Tributes to Professor Claire Callender from the CGHE Community

Following news of her passing, colleagues from over the decades and across time zones have shared tributes and sentiments, reflecting on their friendship and academic partnership with Claire Callender, Professor of Higher Education at IOE, Fellow of Birkbeck College, and a founding Deputy Director of CGHE. Beyond the influence of her scholarship, Claire touched many lives in the research and policy communities. The statements below are a testament to this.

We will continue to share these as they come in. If you would like to add a statement, please send yours to L.rensimer@ucl.ac.uk and we will add it to this post.

I loved working with Claire. Initially on the Research and Development Committee of the Society for Research into Higher Education and when we were both involved in the initial bid for the Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE). Later, we were CGHE Deputy Directors together. There were so many things I valued about working with Claire. Her sparkling insight and her absolute commitment to rigour in the conduct of higher education research and to working to achieve socially-just outcomes. Equally importantly were Claire’s intellectual generosity and her complete lack of pretension and preciousness. I would often talk through difficult situations with Claire. She would always listen carefully and tactfully push me to directly face the question I was trying to avoid. My lasting memories of my wonderful friend Claire will be of us laughing together about the latest ridiculous example of academic pomposity and her inspirational dedication to making higher education accessible to all who could benefit from it.

Paul Ashwin
Professor of Higher Education, Lancaster University

Claire took a chance on me just after I finished my PhD, bringing me to UCL to work on her CGHE project. Incredibly, given the length of her career, she loved to remind me that I was her first postdoc, and that we were learning what that relationship would look like together. After three years in that role, our relationship evolved into one of colleagues, leading to eight years of continued collaboration.

Claire was brilliant in so many ways. She was a sharp, meticulous researcher with deep knowledge of the field. She had a real appetite for engaging with White Papers and parliamentary discussions. Above all, she valued research for its policy impact. Claire would never settle for a paper whose conclusion didn’t clearly state what it meant in practice for policymakers. She wanted her research to change the world and she advocated tirelessly for it.

But what stood out most to me was how deeply caring and generous she was. From the beginning, ensuring my postdoc contract allowed me to support cross-border family life, to buying subway tickets for a group of younger researchers at a Vienna conference (explaining that in the civil service, the most senior person always pays), to many lunches at RADA, Claire looked after people. Her generosity extended to her time and knowledge: she was always available for advice, always ready to read and comment (extensively!) on any draft.

Over eight years, I heard many stories from Claire about her life and she had some truly incredible adventures. She lived fully, bringing the same passion and joy to life that she brought to her work. She will continue to inspire me.

I will miss her very much.

Ariane de Gayardon de Fenoyl
Assistant Professor, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, University of Twente

While I knew Claire professionally for a long time, it was still more than a decade ago when we found ourselves as colleagues at the IOE, working first within the LLAKES research centre and then within CGHE. Working with Claire was always an absolute pleasure. I learnt much from her about the world of British higher education, and enjoyed collaborating on one of her papers on student loans. Even more, I benefited so much from her wisdom in navigating the intricacies and relationships we encounter at work.

She has been a great friend and ally, and is badly missed.

Francis Green
Professor of Work and Education Economics,  IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

Claire has been an important figure in my intellectual development ever since my PhDs days back in the early 2000s when I first discovered her work on the impact of higher education reform on part-time students. To my delight, she accepted my invitation to speak about her research at Nuffield College and over dinner afterwards I got to experience first hand her wonderful warmth and quick wittedness. Ever since that first meeting, Claire’s tenacious advocacy of widening access to higher education has been an inspiration to me and it was a real privilege to later work alongside her as part of the Centre for Global Higher Education. Her important work on the impact on students of the neoliberal shifting of the costs of higher education from public purse to private individuals features strongly in the undergraduate Sociology of Education module I teach and always provokes stimulating classroom discussions. Claire’s contributions to academic thought and policy debate are a legacy to be proud of. She will be much missed.

Vikki Boliver
Professor of Sociology, Durham University

A few minutes on the phone after a job interview was enough to realise Claire was a tour-de-force, both as an academic and human being. I remember us both laughing after confessing that I almost hadn’t answered because it looked like yet another spam call. I am very proud to have had the chance to work with her, and learn and achieve a great deal together, if only for a short time.

