This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scottish Qualifications Authority
04/04/2006
Education Minister Peter Peacock has reappointed the Convenor and nine members to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Advisory Council for a second term. In addition, one new member has been appointed.
The Advisory Council provides advice to the SQA Board and Scottish Ministers in relation to qualifications devised or awarded by the SQA, and the SQA's functions and procedure in so far as they affect stakeholders. The Council can also provide advice on other matters as it thinks appropriate.
Under the regulations, Ministers appoint all members to the Advisory Council, but the appointment process is not governed by the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice.
Members are appointed in a personal capacity, but on the basis that they will bring knowledge and experience from a relevant stakeholder background. Members are not remunerated, but have reasonable travel, subsistence and carer expenses reimbursed.
The SQA Act 2002 requires the convenor to be a member of the SQA Board. As a result, Scottish Ministers have reappointed Linda McKay MBE, as Convener of the Advisory Council. Her reappointment corresponds directly to her current appointment to the SQA Board and will end on June 30, 2010.
The nine members who have been reappointed are: Ann Auchterlonie, Bill Gold, Anne Mulgrew, Hugh McCafferty, Steve McColl, Eddie Phillips, Judith Sischy, Paul Thomson and Gary Waddell. These members have been reappointed for terms of between one and three years.
The new member appointed is Professor Alex MacLennan who is also a member of the SQA Board. He is currently Chief Executive and Principal at Bell College in Hamilton.
He worked as a research chemist before joining Paisley College as a lecturer in organic chemistry in 1985. At Paisley University he rose to Assistant Principal in 2002 with particular responsibility for external affairs and lifelong learning, and in 2004 joined Ayr College as its Principal. In July 2005, he moved back to the HE Sector as Principal of Bell College.
Professor Maclennan's appointment will run concurrently with his appointment to the Board, and will end on February 13 2009.
The reappointments are:
Linda McKay , MBE - Principal of Forth Valley College of Further and Higher Education. She is a current SQA Board Member and acting Chairperson, Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley.
Ann Auchterlonie - Director Scotland of Afasic, the UK charity for children and young people with speech and language impairments. Prior to moving to the voluntary sector, she was a senior education officer for 11 years in Tayside and Fife following some years as a lecturer in Dundee and Angus Colleges and Abertay University. Before moving into education, she had a career in industry and journalism. Ms Auchterlonie is currently a member of the BBC Broadcasting Council for Scotland and was previously a member of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council.
Bill Gold, MBE, MCIPD - Business Consultant and member of the West Lothian College board of management where he is also a member of the Learning and Teaching Committee. He has recently stepped down as a member of Scottish Further Education Funding Council.In addition, Mr Gold is Convenor of the SQA Sector Panel for Engineering, Science and Mathematics and has a background in industry, working for NEC for 20 years.
Hugh McCafferty - Area Manager on the Construction Industry Training Board, which is responsible for the development of Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) in the construction industry. He is also a member of the Qualifications Committee of the SQA.
Steve McColl - has a background in the marine industry and is currently in his final weeks of study to become a secondary school teacher of Design and Technology at the University of Edinburgh. Mr McColl also sits on the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the School of Education at the University of Edinburgh and is Convenor of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council.
Anne Mulgrew - Head Teacher Adviser to South Lanarkshire Council's Schools Modernisation Team, previously Head Teacher of St Andrew's High School East Kilbride, Assistant Head Teacher and Principal Teacher of Mathematics at St Ambrose High School in Coatbridge. Mrs Mulgrew has been an HMIE associate assessor since 1998 and was a member of the Higher Still investigation team into Higher Still assessment in schools and colleges. She was also a member of the McCrone Committee inquiry into the professional conditions of service for teachers between 1999 and 2000.
Councillor Edward Phillips - Vice-Convenor of Education and Economic Development in East Renfrewshire Council. He was previously Director of the Learning Business Partnership in Renfrewshire and was Chair of the Renfrewshire Careers Partnership that has now been incorporated into Careers Scotland. He is also a member of the COSLA Economic Development and Planning Executive Group and National Vice Chair of the British Stammering Association.
Judith Sischy - Director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS). She is a member of the National Qualifications Steering Group (NQSG), the General Teaching Council for Scotland, the OSCR Reference Group and a variety of other groups.
Dr Paul Thomson - Rector of Jordanhill School in Glasgow. He was a board member of the Scottish Exams Board, and subsequently the SQA, between 1990 and 2000 and was a member of the National Qualifications Committee between 1997 and 2000. In 2006 he won the Becta ICT in Practice Award for Secondary Leadership.
Gary Waddell - Learning, Skills and Employability Adviser with the Scottish Prison Service with responsibility for developing and coordinating the opportunities available to offenders while in custody. Prior to his current appointment, he was a senior project manager with Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian working on national training initiatives and was previously a lecturer at Stevenson College for 10 years while working part-time as a verifier for Scotvec. He was appointed as the first full-time principal verifier for training and development awards from 1996 to 1998.