Appointments - 2 May 2013

University of Kent
James Carley

The newly appointed professor of the history of the book at the University of Kent said the development of his discipline was a “godsend”. “Although I did my PhD work in a centre for medieval studies, the tight disciplinary divisions still survive in most universities,” James Carley said. “History of the book allows one to be a historian, a literary scholar, even a kind of archaeologist. Books, of course, get us as close as we can get to the minds of our ancestors, but most people still don’t realise that the book as physical object can often tell us as much as the words on the page.” During his time at Kent, Professor Carley said, he hoped to complete his study of the 17th-century Lambeth Palace Library, work that grew out of the Sandars Lectures in Bibliography that he gave at the University of Cambridge in 2011. He said his Kent position would take up a fifth of his time and he planned to stay on as associate fellow at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the University of Toronto. But he welcomed having a permanent base in the UK so that he could “properly be part of the academic community rather than an onlooker”. Professor Carley studied at the universities of Victoria and Toronto and Dalhousie University in Canada.

Arts University Bournemouth
Emma Hunt

“Both my parents were artists and because of that I knew that to survive you had to be very innovative and entrepreneurial. You certainly weren’t going to starve in a garret if you became very business-focused with your creativity,” said Emma Hunt, who has been appointed deputy vice-chancellor at Arts University Bournemouth. Ms Hunt, who is currently dean of the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield and visiting professor at Yunnan Arts University in China, will take over her position in July. She said she was keen to further develop Bournemouth’s reputation as one of the most creative providers of arts and design education in the country. “Creative education in the UK has to be able to provide one of the strongest areas for economic growth…and higher education is going to be a catalyst for that through entrepreneurship and innovation,” she said. Ms Hunt has a BA in the history of art and design, an MA in design history and an MBA. She has served as chair of the Council for Higher Education in Art and Design, was an inaugural member of the Parliamentary Design Commission, and has held senior positions at the University of Derby.

School of Advanced Study, University of London
Anne Smith

An emeritus professor in the College of Education at the University of Otago has been announced as the NZ-UK Link Foundation visiting professor for 2013 at the School of Advanced Study, University of London. The visiting professorship programme, aimed at promoting cultural links between New Zealand and the UK, includes a series of public lectures. Anne Smith is a specialist in childhood studies and children’s rights, a specialism built over an almost 40-year career. Her lecture series will focus on children’s rights with special emphasis on the links between research on children’s issues and government policy. “I’m very excited. There are a lot of issues across the countries that I’m interested in,” she said. “The curriculum [in New Zealand] is different; it is a very holistic one that encourages children’s lifelong orientation towards learning, giving them an identity as learners and encouraging them to explore. What we know about child development tells us that the experiences of those early years are incredibly important. Children learn so many things before they actually get to school.” Professor Smith studied at Otago for her undergraduate degree and then took her doctorate at the University of Alberta, Canada.

Bath Spa University
Andrew Hugill

“I’m a person who likes to create things,” said Andrew Hugill, who has been appointed director of creative computing at Bath Spa University. “I do like to start things up, and this seemed like a great opportunity to do that, introducing a new area.” Professor Hugill joins Bath Spa from De Montfort University where he was professor of digital humanities; he is also a composer and writer whose research and creative output intersects literature, music and computing. “My whole approach has been transdisciplinary, and as the title [of his Bath Spa role] suggests, this is about mixing creativity and computing, not just using computers to be creative but being creative with computers, going down to the software level.” Professor Hugill will lead the development of new courses in creative technologies and enterprise. In particular, he will be working with industrial and commercial partners to ensure these new courses are integrated with the digital economy. He said he believed that the computer is the future of musical composition and has had a huge impact on traditional forms of music. “There’s no doubt the computer is the basis of creativity today. But it has different effects and consequences in different scenarios and that’s fascinating,” he said. Professor Hugill studied at Keele University for his undergraduate and master’s degrees and at De Montfort for his doctorate.

Other changes

Liverpool John Moores University has appointed three new pro vice- chancellors. Peter Byers, Edward Harcourt and Robin Leatherbarrow have been made the new pro vice-chancellors of education, external engagement and scholarship, research and knowledge transfer, respectively. Professor Byers joins from the University of Birmingham, Professor Harcourt from the University of Warwick, and Professor Leatherbarrow from Imperial College London.

Mike Devenney has been appointed vice-principal for further education at the University of the Highlands and Islands. Mr Devenney, who is currently principal of Moray College, a further education college in Elgin that is part of UHI, will take up his new role in July.

Cara Aitchison has been named vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of St Mark and St John. Professor Aitchison is currently head of Moray House School of Education and holds a chair in social and environmental justice at the University of Edinburgh. She was previously dean of the Faculty of Education and Sport at the University of Bedfordshire.

The University of Greenwich has made Sir Leigh Lewis a visiting fellow at its business school. Sir Leigh was permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2005 until his retirement from the Civil Service at the end of 2010. Prior to that, he was permanent secretary for crime, policing and counter-terrorism in the Home Office, a role he held at the time of the 2005 London bombings.

The head of the Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research at London South Bank University has been made a fellow of the British Academy. Yvette Taylor is one of 38 scholars named to the fellowship this year in recognition of having achieved distinction in the humanities and social sciences.

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