Meet Roger Dalrymple, Deputy Director (Education and Student Experience)

Professor Roger Dalrymple has been appointed to the position of Deputy Director (Education and Student Experience) at Oxford Continuing Education, where he will play a key role in the next phase of our mission to advance lifelong learning and educational opportunity in a context of academic excellence and inclusivity. He will take up his post on 16 January 2023.

Roger joins the Department from Oxford Brookes University where he has been based for a decade, serving as Head of Department, Associate Dean and most recently Professor and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education).

Education and student experience

The Deputy Director (Education and Student Experience) is a new role for Oxford Continuing Education. Roger will take the lead on the provision of our teaching – ensuring that it is of the highest academic quality, accessible to the widest possible audience, and informed by our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusivity.

He will also ensure that our students have the best possible learning experience, and work to provide opportunities for those wishing to progress their studies within Oxford University and elsewhere.

Roger said, ‘I am delighted to be joining Oxford Continuing Education at this exciting time as the Department continues to develop its reach, impact and reputation for global excellence. I’m looking forward to working closely with colleagues, learning more about their specialisms in our wide portfolio of subject areas, and contributing to our collective efforts to nurture rich and responsive learning environments and experiences for our students.’

The Director of Continuing Education, Professor Matthew Weait, said, ‘Roger's appointment is brilliant news for the Department. He brings with him not only exceptionally valuable knowledge and experience but a deep commitment to, and belief in, the transformative potential of continuing education and lifelong learning.’

A former Tutorial Fellow in English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, Roger has spent the last fifteen years of his career developing an international profile as an educationalist with specialism in higher education pedagogies and student experience. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the British Educational Research Association and the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. 

‘In my teaching experiences and my educational research alike, I’m always mindful of the differences in students' backgrounds and the diversity of learning pathways. So my approach to quality and educational leadership seeks very much to recognise and respect that diversity, whilst also ensuring that across diverse provision, students receive clarity and key compass points to guide their learning journeys.’

Lifelong learning

Roger is no stranger to Oxford Continuing Education. Having remained active in his home field of English language and literature, he has taught short courses and lectured here for twenty years – including on the English Literature Summer School at Exeter College and the Oxford Experience at Christ Church. Additionally, he has advanced the pedagogy of his subject as a member of the National Association for the Teaching of English and in research and publication projects including for Routledge’s Literature and Education series.

On the subject of lifelong learning, Roger said, ‘In addition to its patent value as a good in itself, I find that adult education keeps learners and teachers grounded in core questions of motivation, purpose and meaning in learning. Whether an adult learner engages with a course for reasons of continuing professional development or pure intellectual enrichment, the personal and relational nature of learning is kept front and centre in a way which is energising and deeply rewarding to be involved with.’  

On behalf of the Continuing Education community, Matthew looks forward to welcoming Roger when he takes up his position in January. ‘I am sure all my colleagues will join with me in congratulating Roger on his appointment and to working with him on realising the Department’s strategic vision.’

Published 24 October 2022