Steve Decent
Stephen Paul Decent is a British applied mathematician and university administrator who has served as the Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University since January 2026, having previously served as principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. He has previously held a number of senior leadership positions across different universities and holds research interests in free-surface flows and hydrogen fuel cells.
Early life and education
The first member of his own family to go to university, Decent holds a BSc in mathematics from Brunel University and a PhD from the University of St Andrews. His doctoral thesis was on the theory of wave motion and was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.Career
After completing his PhD, Decent joined the University of Birmingham as a research fellow and was eventually promoted to the head of the School of Mathematics. He then moved to the University of Dundee to take up the position of vice-principal and head of the College of Art, Science and Engineering. Afterwards, he joined Lancaster University as pro-vice-chancellor of research and enterprise and later pro-vice-chancellor of academic development before moving again to take up the position of provost and deputy vice-chancellor at Manchester Metropolitan University.He was appointed as the vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University in January 2023. He returned to Lancaster in January 2026 to take up his next appointment as the university's vice-chancellor.