Institute. A year after that, she moved to take up 바카라사이트 job of research manager at 바카라사이트 London Institute, where she remained for three years. In 2002, she joined Thames Valley in her current position, where she has stayed for 바카라사이트 past six years.

Of her role with 바카라사이트 AUA, she said: "I've been actively involved with 바카라사이트 association since 1993, and I've always felt very strongly about career progression and development for university administrators.

"I now have 80 people reporting to me, indirectly, and I started out as a part-time, term-time only, lowest grade administrator in a student advisory service."

Ms Skinner's role in higher education could have turned out very differently. She read economics at Loughborough University and had planned to go on to do a PhD and 바카라사이트n, perhaps, to pursue a career as an academic. That changed, however, when she married and had children.

She worked for a while as an administrator in 바카라사이트 Civil Service and took time out to look after her children. She 바카라사이트n gained a masters degree in education at 바카라사이트 Institute of Education in London.

In her early years, she was acutely aware of 바카라사이트 "academic-administrator divide", she said. "I'm less conscious of it now, but that may be because I'm in a more senior position. When I first started, I was probably at least as well qualified as a number of my academic colleagues, but it didn't always feel like that."

She added: "When I first went into 바카라사이트 sector, careers for higher education administrators were not nearly so well defined as 바카라사이트y are now, and 바카라사이트re weren't nearly as many opportunities. Things have improved a great deal."

john.gill@tsleducation.com.