Trustees

Professor Dame Anne Glover, FRS PRSE – Chair May 2015-, Trustee since 2015.

A molecular biologist and currently President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2018-2021) and Special Adviser to the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde. Anne Glover gained a first class Bachelor of Science honours degree at the University of Edinburgh and a PhD at King’s College, Cambridge. Glover was recognised in 2008 as a Woman of Outstanding Achievement by the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology and was awarded a CBE in 2009 for services to environmental science and a DBE in 2015 for services to science in UK and Europe. She was the first Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission (2012-2015) and prior to that appointment she was the first Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland (2006-2011).

She is non-executive director on several boards and is also a Trustee of several charities and has a particular interest in how knowledge can be used to transform lives in Africa.

Professor Sally Mapstone, MA DPhil – Trustee since September 2016, Vice-Chair since 2019.

Professor Mapstone is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, the second woman in succession to hold this role there.

Sally is a board member of Universities UK, a Trustee of UCAS and of the Europaeum, and a member of the advisory board of the Higher Education Policy Institute. She leads on widening access work for Universities Scotland. She is Chair of the international advisory board for the University of Helsinki.

In 2017 Professor Mapstone received the Foreign Policy Association of America medal for services to higher education.

As an academic Sally is a medievalist, with expertise in the area of medieval and Renaissance Scottish literature. She is President of the Saltire Society, which champions Scottish culture.

The Carnegie Trust sees potential, loves good ideas, and believes abidingly in fairness; it is more relevant now than it has ever been.

Professor Andrea Nolan, MVB, FRCVS, PhD, DVA, DiplECVAA, DipECVPT – Trustee since July 2013

Professor Nolan is Principal and Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University and Professor in Veterinary Pharmacology.

Andrea graduated as a veterinary surgeon from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and after a short time in veterinary practice, embarked on an academic career which led to her appointment as a lecturer in Veterinary Pharmacology and ultimately Professor in the University of Glasgow.

During the 1990s, Andrea established herself as a research leader in the field of animal pain, its recognition and management. She has published widely and has received awards for her work including the Pfizer Academic Award for Animal Health Research, the Amoroso Award from the British Small Animal Veterinary Association and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare Companion Animal Award. She has contributed to educational development in animal pain management and welfare over many years. She has been a member of several journal Editorial Boards, was a founding member of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Global Pain Council and is currently a Trustee of two animal charities.

Andrea was awarded an Honorary OBE in 2013 for services to Higher Education and Veterinary Science. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Agricultural Societies.

Professor Craig Mahoney, BEd, MA, PhD, TTC, CPsychol, AFBPsS, FBASES, FRSA, FIoD – Trustee since August 2013

Professor Craig Mahoney is Principal and Vice-Chancellor at the University of the West of Scotland.  Previous roles include CEO at the Higher Education Academy and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Northumbria University.  A dynamic public advocate of higher education, Craig has a keen interest in differentiated student-centred learning, teaching excellence, internationalisation and research informed teaching.  He is an ardent supporter of the use of e-learning; technology to support teaching and open educational resources.

A chartered psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Craig has been an internationally recognised sport psychologist for more than 30 years.  Craig is a Board member for Sportscotland, the Quality Assurance Agency, and Glasgow City of Science.  He holds a Convenorship with Universities Scotland for Learning and Teaching and also the Efficiency Task Group.

I feel thrilled and privileged to be a Trustee of The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, helping oversee the enhancement and distribution of funds to worthy students and universities following the extremely generous bequest set aside by Andrew Carnegie more than 100 years ago to support the then four universities – how wonderful that we can still provide assistance from his legacy to support the development of higher education after all these years from his generous donation.

The Rt Hon Lord Eassie (Ronald D Mackay), PC. Trustee since 2016-. 

Lord Eassie holds the degrees of MA (Hons) from the University of St Andrews and LLB from the University of Edinburgh. Admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1972, he practised at the Bar until 1979, when he took up a post as an official of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in Luxembourg. He resumed practice as an advocate in 1983 becoming Queen’s Counsel in 1986. He served as an Advocate depute between 1987 and 1990.

