Gareth Parry is Professor of Education and Director of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Sheffield. He has worked in further education colleges, open college networks and a range of universities, including Warwick, Surrey, City and the Institute of Education University of London.

He was a research consultant to the Dearing inquiry into higher education and the Foster review of further education colleges in England. His academic interests are in system change and policy reform in tertiary education.

In 2012 he is a Visiting Professor at the L H Martin Institute, University of Melbourne.