Since her appointment in October 2018 the University has seen transformative change, with income growing by 50%, domestic student numbers rebounding to sustainable levels and a re-emergence into the international student market taking the University past levels experienced at its previous peak. She is particularly proud that this is being achieved alongside significant improvements in satisfaction from students (NSS scores have had year on year improvements) and staff (recent staff survey have the University well above benchmark and satisfaction has doubled to 65% since she took over).
In October 2023 the OfS announced that the Univestiy had moved to Silver in the Teaching Excellence Framework; the assessment includes an award of Gold for the student experience which
Lynn has carried her commitment to equity and inclusion with her into her role as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of London Met. In 2020 she announced the University’s landmark Race Equity Strategic Plan, including an investment of £15 million over five years to drive effective, tangible change in this space. In the foreword Lynn said “We will not lose our commitment to this agenda. This strategy is very important to us. It puts into print the hard targets that we need to achieve, so we can better support the communities that we are so proud to work with.” By fixing the academic pipeline, the University ensures its staff and decision-makers reflect the diversity of its students and our local communities, as well as updating our institutional culture through an ambitious staff development programme.
London Met is also funding research projects that directly relate to this strategy. An element of this was the launch in 2022 of a strategy to engage in knowledge exchange and action learning with Histroically Black Colleges and Universties (HBCUs), a critcally important part of the US higher education sector that has largely been overlooked internationally, yet has played such a critical role in graduating people of colour in the US. Spearheaded by Lynn, the partnerships are already impacting staff and students on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 2022 Lynn also launched a dual infrastructure project covering the estate and digital infrastructures, entailing an investment of £250m over the next seven years, acheieved through resources generated by core business and zero borrowing.
The rate of positive change over the past five years has the sector talking about London Met positively for the first time in its recent history.
Lynn’s commitment to social equality was recognised by the Evening Standard in 2019 when she was named in their Progress 1000 list for her activism in this area. She was the only university Vice-Chancellor to be included.
Prior to London Met, Lynn served as Deputy Vice Chancellor at Roehampton University and Dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Northumbria University.