Dr Liz Smith is the Executive Dean Student of Experience at the University of St Mark and St John. Previous experience includes Directing the Centre for Education and Academic Development and the Technology-Enhanced Learning team at the University of Surrey prior to which she was Dean and Vice Principal at the University of the West of England’s Associate Faculty and Associate Dean Learning and Teaching and Acting Dean of Science at Northumbria University .

Liz has Masters and Doctoral degrees in Physiology and a PGCE in Mathematics Education, all from Newcastle University. She began her academic career as a researcher and post doctoral fellow at Newcastle University and has extended her research interests beyond her original field of environmental physiology to include investigations into barriers affecting student participation in higher education and the progression and attainment of under-represented groups in higher education. She is a Fellow of the Society of Biology and Higher Education Academy and a Reviewer for the Quality Assurance Agencies of England and Scotland.