St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor Appointed to Papal Higher Education Agency

Pope Francis has appointed Anthony McClaran, Vice Chancellor of St Mary’s University Twickenham, to the Governing Council of the Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of the Quality of Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO).

Mr McClaran is one of three new members whose appointment was announced in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s daily paper, yesterday (28^th July).

AVEPRO’s duty is to promote and develop a culture of quality within the academic institutions around the world that offer pontifical degree qualifications and ensure they possess internationally valid quality criteria.

Speaking of the appointment, Anthony McClaran said, “I am honoured that the Holy Father has invited me to join AVEPRO’s governing council. St Mary’s is both a long-established Catholic institution of civil higher education and home to Mater Ecclesiae College, a pontifical institute. We have a rich history in promoting the quality and transformative power of Catholic higher education. I look forward to sharing this experience and learning from the many pontifical institutions around the world, through AVEPRO in the coming years.”

Anthony McClaran became Vice Chancellor of St Mary’s University in April 2020 after holding a number of senior posts in HE quality assurance and regulation, including CEO of the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) from 2009-2015 and CEO of Australia’s Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) from 2015-2020. He has served on the Boards of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE).