Julie Newlan obituary

Other lives: Senior manager at Hertfordshire University who was instrumental in setting up its medical school

My friend Julie Newlan, who has died of brain cancer aged 68, was senior manager at the University of Hertfordshire, where she rose to be deputy vice-chancellor.

During her time there she made an outstanding contribution to two separate initiatives: the establishment of a medical school that will receive its first cohort of students later this year, and the appointment of a marketing team in the university’s international department that has helped to make it one of the most popular destinations for foreign students.

Julie was born in London to Mary (nee Benson), a clerical worker, and Tom Knights, a carpenter making scenery in the theatre. She attended Hatfield girls grammar school, after which she worked for a publishing company and as a hotel manager. Taking on managerial posts at Guinness Retail Holdings and the retailing company Martins, she then became a senior consultant for Fifth Dimension, a management consultancy firm specialising in market gap analysis and strategic market positioning, with a particular focus on the healthcare sector.

Having married Keith Newlan, a jeweller, in 1988, she then juggled work, the rearing of their three young children, Sophie, Lucie and Max, and studying. By 1993, she had gained an MBA from London Metropolitan University and a postgraduate diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

In 1996 she joined the University of Hertfordshire, where we met, as a senior lecturer in business strategy. But as ever, her managerial flair came to the fore, leading her to be appointed dean of the university’s business school in 2006, then pro-vice-chancellor for business, marketing, communications and international development in 2011, and deputy vice-chancellor in 2022, a position she held until her retirement in 2024.

Made MBE in 2014 for services to higher education, five years later she was appointed a professor in enterprise development in higher education.

Outside her university work, Julie was active in Hertfordshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, local Chambers of Commerce and the regional CBI. In retirement she continued with other voluntary roles, including as chair of the board of trustees of the Bishopsgate Institute in London. Previously she had been a trustee at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (2013-18).

She is survived by Keith, their children and six grandchildren, Theo, Evelyn, River, Remy, Renley, and Finn.