Professor Brian Webster-Henderson OBE is the Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Cumbria. His strategic portfolio covers learning and teaching, research and knowledge exchange. He is also the executive lead for equality, diversity, inclusion safeguarding and Prevent.
Prior to joining the University of Cumbria in 2018, Brian held several senior academic leadership positions at Edinburgh Napier University, Robert Gordon University Aberdeen and University of Southampton.
A Professor of Nursing since 2009, Brian is both a mental health nurse and an adult nurse and has been a registered nurse for 39 years. He has worked in substance misuses community and in patient services, specialising in supporting those with alcohol dependency, and has also led and developed services in gastroenterology, hepatology and emergency medicine.
Brian is leading on the creation of the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine, a unique partnership between University of Cumbria and Imperial College London. Opening in August 2025, it will provide a graduate entry medicine programme with a focus on public, community and rural health.
Brian has an extensive national and international profile and has previously held the post of Chair of the Council of Deans of Health UK.
He has provided evidence to the Health Select Committee and several other national and strategic organisations in relation to workforce issues, education and innovative solutions to education, training and skills.
Brian has previously served as a governor of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), a Trustee of the Fells Academy Trust, and was an Adjunct Professor at John Hopkins University.
He is currently a Trustee of the Cumbria Education Trust and a strategic advisor to the Executive Board of UHMBT for education and research.
Recognised as a Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute in December 2022, Brian was awarded an OBE in the King’s 2024 Birthday Honours for services to the NHS and education.
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