Dr Barbara Vann has been appointed chair of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South West Peninsula (also known as PenARC) Management Board. A University of Exeter Honorary Graduate, Dr Vann will take up the role at the launch of PenARC in October 2019 when the current CLAHRC round draws to a close.
PenCLAHRC director, Professor Stuart Logan said: ‘We are enormously pleased that Dr Vann has agreed to take on the role of chairperson of the PenARC Management Board as we embark on our next, exciting iteration as an ARC. We look forward to working with her and extend a very warm welcome. We are extremely grateful to James Brent for the time, commitment and expertise he has brought to the role in recent years.’
Dr Vann became Chair of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in 2015 after 23 years as a head teacher of secondary schools in Leicestershire and Cornwall. Her professional work has focussed on the link between health and education, leading to the establishment of School-Based Integrated Health Centres across Cornwall and the development of teaching and learning to support health and wellbeing. Her review of the education provision and processes of the Diocese of Truro helped to plan the future direction of its schools across Cornwall.
Dr Vann holds an MA from the University of Leicester and a PhD from the University of Tasmania. In 2008 she was awarded a Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM) Fellowship and became a Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall. In 2010 she was awarded the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) Distinguished Service Award.
Dr Vann is an experienced chairperson and has served as Chair of the National Council of BELMAS, the Cornwall Association of Secondary Headteachers and is currently Chair of the Duchy Health Charity. She is a patron of the Peninsula Medical Foundation.