Professor Ebrahim Adia, Vice-Chancellor

Professor Ebrahim Adia joined the University of Wolverhampton as Vice-Chancellor on 1 October 2023.

Formerly Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Leadership) at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), Ebrahim has a national and international profile and brings to the role a wealth of experience, serving as Chair and member of a number of high-profile boards.

Ebrahim was born and raised in Bolton. He was the first in his family, and one of the few from his school to attend university, which has helped to shape his views on the  transformational role of higher education. As a result, Ebrahim has strived in both his professional and personal life to create opportunity and to help transform the lives of individuals and local communities.

Ebrahim’s academic background is in public policy and policy analysis. He taught as a lecturer and senior lecturer in Education for 18 years before moving into academic management where he served as provost, assistant vice-chancellor (student experience) and pro-vice chancellor academic.

Ebrahim has served as Deputy Leader of Bolton Council; has worked closely with the devolved Greater Manchester Combined Authority, where he held the role of Deputy for Economic Strategy and Internationalisation; and has served as a board member of the Manchester Growth Company. He has also held senior board roles in the NHS as the Chair of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and the Deputy Chair of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System. Ebrahim was appointed by the Government to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion and has served as a Rapporteur at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.