This blog has been kindly written for HEPI by Roger Watson, President, National Conference of University Professors.
Since the 1980s, the number of UK university professors has grown five times from 4,500 to 22,855. The professoriate remains predominantly White British and less than one-third are female. However, little knowledge is available about what the UK professoriate does and if, for example, ethnicity and gender influence their roles. Towards that end, the National Conference of University Professors (NCUP) commissioned a survey of the UK professoriate in 2022 to which over 1,000 professors responded.
The NCUP, which exists to support university professors in carrying out their special responsibilities for the maintenance of academic standards; and provides a forum for discussion and a corporate voice on matters of concern to the nation’s university system, first commissioned a survey of the UK professoriate in 1991.
Since that time, the number of universities has increased hugely with a concomitant increase in the number of students. In 1991, university professors were typically heads of department, personal chairs were rare and research performance was almost the only route to promotion.
Routes to professorship are now more varied, with a growth in the number of personal chairs and alternative routes to promotion by teaching and scholarship. But what is the promotion profile of the current UK professoriate and what do those promoted to the professoriate do?
