Prof. Deborah Johnston
Prof. Deborah Johnston
Interim Co Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer, LSBU Group / Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Framework)
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Professional service:Executive
Professor Deborah Johnston is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Framework) with overall responsibility for the portfolio, standards and success at LSBU Group. She joined LSBU in April 2020, coming from the Pro Vice-Chancellor Education role at SOAS University of London, which she held for over four years.
Deborah is a Professor of Development Economics with more than 55 journal articles and four books. She completed an undergraduate degree in Economics and an MPhil in the Economics and Politics of Development at Queens’ College Cambridge. She completed a PhD in Economics in 1997 from SOAS University of London and has split her career across academia, charities and government. Her academic work has focused on inequality and poverty, and she has supervised and examined PhD students.
She is passionate about the power of education to change people’s opportunities in life. She oversees LSBU Global and has led programmes at LSBU and SOAS to reduce awarding gaps and to decolonise the curriculum. She has national leadership for the Disabled Students Commitment. Deborah has a board position on a national stammering charity and in 2024 was awarded an MBE for stammering recognition in higher education.
Deborah has led work to improve sustainability and teaching quality at SOAS and LSBU Group. She introduced a new undergraduate curriculum framework at LSBU in 2022, designed to improve financial sustainability, retention and graduate outcomes. She introduced annual portfolio reviews to allow schools to consider their provision. Deborah has supported the development of new qualifications in London South Bank Technical College and oversees apprenticeships in both LSBTC and LSBU.