Gary F. Fisher is the University of Derby’s Learning Design and Online Practice Manager. He originally attained his Doctorate in Classics from the University of Nottingham in 2020, and has worked in teaching, research, educational development, and leadership roles in a variety of sectors and institutions. This has included working in various universities and FE colleges, as well as in organisations including the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, and a category-C prison in the Midlands. At the University of Derby, he manages a team of Learning Designers who work with academics to improve the quality of teaching and learning offered across the university.
Gary is research active across a variety of fields, having published articles, chapters, and book reviews on topics including rehabilitative education programmes in US prisons, the impact of political change on higher education practices in revolutionary states, and the implications of generative AI for the academic profession. In particular, he is interested in the study of the university and higher education as a discrete phenomenon, and how its practices and principles differ from other contexts and forms of education.
In addition to this professional work, Gary is also a local councillor in Nottinghamshire, where he supports the efforts of local government to enhance the educational opportunities and outcomes available to young people in the area.
A member of the International Consortium for Educational Development