University of Cumbria leader visits Buckingham Palace to collect OBE
Earlier this year Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Brian Webster-Henderson was named in the King’s Birthday Honours list for his services to the NHS and education.
Professor Webster-Henderson has travelled to London this week for the investiture at Buckingham Palace, where he was presented with his OBE by His Majesty, King Charles.
A professor of nursing, Professor Webster-Henderson is a recognised and established national leader in relation to nursing education, healthcare and workforce development who was awarded a prestigious Fellowship of the Queen’s Nursing Institute in 2022.
His career in nursing, higher education and academia stretches more than four decades and continues to see him working at the highest, national levels of strategic discussions and workforce development, curriculum, research and policy.
Building upon this wealth of experience, Professor Brian Webster-Henderson is currently spearheading the establishment of the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine, a unique partnership between Imperial College London and University of Cumbria, which welcomes its first students in August 2025.
He is also part of the University of Cumbria team working with Cumberland Council on the Cumberland Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). The Cumberland HDRC is a £4.8m project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to create a research informed approach to excellent services within the Cumberland council area.
In his role as Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Webster-Henderson provides executive leadership across University of Cumbria’s academic, research and knowledge exchange operations and its student support services.
He leads too on the university’s equality, diversity, inclusion, and well-being agendas, and is a strategic advisor on education, research and workforce to the Executive Board of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and a trustee for the Cumbria Education Trust.
A proud Scot hailing from Carnoustie, Professor Webster-Henderson said: “It was such a surprise to be included in the King’s Birthday Honours List in June and it is a delight now to be able to attend an official investiture.”
Congratulations Brian!