John Thompson MBE

John joined the Board of Governors in July 2022 and is a member of the Audit Committee.

Having spent 20 years in the National Audit Office, including a secondment to the team setting up the Employment Service, John moved to the South Coast and joined an office-products company, later becoming their Marketing and Purchasing Director. After the business was taken over and relocated, John finished his career as Bursar at Dorset House School, taking early retirement in 2009.

John has been involved in school governance for many years, as Chair of Governors of both secondary and primary schools. He continues as Governor of a Secondary School and is the Secretary of a voluntary management committee of a nursery school. He was Lead Governor at Western Sussex Hospitals before the creation of University Hospitals Sussex. Until recently, he was the Lay Member of the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership and the West Sussex Youth Justice Board.

He also undertakes work for a number of Local Authorities, including both Arun and Chichester District Councils. He is Chair of Avisford Medical Group Patient Participation Group and of the West Sussex Patient Participation Group Forum. He was awarded an MBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

At the University, John has been involved with the School of Nursing and Allied Health since its inception. He also sits on the Prevent and Environmental Sustainability Boards, Sustainability in the Curriculum Group and project groups.