Chris Rust is Professor of Higher Education, and Associate Dean (Academic Policy) at Oxford Brookes University. Previously he was Head of the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, and Deputy Director of the Human Resource Directorate for ten years, during which time, for five years, he was also Deputy Director for two Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning - ASKe (Assessment Standards Knowledge Exchange) and the Reinvention Centre for undergraduate research (led by Warwick University).

He has researched and published on a range of issues including: the experiences of new teachers in HE, the positive effects of supplemental instruction, the effectiveness of workshops as a method of staff development, ways of diversifying assessment, and improving student performance through engagement in the assessment process. Recently he has tended to focus increasingly on assessment and assessment standards.

He is a Senior Fellow of SEDA (Staff and Educational Development Association), a Fellow of the RSA and was one of the first 14 Senior Fellows of the UK Higher Education Academy.