From 1997 until retirement in 2015 Lord Eassie held office as a judge in the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary; and between 2002 and 2006 was also chairman of the Scottish Law Commission. Among extra-judicial activities, in 2005 he accepted an invitation to assume convenorship of the Joint Standing Committee on Legal Education in Scotland. He is also president of the council of the Scottish Universities Law Institute.

Lord Eassie is an honorary member of the Society of Legal Scholars and has contributed to, or edited, a number of legal textbooks.

Sir John Grant, KCMG. Trustee since 2013-

Formerly Executive Vice President, Policy and Corporate Affairs, BG Group. Before joining the BG Group in 2009, John had been president of BHP Billiton Europe since 2007. Prior to that he was a member of the Diplomatic Service from 1976-2007, holding posts in Stockholm, Moscow and Brussels, where he was the UK’s Permanent Representative to the European Union from 2003-2007.

Dr Alison Fielding, BSc, MSc, MBA, PhD. Trustee since May 2016

Alison Fielding is an experienced entrepreneur; creating, building and investing in high-growth companies.

Her career has spanned scientific research at Zeneca plc, strategy consultancy at McKinsey & Company, and investment, business building and CEO coaching at IP Group plc, where she was COO until 2013 and is currently Director of Strategy and IP Impact.

Dr Fielding has extensive executive and non-executive experience and is currently NED at Getech plc, Perachem Holdings Limited and a Trustee of Royal Voluntary Service.

Alison holds a First Class (Hons) BSc and PhD from the University of Glasgow, an MBA from Manchester Business School and an MSc in Mindfulness from the University of Aberdeen.

I became a Trustee as I was so grateful for my Carnegie Trust PhD Scholarship, which really helped my career at an early stage.

Sara Parkin, OBE. Trustee from March 2016.

Sara Parkin is Principal Associate of The Sustainability Literacy Project and co-Founder of Forum for the Future. She was born in Aberdeen and began her working life as a nurse in Edinburgh.

During the 1980s Sara played leading roles in the UK Green Party and in the growth of green politics worldwide. With Forum for the Future she designed and ran a Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development for 20 years and wrote The Positive Deviant: Sustainability Leadership in a Perverse World, now a course book in several countries.

Sara Parkin is Chair of the Richard Sandbrook Trust, sits in the Board of Students Organising for Sustainability (NUS affiliated) and advises widely on sustainability. Previous Board experience includes NERC, Higher Education Academy, Leadership Foundation for HE, European Training Foundation, the Environment Agency (E&W), Friends of the Earth and the New Economics Foundation. She is also a Patron of Population Matters, the Urban Orchard Project and the Museum of Islay Life.

Her honours include recognition by engineering, other professional and education institutions and, in 2001, an OBE for services to education and sustainable development.

Professor Nigel Seaton, BSc, PhD – Trustee since 2012.

Professor Seaton began his academic career at the University of Edinburgh, where he gained a BSc (Honours) in Chemical Engineering in 1982.  He went on to do an MSE and a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

After working briefly in the oil industry, Professor Seaton moved in 1989 to the University of Cambridge, where he was a Lecturer in Chemical Engineering and a Fellow of Clare College. He was a visiting professor at Cornell University in 1996-97. In 1997, he returned to the University of Edinburgh as Professor of Interfacial Engineering. Between 1998 and 2007, he held a succession of leadership posts leading to appointment as Vice-Principal (Academic). In 2008 he moved to the University of Surrey, firstly as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) and then as Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

Professor Seaton joined Abertay University as Principal and Vice-Chancellor in 2012.

Professor Seaton is a Director of Jisc, a company that delivers information systems and services to universities and colleges;  and of Advance HE, which supports leadership development, academic excellence, and equality and diversity across higher education. He is a member of the Executive Board of GuildHE.

Professor Seaton is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

The Carnegie Trust is about giving opportunities to students, and to researchers starting out on their careers.  It’s a privilege to be able to contribute to this endeavour as a Trustee.

