Andy Long on trust, social mobility and leading through uncertainty

What does it take to lead a major university through financial headwinds, a pandemic, and rising political scrutiny – without losing sight of the people at the centre of it all? 

In the latest episode of our #EdInfluence podcast, Nick MacKenzie sits down with Andy Long, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University, for a frank and far-reaching conversation about leadership, access, and what it really means to change lives.

Trust isn't a soft skill

Andy's leadership story begins not in a boardroom but at a research conference. As an academic specialising in composite materials, he spent years building networks across the sector – and when the time came to lead a major national research programme, he was chosen not because he was the most brilliant researcher in the room, but because he was the most trusted.

That realisation shaped everything that followed. "You appoint good people, you provide them with direction, and then you trust them and support them to get on with it", he says. The corollary of that – celebrating others' success as the success of the whole endeavour – is something he describes as genuinely satisfying, at least as much as any personal achievement.

For education leaders who feel pressure to have all the answers, Andy's take on imposter syndrome is equally grounding. "If they don't have imposter syndrome, I don't think I would really trust them", he says. His response to it is practical: prepare well, admit what you don't know, and resist the temptation to bluff. Naming the feeling publicly, he argues, gives others permission to do the same.

An engineering approach to leadership

Andy draws directly on his background as an engineer – the discipline of having a plan, monitoring implementation, being comfortable acting on incomplete data, and never changing too many variables at once so that cause and effect stays visible.

These habits proved their worth when, three weeks before the first national lockdown, he was asked to chair the COVID Silver Group at the University of Nottingham. By Monday after lockdown, the university was delivering teaching online.

That same disposition – experiment, assess, adapt – informs how Andy handles institutional risk. When an inherited overseas campus no longer proved viable, the decision to close it was made with care: students completed their programmes, staff were supported, and UK roles were offered where possible. 

The governing body conversation, he says, wasn't about failure. It was about demonstrating that the university can take risk, judge the right moment to stop, and close things down responsibly.

Access as mission, not marketing

As the first in his generation to go to university, Andy is clear that his commitment to widening participation is personal as much as strategic. The numbers at Northumbria bear that out. Around 40% of students come from areas with low participation rates. 

One in four young people in the North East who go to university choose Northumbria – and one in four graduate roles in the region are filled by its alumni.

"Please don't think this sounds too grandiose, but it is changing people's lives – because that's what universities do", Andy says. That ambition has a concrete target: by 2030, Northumbria wants every graduate, regardless of background, to have an equal, and higher, chance of success.

The vehicle is experiential learning, embedded in every undergraduate degree. The student law office places groups of students on real pro bono cases alongside a solicitor. For first-generation students with no professional networks, Andy says, it's the thing that gives them the confidence to pursue a legal career.

The bigger picture

Andy is candid about the funding pressures bearing down on the sector – tuition fees frozen for 11 of the last 13 years, volatile international student numbers and a more politically contested environment than higher education has faced in a generation. His response: universities can no longer simply assert their value. They have to demonstrate it.

It's a message that will resonate with leaders across education, not just in higher education. The conversation is honest, grounded, and full of practical insight from someone who has led through genuine uncertainty – and kept the human dimension of leadership at the centre throughout.

Listen to the full episode

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#EdInfluence is Browne Jacobson's podcast series exploring the human side of leadership with some of education's most inspiring figures.

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