It made little sense when the email came through saying she isn’t here anymore. It may never make sense, all the past tense after her name. But Professor Callender’s impact in the world and memory undoubtedly live on in the present and beyond. Along with her fierce spirit, knowledge and dry sense of humour, which made every day interesting. And forever unforgettable.

Dr Susie Davis-Singaravelu
Former colleague at CGHE-UCL

Many will know Claire as a passionate scholar, an influential voice in policy circles, and a colleague in the truest sense of collegiality. She was all of those, of course, but Claire was also an unrelenting champion of early career researchers. She always made time to support and mentor those of us who were relatively new to the challenges of academic research, and ensured that we were recognised and included in unfamiliar spaces within the department and the Centre. She was simultaneously protective and constructive, using her hallmark frankness to help us over hurdles big and small (and sometimes reminding me which ones were in fact small – such as my first rejection from a journal). Claire’s mentorship was instrumental in my transition from a research associate to a permanent post, and continued as I faced new challenges and opportunities in the role.

The legacy of her scholarship in many ways speaks for itself. However I should add that it also holds great interest from and influence on our students, shaping their understanding of higher education policy’s many problems and potential. This year I launched our faculty’s first undergraduate module on higher education studies and naturally Claire’s work dominated the lecture on fees and funding. Students really connected with this topic, especially the humanising accounts of loan debt in her later work. Two of my students are now finishing up their dissertations on loans and funding-related access, drawing heavily on Claire’s work. It may seem a small gesture compared to all the support she gave me, but I was looking forward to sharing these with her to show her how her scholarship influences new generations of students not only through policy, but also more directly through teaching.

Claire was above all a friend, and I will miss her dearly.

Lee Rensimer
CGHE Deputy Director, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

As an international collaborator and partner institution, my colleagues at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong will definitely miss Claire, a great leader in higher education research. On a personal level, I certainly miss her a lot as a great collaborator, a role model for all who embark on the research journey in higher education. Whenever I visited UCL to attend CGHE’s annual event, Claire was always supportive of me, caring whether I would have office space during my visit to London. She even shared her own office with me during my conference attendance in 2024. Claire has indeed set a role model not only as an outstanding researcher but also a great friend and colleague caring for her fellows. Thanks to Claire for her significant contributions to our research community.

Ka Ho Mok
CGHE Deputy Director, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong

I first met Claire in 2019 at a CGHE Annual Conference. I was in awe of her organising skills, planning for every last contingency. And when I joined the CGHE research management committee in 2021, I regularly turned to her for advice and guidance. I trusted her sense of justice, and willingness to stand up for the principles of inclusivity and community. This was visible as much in her research into the impact of student debt as it was in her commitment to creating a community of scholars through CGHE.

Along with our current CGHE leadership team, I helped host our first ever CGHE annual conference in Oxford this year. Claire was always on my mind. I wanted her to know  how it was going, and that it would live up to her high standards. Running a conference is akin to staging a show…lots of things to think about, and lots that can go wrong. Thankfully, the sun came out, the magnolia was in full bloom, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We know Claire would have loved to have been there too. She will be sorely missed.

David Mills, CGHE Director, Oxford University

My abiding memory of Claire is locked in conversation over coffee or lunch at the RADA café in Bloomsbury, talking through problems, putting the world to rights and laughing over Kafkaesque bureaucracy. I worked closely with Claire for a year as Deputy Directors of CGHE navigating some complex institutional dynamics, and was always amazed by her capacity for caring about people and real issues, somehow avoiding the vanity and narcissism that are so prevalent in our field. At once stylish urbanite and down-to-earth political progressive, she was a model of impactful, committed academia. I am sad not to have had longer to learn from her, but she will be a lasting inspiration for all of us.

Tristan McCowan, Professor of International Education, UCL

Although we had already met I first got to know Claire well when we both joined the Institute in 2011. We weren’t exactly a job share but we were both 0.5 Professors working in higher education, so worked together increasingly closely on a number of projects.

One was a dry run to try to persuade the ESRC to fund an HE research centre, which was successful the following year when Simon Marginson made another (and better) application. Another was a DFE funded research project on HE in further education colleges. Claire was also a key contributor to the (sadly no longer running) MBA in HE management. Her combination of rigorous research with her extensive policy experience was the ideal mix for the course. We also jointly edited a book on the reforms of HE following the Browne report and the formation of a new Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition Government

Claire was a first-rate academic, who became one of the leading HE researchers of her generation. But she also had rich experience of policy work for Government which gave her an extra dimension of understanding of the key issues. And she was a passionate advocate for one of those issues, the future of part-time HE and part-time students. It was more than fitting therefore because her exemplary scholarship and passionate advocacy that two years ago she was made a Fellow of Birkbeck College which since the 1820s has been a beacon of part-time study.

