Contact
Get in touch with our press office
We are here to help with any media enquiries about The University of Chichester’s world-leading research, latest student news and corporate issues. We can also put you in touch with our academic experts to arrange interviews.
All media enquiries should be emailed to the university’s press office which is press@chi.ac.uk.
The university runs a small press office and reserves the right to prioritise responses at busy times. Journalists are asked to clearly state the publication they write for (or where they will pitch the story if freelance) and their deadline.
Claire Andrews – Press and Public Engagement Manager
Rachael Page – Press Officer
- Email: press@chi.ac.uk
- Telephone: 01243 816495
- Office hours: Monday to Thursday (9am to 5:30pm), Friday (9am to 4:30pm)
- Outside office hours: urgent media enquiries can be made to 07876 885 601.
Request to join our press list to receive our press releases via email.
Media experts
Find one of our expert staff to speak on their specialist areas
Browse our experts
Becky Edwards
Senior Lecturer
Becky is a qualified primary school teacher and has specialised in teaching children with special educational needs and disabilities in the early years.
Areas of expertise include:
- Homelessness and addiction
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- Care-experienced young adults (care leavers)
- Prisoners (ex and current)
Dr Amy Elkington
Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer in Law
Amy achieved an LLB (Hons) in Law from Brunel University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Portsmouth, before achieving a PhD in Law from the University of Surrey. She has since gone on to further achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Management from the University of Chichester.
Areas of expertise include:
- Criminal Law
- The application of criminal defences
- Duress as a defence to murder
Dr Benjamin T. Sharpe
Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology, Director of the Human Attention Laboratory, Coordinator for BSc Criminology and Forensic Psychology Programme, and Thematic Cluster Lead for South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership
Dr Benjamin Sharpe is a Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology and Director of the Human Attention Laboratory at the University of Chichester, specialising in sustained attention, vigilance performance, and attention control across diverse populations including neurodivergent individuals, esports athletes, military personnel, and people living with dementia.
Areas of expertise include:
- Cognitive psychology and performance optimisation in professional environments
- Mental health in digital spaces, including gaming and social media
- Sustained attention and human limitations in extended monitoring
Dr Bruno De Oliveira
Lecturer in Psychology
Bruno’s research career is focused on participatory and creative methods, such as photo-elicitation, at the boundaries of community and social psychology. His research has led him to contribute to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Poverty in the UK.
Areas of expertise include:
- The impact of inequality on well-being.
- Immigration and the impact of public rhetoric.
- Community-based approaches to public health.
Dr Ian Tyndall
Reader in Cognitive Psychology
Dr Ian Tyndall is a cognitive-behavioural psychologist in the Department of Psychology.
Ian’s research is particularly focused on experimental investigations of cognitive and behavioural processes underpinning clinical psychology conditions.
Ian is the Study Abroad officer and the Employability Officer for the Department.
Areas of expertise include:
- Sexual health of over-45s.
- Behaviour and psychological distress – and its impact on health and emotional wellbeing.
- Increasing acceptance of breastfeeding in public.
Dr Julia Potter
Head of Physical Education and University Coordinator of Advance HE Provision
Julia is the Head of Physical Education and is the University Coordinator of Advance HE Provision at the University of Chichester.
Areas of expertise include:
- Children’s Exercise and Health
- The Role of Schools in Child Health
- Stress Physiology
- Supplementation and Rock-Climbing Performance
- NZBC extract and blood flow
Dr Miles Leeson
Reader in English Literature
Dr Miles Leeson is the Director of the Iris Murdoch Research Centre and Visiting Research Fellow at Kingston University.
Areas of expertise include:
- Twentieth Century Women’s Writing
- Ethics and Literature
- Literature and Trauma
Dr Naomi Foyle
Reader in Critical Imaginative Writing
She holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wales and has also taught at Goldsmiths College.
Areas of expertise include:
- Climate change (and its global impact).
- The Palestinian-Israeli conflict
- Autism Spectrum Condition in adults – and how UK teachers can embrace it in the classroom.
Dr Nicola Clark
Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History
Dr Nicola Clark joined the Department of History as an Associate Lecturer in 2014 and was appointed Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History in 2018.
Areas of expertise include:
- Medieval and early modern history.
- Women’s roles in history.
- Religion in history.
Dr Nita Muir
Head of the School of Nursing and Allied Health
Nita is an active researcher as an Adult Registered Nurse and academic with an international reputation, with a particular focus within community nursing and nurse education.
She has undertaken evaluative consultations for Health Education Improvement Wales, is a member of the British Safety Institute, and is on the editorial board of a national nursing journal.
At an international level, Nita has participated in global research and led funded innovation projects to develop sustainable curriculum with colleagues in Zambia, Sweden, Denmark and China.
Areas of expertise include:
- The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on nursing and the wider UK healthcare profession.
- How the NHS can better-support staff in demanding and stressful environments (including wards and care homes).
- Frailty in the elderly – and how nurses can provide best care for older patients.
Dr Tommy Lynch
Reader in Political Theology
Dr Tommy Lynch is Reader in Political Theology and the Programme Coordinator for the BA (Hons) Philosophy and Ethics course.