Professor George Boyne became Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen on 1 August 2018.

Professor Boyne has spent the majority of his academic career in Wales. He was Pro Vice-Chancellor, Head of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and a member of University Executive Board at Cardiff University since 2012.

He was previously Dean of Cardiff University’s Business School, and is a world-leading expert on the performance of public sector organisations. Professor Boyne has been a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences since 2010.

Donald McDonald, CBE. Trustee since March 2016.

Donald MacDonald is a law graduate of Edinburgh University and a chartered accountant.

Donald is involved in corporate finance and a variety of businesses. He is a past President of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Donald McDonald has over 30 years of involvement in the arts, as former Chair (now life President) of Scottish Chamber Orchestra and a Board member of Edinburgh Festival. He is joint Founder of East Neuk Festival and of the Research Centre into Motor Neurone Disease at Edinburgh University as well as Euans Guide.

Ray Perman, BA MBA FRSE. Trustee since 2019

Ray Perman started his working life as a journalist on newspapers including The Times and the Financial Times, before co-founding the business magazine company Insider Publications Ltd in 1983.  The business was sold to Trinity Mirror plc in 1999. He was an executive director of Caledonian Publishing plc, which bought the Glasgow Herald from Lonrho in 1992 and sold it to Scottish Media Group in 1996.

From 2005-2013 he was chair of the Access to Finance Expert Group, which advised the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on policy relating to SME finance. He was a member of the board of Scottish Enterprise from 2004-2009 and chair of Social Investment Scotland, which makes loans to the social economy, from 2001-2009. He is a former member of the court of Heriot Watt University and chaired three small companies including his son’s radio and digital media business.

From 2011-17 he chaired the James Hutton Institute, a scientific research organisation working in the fields of environmental sustainability and food security, and from 2014-17 he was Director of the David Hume Institute, which commissions research and organises seminars on economic, political, social and business issues affecting Scotland.

He is author of HUBRIS: How HBOS Wrecked the Best Bank in Britain (2012) and a  biography of the Gaelic scholar John Lorne Campbell, The Man Who Gave Away His Island (2010). His financial history of Edinburgh, The Rise and Fall of the City of Money, will be published in autumn 2019.

Dr Bridget McConnell, CBE – Trustee since May 2020

Dr Bridget McConnell is Chief Executive of Glasgow Life, a charity which delivers services on behalf of Glasgow City Council; helping to transform lives through cultural, sporting and learning activity. As chief executive, Bridget leads a staff of 2,600 and oversees an annual budget of c.£114 million.

With responsibility for growing Glasgow’s reputation as a vibrant home of cultural and sporting excellence, Bridget also leads the city’s destination marketing, including the PEOPLE MAKE GLASGOW brand and Glasgow’s award-winning convention bureau.

Bridget was instrumental in bringing the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Glasgow and oversaw the delivery of the inaugural European Championships, held jointly in Glasgow and Berlin in August 2018.

Other career highlights include the £30 million refurbishment of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum; the opening of the £74 million Riverside Museum; the opening of the £113 million Emirates Arena; the £35m refurbishment of the Kelvin Hall as a world-class centre for heritage, learning, culture and sport; and the ongoing c.£66 million Burrell Renaissance project to refurbish and redisplay one of the world’s finest, single art collections.

An Art History graduate of the University of St Andrews and later a graduate of Stirling University where she gained her Masters and Doctorate of Education degrees focusing on the development of Cultural Policy in Scotland, Bridget is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was awarded honorary doctorates from the Universities of St Andrews, Aberdeen, Glasgow and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Bridget was made a CBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honours list for Services to Culture.​

When not busy entertaining her grandchildren, in her spare time, Bridget is a keen pianist.

Alan McFarlane – Trustee since May 2020

Alan is senior partner of Dundas Partners LLP, an Edinburgh based global equity investment firm. He is the former chair of the University of Edinburgh endowment fund’s investment committee and advises other charitable bodies on their investments. He chairs Reform Scotland, an independent public policy think-tank. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1978 MA in Politics and Modern History.