Obituary: Claire Callender

We are deeply saddened by the death of Claire Callender.

Claire became part of the Birkbeck community in 2008, when she was appointed Professor of Higher Education Policy, later becoming Professor of Higher Education Studies. Over fifteen years, she contributed immensely to the life of the College through her scholarship, her commitment to Birkbeck’s mission, and her energetic engagement with policy makers. Her influence on the shape of UK higher education has been profound.

Claire’s early life was marked by curiosity and a global outlook. She worked in Paris as a bilingual secretary, before moving into the non-profit and community sectors. Her academic path began at the University of Bristol, where she earned a BSc in Social Administration and Sociology, and continued with a PhD at the University of Wales, Cardiff, focusing on women’s employment and redundancy.

Claire went on to hold academic posts across the UK, including at Cardiff, Leeds, Bradford, Sussex and London South Bank University, where she received her first professorial appointment. From 2010, she also held a joint position with UCL. Her research tackled some of the most pressing issues in higher education - student finance, part-time learning, social mobility, and the unintended consequences of policy. She was a pioneering voice in challenging how funding regimes disproportionately disadvantage students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic minorities and first-generation university families.

Her critique of the marketisation of higher education, and the ‘idealisations and illusions of student choice’, has been widely cited. Claire brought a ‘critical analytical edge’ to public debate, combining quantitative rigour with an unwavering commitment to social justice. She published extensively - over 80 books and reports, 70 chapters and peer-reviewed articles - and secured numerous research grants. 

Claire’s work was recognised at the highest levels: she was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (2003), a Fellow of the Society for Research into Higher Education (2011), and an Honorary Professor at the University of Warwick (2021). She was awarded an OBE in 2017 for services to higher education. She served as Deputy Director of the ESRC-funded Centre for Global Higher Education, where she led research on student finances and experience, and helped shape critical scholarship in a fast-changing field.

Those who knew Claire spoke of her fierce intellect, her dry wit and her generous spirit. She travelled widely with her partner, Annette, and was a dedicated researcher, a loyal friend, a keen traveller, gardener, woodworker and cook. She brought the same passion and precision to her hobbies as she did to her academic life.

Claire believed in the transformative power of education, and in the need for policy grounded in real evidence and a deep understanding of inequality. Her legacy lives on in the many lives she changed, the minds she challenged, and the vision of higher education she worked tirelessly to improve.

She will be remembered with enormous admiration, respect and affection.