Areas of expertise include:
- The idea of the end of the world
- Philosophical responses to contemporary crises such as climate change
- Philosophies of hope
- The intersection of race and religion in Europe
James Wright
Senior Lecturer & Programme Leader for Accountancy and Finance
James is a multi-award winning FCCA senior lecturer and programme leader in accountancy & finance at the University of Chichester (UK), where he teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
He has prior experience working in an accounting practice supporting high net worth clients, which inspired him to pursue his own business ventures. He incorporates this real-world expertise into his classroom teaching to enhance the student experience and to demonstrate the application of the topic area.
Alongside his face to face classes, James is also a content creator on social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram specialising in all things accounting.
He supports students globally to pass their professional examinations, along with helping professionals to progress in their career sharing his experiences which has amassed millions of views worldwide.
Areas of expertise include:
- The accountancy and finance sector.
- Personal finance, UK taxation and the cost of living crisis.
- Setting up and operating a UK business.
Professor Hugh Dunkerley
Professor of Literature and Environment
I am Professor of Literature and Environment. I lead the MA in Creative Writing and teach on a range of undergraduate Creative Writing modules.
Areas of expertise include:
- Climate change.
- The future of Planet Earth.
- Extinction Rebellion – and the impact of other environmentalist groups).
Professor Hugo Frey
Professor of History
Professor Hugo Frey is Professor of History at University of Chichester.
Areas of expertise include:
- Comics and graphic novels
- Cinema
- Franco-American cultural relations and French culture
- Legacies of war and genocide in European culture and society
Professor Kish Bhatti-Sinclair
Professor of Health and Social Care
Kish is known for her work on social work, race and racism and is particularly interested in ethnically sensitive research methodologies and theories, such as modern racism, which test discriminatory attitudes and behaviours.
Areas of expertise include:
- Race and racism affecting young people in the UK.
- Immigration and the impact of strict border controls on children.
- Child abuse by minority ethnic communities.
Professor Laura Ritchie
Professor of Learning and Teaching, National Teaching Fellow Coordinator of Instrumental/ Vocal Teaching and MA Programmes
Professor Laura Ritchie is Professor of Learning and Teaching at the University of Chichester, UK. She is vibrant in her teaching, research, music-making, and in life; she embodies a ‘yes’ attitude. Laura Ritchie also leads the Lab for Self-Efficacy, Performance, and Agency.
Areas of expertise include:
- Psychological studies on self-belief in music
- Teaching practice, especially string instruments
- International teaching practices, particularly in the USA.
Rams Singh
Senior Lecturer in Esports
Rams ‘r2k’ Singh has been in the world of Esports for more than 20 years as a player, coach, manager, advisor.
Rams became a multiple-time Champion and European Champion in Quake 3 before joining Team Dignitas in 2006 as a player in Quake 4 and Trackmania, and was one of the first to represent the UK in the Electronic Sports World Cup.
He also has extensive experience in esports broadcasting, commentary and was the UK National Captain for the World Cyber Games in 2013.
Areas of expertise include:
- Esports on the curriculum – why esports and the benefits of a career in the gaming industry should be taught in schools
- Chichester’s recent study which revealed that pro esports athletes playing in top-level competitions face similar stress levels as football and rugby stars
- Supporting the physical and mental health of video-gamers – to keep them performing at the top level
Key facts about the University of Chichester
What you need to know
- We have campuses in cathedral city Chichester and by the sea in Bognor Regis.
- Our key disciplines are in sport, education, creative and digital technologies, and engineering.
- We’re recognised as a green university – achieving platinum tier in the Uswitch Green Universities 2023 rankings – one of only six universities to do so.
- Our teacher training programmes are rated outstanding by Ofsted.
- We have been awarded the highest overall rating of ‘Gold’ in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023.
- We are ranked 12th overall in the UK for student satisfaction out of 131 universities in the NSS 2025.
- We are ranked 7th in the south east, according to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.
- We have been rated as a top-30 UK university out of 123 institutions (Guardian University Guide 2026).
- We also provide a total of 1,228 jobs in Chichester and 576 jobs in the Arun area, where the Bognor Regis campus is located.
- More than half of the University’s student population are the first in their family to attend university, while a third originate from low-income homes earning less than £25,000 a year.
- The £50m Tech Park at Bognor Regis, which houses all our STEM courses, was opened by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018.
- Alumni include gold-winning Olympic sailor Saskia Clark and gold-winning Paralympian Emma Wiggs.
Our students
2023/24 figures
- Total number of students 6,826
- Number of undergraduate students 4,964
- Number of postgraduate full-time students 1,754
- UK students (incl. Channel Islands & Isle of Man) 96%
- Other EU students 1%
- Non-EU/International students 3%
- Full time undergraduates in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance 4%
- First in family to attend university 47%
- Mature students 40%
Our History
- The University of Chichester can trace its origins back to 1839 and was first opened as a college for training schoolmasters called Bishop Otter College.
- Florence Nightingale had a hand in the formation of Bishop Otter College after writing a letter of support to the government in 1876.
- In 1873 the College became a training college for women as a result of the campaign by Louisa Hubbard to encourage the acceptance of women as teachers. Male students were not introduced until 1957.
- Chichester played a crucial part in the D-Day landings of 1944, where one of the lecture rooms on the Bishop Otter campus became the Operations Room of RAF Tangmere, the nerve centre controlling squadrons of fighter planes involved in the D-Day landing.
- The West Sussex Institute of Higher Education was formed in 1977 as a result of the merger between Bishop Otter College and the Bognor Regis College of Education, becoming a single institution of higher education.
- The title ‘University of Chichester’ was approved by the Privy Council on 12 October 2005.