Professor David Stephen Eastwood (born 5 January 1959) is a British academic who became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...

 on 13 April 2009, taking over from Professor Michael Sterling

Michael Sterling

Professor Michael Sterling FREng began his career as an electrical engineer in 1964 joining AEI as a student apprentice with a scholarship to the University of Sheffield to read electronic and electrical engineering, graduating with a 1st class honours degree and subsequently a PhD in computer...

 upon the latter's retirement. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Higher Education Funding Council for England

The Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...

 (HEFCE), a post he had held since September 2006. Former posts also include Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia

University of East Anglia

The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...

 and Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board.

He was educated at Sandbach School

Sandbach School

Founded in 1677, Sandbach School has been located on Crewe Road in Sandbach, Cheshire for almost 150 years.It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers...

, St Peter's College, Oxford

St Peter's College, Oxford

St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, located in New Inn Hall Street. It occupies the site of two of the University's oldest Inns, or medieval hostels - Bishop Trellick's, later New Inn Hall, and Rose Hall - both of which were...

 (MA) from where he graduated in 1980, and was subsequently made an Honorary Fellow, and at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 (DPhil). He has held the posts of Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board and Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Pro-Vice-Chancellor

In a university, an assistant to a vice-chancellor is called a pro-vice-chancellor . These are sometimes teaching academics who take on additional responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities are in charge of Administration, Research and Development, Academic and Education affairs...

 of Swansea University

Swansea University

Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...

. His academic specialism is modern history

Modern history

Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...

, and he was fellow

Fellow

A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...

 and senior tutor of Pembroke College, Oxford

Pembroke College, Oxford

Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...

.

Professor Eastwood is also Chair of the QAA

Qaa

Qaa is a town in Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon.It has a mainly Greek Catholic population....

 Steering Group for Benchmarking and a member of the QAA Board

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

. He enjoys music, politics, walking, wine; and includes writing on football among his publications.
He has contributed numerous times to several newspapers, among them The Guardian,The Sunday Telegraph and The Times.His specialist subject is 19th and 18th century British and American politics. He has expressed his support for the governments actions to increase tuition fees to between £6000 and £9000.

In March 2011 he announced plans to raise the undergraduate tuition fees at the University of Birmingham to the maximum of £9000 (subject to OFFA approval) for courses commencing 2012/13.