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Greg Clark replaces David Willetts as minister for universities and science, following the government's pre-election cabinet reshuffle.
The change comes after Willetts announced last night that he was resigning after being in the role since 2010.
Clark, who has been the Conservative MP for Royal Tunbridge Wells since 2005, will continue his role as minister of state in the cabinet office, where he is responsible for cities and local growth.
As Clark updates his Twitter bio to "minister for universities, science & cities", he posts: "Thrilled to be appointed minister for universities, science & cities – building on the work of the brilliant David Willetts."
Who is Greg Clark?
Age: 46
Family: Married, three children
Born in: the South Bank, Middlesbrough – one of the most deprived areas in the country – to a milkman and Sainsbury's checkout worker
Home: Tunbridge Wells (where he is MP) and London
Educated at: local comprehensive, St Peter's RC School, followed by an economics degree at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and a PhD from London School of Economics
Career: 2013-present, minister of state for cities and constitution; 2012-13, financial secretary to the treasury; 2010-12, minister of state for decentralisation; 2006-08, shadow minister for charities, social enterprise and volunteering; 2008-10 shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change; 2005-present MP for Tunbridge Wells; 2005-06, member of public accounts committee; 2002-03, cabinet member, Westminster city council; 2001-05, director of policy, Conservative party; 1997-2001, BBC controller, commercial policy; 1996-2007, special adviser, secretary of state for trade and industry; 1996-96, lecturer, LSE; 1991-94, consultant, Boston Consulting Group
Reactions from the sector:
For some, his resignation will come as an unwelcome shock – during last year's reshuffle the Telegraph even launched a Save David Willetts campaign. But as he steps aside, we hear your reactions to the news, and ask, what do you want from your new minister in the coming years?
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute
"Back in 2010, ministers said the only options for an austerity government in higher education were fee increases, fewer places or less spending per student. Now, fees are maxed out and student number controls are disappearing so the only variable left to squeeze is spending per student. Greg Clark's top task is therefore to convince the Treasury that higher education and research should be protected as sources of future prosperity in the run-up to the second austerity general election of recent years."
Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent
"It was a real mistake by Willetts to put such an emphasis on the consumer experience of students. Willetts believed that the way you rein in academia and scrutinise its behaviour is by getting students to act as angry consumers. Although that trend began before Willetts, he really played up to that, with horror stories about students not getting any teaching and so on. We need students to be in an academic relationship with their teachers – we need to cultivate that partnership."
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive, Universities UK
"Close the gap between the UK's investment in research and innovation and that of its major international competitors. A 10-year plan to increase public investment in research (in real terms) to sustain our position as a premier global research power. It should include a commitment to continuing to balance project grant funding with funding streams that allow universities to drive innovation, collaborate with business, invest in new and emerging areas and respond to changing needs.
"Work with universities to attract qualified international students and staff to the UK. A new international growth strategy to support universities' international marketing, mobility and partnerships combined with enhanced opportunities for qualified graduates to stay in the UK to work and contribute to our economy. It should include the removal of international students from the net migration target.
"Develop a student funding system that is sustainable and supports affordable expansion to drive social mobility and produce the skilled graduates the economy needs. A new effort to seek cross-party consensus for a long-term and sustainable system of funding to support excellent teaching through public and private contributions. It should reduce the cost of providing tuition fee and maintenance loans and must ensure that a student's financial circumstances do not prevent them from going to university."
Sally Hunt, general secretary, University and College Union
"We hope he will take a look at the proliferation of casualised staff in our universities and the use of short-term, part-time and zero-hours contracts, which demoralise the workforce and diminish the student experience by limiting contact time between staff and students.
"We also need a strong voice in cabinet speaking up for the sector and students. Recent negative coverage about immigration has failed to make the distinction for overseas students. We hope Clark will defend international students, who have a valuable role to play in our education system, and help make the case to exclude them from immigration figures.
"We would suggest he quickly gets up to speed with the scandal of poor quality and low attendance at for-profit colleges, as recently exposed by the Guardian and due to be investigated by the Public Affairs Committee. He is very welcome to pick through the wealth of evidence we pulled together that was ignored by his predecessor."
Bob Cryan, vice-chancellor, University of Huddersfield
"Greg Clark has ministerial responsibility for a sector that is at the heart of the economic recovery. I would ask that he recognises the diversity of the sector – excellence exists in many forms, not just in the intensity of an institution's research. All higher education providers make a significant difference to the region that they serve and so policies should reflect this and not be unduly influenced by any particular lobbying group.
"Two key areas that I hope attract the minister's immediate attention are (i) the significant decline in part-time students – how can we hope to have a sustained economic recovery when the existing labour force are not updating their skills? (ii) financial support for postgraduate study – how can UK Ltd compete internationally if we don't develop these higher level skills in our workforce?"
Pam Tatlow, chief executive, Million+
"Greg Clark will know from his work on cities and the regional growth fund that there's more to universities than his alma maters (Cambridge and the LSE). It's a bonus that he is retaining the cities brief. Our report Smarter regions, smarter Britain will be on his desk and outlines new ways to boost the role of universities and their work with small businesses.
"His PhD in economics should stand him in good stead in negotiating a sustainable funding settlement for both teaching and science with the Treasury. He'll find out early on that no-one believes that the expansion of higher education based on the (optimistic) sale of £2bn of student loans, adds up. He will also need to pick up the cudgels on behalf of international students. Both they and the universities which they attend are being short-changed by the Home Office. This is one battle that he needs to win."
Share your reaction to the #reshuffle and tell us what you want from your new minister in the comments below.
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