• Professor Trevor McMillan has received his OBE for services to higher education.
• Professor McMillan received the honour in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours in 2022, and was presented with his medal by His Majesty the King.
• He said: "This really is an enormous honour that I am very proud to receive."

Honouring services to higher education

Keele’s Vice-Chancellor has been officially presented with an OBE by His Majesty the King honouring his extensive work in higher education. 

Professor Trevor McMillan, Vice-Chancellor of Keele University, was awarded an OBE for services to higher education in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours in 2022, which mark the extraordinary contributions and service of people across the United Kingdom.  

This week he received his award from King Charles at Buckingham Palace, describing it as an “enormous honour”. 

A distinguished career

Professor McMillan was awarded a PhD in Biophysics at the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London, in 1984. He spent three years at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and then headed a laboratory in a department that was jointly run between the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital. 

As a radiation biologist, he has published widely on the role of DNA damage and repair in the efficacy of radiotherapy and the harmful cellular effects of UVA following environmentally relevant exposures. He has taught at all levels in universities and to medical professionals around the world on the biological basis of cancer treatments. On the basis of this he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Physicians and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists. 

Professor McMillan held a variety of roles at Lancaster University, culminating with eight years as Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research, and has been Vice-Chancellor of Keele University since 2015. 

Nationally, he chaired the Knowledge Exchange Framework Steering Group when it was formed by Research England and continues as chair of the Knowledge Exchange Concordat Strategy group. In 2016, he published a report on technology transfer from universities which was referenced extensively by Government. 

"An enormous honour"

Professor McMillan said: “This really is an enormous honour that I am very proud to receive. A major part of leadership in universities is to create an environment that gives opportunities for staff, students and the communities of people and organisations that you work with to do wonderful things. I have been lucky to be surrounded by people who have been fantastic in what they have achieved, and I can only hope that I have had a small role in enabling that.” 

He also chairs the Midlands Innovation board and is a member of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership board and the board of the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System. He also chairs Network Staffordshire and the Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Deal Board.