Van joined Southampton Institute in Summer 2001 as Vice Principal, Academic and was appointed Senior Vice Principal in September 2003. He became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in July 2005 when Southampton Institute became Southampton Solent University, and was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University with effect from 1 August 2007. 

Van is an historian who became Head of Humanities and Communication Studies and Special Policy Advisor on Quality and Standards to the Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University. He first moved to Sheffield as a lecturer in modern European political history after research in social history at the University of Warwick. He later developed an interest in quality management, working as a consultant and auditor in the HE sector here and overseas. Van is an experienced auditor for the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), has worked extensively on audit and degree awarding powers scrutiny and extended this aspect of his work to auditing UK collaborative links in India and South Africa.

In 2006 he was awarded a national Leadership Foundation Fellowship. He currently leads the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Lifelong Learning Network, a consortium of five local universities, is an executive director of Business Southampton and chair of the Southampton Skills Development Zone, which he helped create.