New boss appointed at East Sussex College

Rebecca Conroy has been chosen for CEO of the group, which has campuses in Eastbourne, Hastings, Newhaven, and Lewes.

Ms Conroy, who has been acting CEO since February this year, said, “It is a real privilege to have been appointed as CEO and principal of this fantastic organisation.

“I am determined that East Sussex College will continue to provide our communities with high quality and relevant curriculum offers.

“The team at the college are truly dedicated to their students’ future success and have worked with such innovation and resilience through the challenges of the last few months. Our students deserve the very best – more so now than ever before.

“We are about to embark on a consultation exercise to develop our new strategic plan, with the target of being completed by the end of March 2021.

“I look forward to working with our broad range of stakeholders on that to shape our future together.”

Ms Conroy has worked in the education sector for more than 20 years.

She started her further education career at former Sussex Downs College, in Eastbourne, and has held senior leadership roles within GBMET College before joining the East Sussex College leadership team in May 2018, as Principal of the Eastbourne campus.

During her six-month ‘acting’ role, the college says she has improved its financial health, developed online learning throughout the covid crisis, and guided the college through a successful enrolment period for 2020/21 academic year.

The chair of the college governing body, David Smith, said, “Since taking on the leadership role on an acting basis, Rebecca has made a huge amount of progress in stabilising the college’s finances, supporting students and staff through the challenges of Covid-19 as well as providing significant community resources to the NHS and those in need of free re-training opportunities.

“She has gathered a talented and committed leadership team around her and has led by example with an open and honest communication style.

“The governing body was very impressed by the applications and interviews of some outstanding candidates from other colleges, but Rebecca’s performance stood out from the field.”

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