She was more than a colleague to me and became a close friend. I last saw her at her home at the end of January. Although very weak her spirit remained indomitable and she contemplated death with remarkable courage.

Peter Scott
Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Studies, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

Claire became a much valued colleague after she joined the IOE to contribute to the MBA in Higher Education Studies and CGHE. She was a generous leader to everyone in the team at CGHE/IOE. Although her voice and presence will be greatly missed, she will continue to be a beacon for others. Thank you Claire for all your endeavours.

Dr Celia Whitchurch
Honorary Associate Professor, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

Claire Callender was very important to me and many others who have learned so much from her academically and personally. She was a great scholar, always supportive of the next generation of researchers, keen to develop an international community and to promote the social dimension of higher education research and policy. She was inspiring, generous and fun. I consider myself very fortunate to have crossed her path and will keep very fond memories of her.

Vincent Carpentier
Professor of Higher Education and Society, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

Claire served on the review panel for my upgrade viva in 2022, and her insightful feedback—particularly on the critical appraisal of employability and TNE development—was immensely helpful to my research. In 2023, we even had lunch together near Endsleigh Gardens. At the time, I was feeling uncertain about my doctoral journey and eager to better understand the UK higher education landscape. She generously shared her career experiences and offered thoughtful guidance. She also offered me opportunities to contribute to CGHE annual conferences in 2023 and 2024. Claire was always so kind, approachable, and genuinely supportive—her presence will be profoundly missed within our community.

Anan Chen
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Peking University

I first met Claire as a new PhD student. My thesis was on the impact of tuition fees on HE access and participation, and I was particularly interested in students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Claire’s work was among the first I encountered in this area, and it was clear that this was someone who really cared about the welfare of students. We soon became colleagues, often meeting at conferences and seminars, and I was pleased to be part of CGHE, in which she played such an important and prominent role. In 2017 we both travelled to India together for a series of conferences and events on higher education in India, run by the British Council. It was a privilege to go there with Claire – as well as being an impressive academic and giving sharp policy advice, Claire was also great fun, extremely well-travelled, and had a tremendous sense of adventure. During that trip, she persuaded our hosts to escort us to a very famous Hindu Temple in Tirupati, a place very few westerners ever get to see. So at 5am, we were in a car being driven through the Tirumala Hills, to the temple, where we queued for hours among hundreds of Hindu pilgrims. It is an experience I will never forget, thanks to Claire.  Adventures aside, Claire’s was such an important voice in the UK higher education policy landscape. Her first priority was the welfare of underrepresented students, and that came through in everything she worked on. She will be greatly missed.

Gill Wyness
Professor of Economics, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO)

Claire embodied that rare combination of humour and energy, and wisdom and professionalism that makes academic collaboration truly inspiring. She cared deeply about justice and access to higher education, never shied away from difficult topics, had a strong vision of positive change, and backed it with rigorous research, scholarship and policy engagement. Her lasting impact on the field, on policy and on cohorts of students and researchers will continue. I worked with Claire in the Centre for Global Higher Education for over seven years and I will continue to treasure her sharp focus, getting right to the heart of the matter, her hugely sensible advice, her dedication, and the way she would always lead by example.

Alis Oancea
Professor of Philosophy of Education and Research Policy, University of Oxford

I met Claire through CGHE – and over the years our friendship grew and deepened. We had much in common.

Claire had a deep compassion in tackling issues of inequality focusing on issues of access and participation throughout people’s lifetime – which was evident in her work on funding and adult learners. And not satisfied with just researching the issues, she insisted on reaching out and seeking to influence public opinion and policymakers. Our last conversation celebrated publication of “her last article,” with Ariane de Gayardon, appropriately in Policy Reviews in Higher Education.

Claire’s strength in dealing with her illness is reflective of the conviction with which she approached all her work. It is something I will always remember. Celebrating her memory and her legacy.

Ellen Hazelkorn
Professor Emerita, Technological University Dublin, Ireland