Appointments

Teesside University

Rosie Meek

Teesside's newly appointed professor of psychology and criminal justice said she was ready for a new challenge despite having spent five "enjoyable and productive" years at her previous institution. At 34, Rosie Meek, who joins Teesside from the University of Southampton, will be among the youngest professors in the UK, a prospect she called "exhilarating and daunting" in equal measure. Professor Meek completed her university education at the University of Sussex, where she studied for a degree in social psychology, a master's in psychological methods, a postgraduate certificate in higher education and a PhD in psychology. "Personally, as long as I still feel there are important criminological issues that psychology as a discipline - and myself as an individual - can contribute to, I think I'll be as passionate as ever about my job," she said. "Fifteen years ago I was working as a groom," she said. "I am the youngest of five from a single-parent family, had very little formal schooling and as a teenager was more likely to be found milking cows...than in a classroom." Professor Meek has also held academic posts at The Open University and Canterbury Christ Church University.

University of Southampton

Dame Wendy Hall

A professor of computer science and dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences at the University of Southampton has been appointed a non-executive member of the board of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Dame Wendy Hall said she aimed to use her new role at the institution - an arm of the Ministry of Defence that uses research to improve the UK's defence capability - "to forge new links" between the academic community and the institution's scientists. "Defence science is very important to national security, but it's much broader than that, and it is an exciting and potentially very rewarding area for a web/internet scientist to get involved in." Professor Hall has been associated with Southampton since her days there as a mathematics undergraduate and then as a doctoral student, later going on to work as a lecturer in the university's computer science department. Since then she has held a number of academic posts, culminating in her current role. She is well known for her work in helping to develop the World Wide Web and has carried out pioneering work in multimedia and hypermedia.

Courtauld Institute of Art

Karen Serres

An art historian is "thrilled" to be returning to one of her former institutions in a professional capacity. Karen Serres, currently associate curator of European art at the Yale University Art Gallery, will join the Courtauld Institute of Art as Schroder Foundation curator of paintings at the institute's Courtauld Gallery. Dr Serres gained an MA and a PhD in the history of art at the institution and said her new role is directly linked to her time there as a student. "My years...there constituted a formative experience in my education," she said. "As part of my MA coursework, I studied the collection [and] I also gave tours of the gallery." She also holds a BA and an MA from the École du Louvre and an MA from the Universite Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV). She admitted that her move to the US from Europe was a "big transition", but said that her work at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and at Yale gave her a chance to compare US mu-seums with their European counterparts. "I am returning to London with a new perspective on museum practice informed by my professional experiences in the US," she added. In her new role, she said, she hoped to make the Courtauld's collection more accessible. "I also want to continue cementing the gallery's place as one of the major London art museums...and make sure that Courtauld students feel very welcome," she said.

The Open University

Musa Mihsein

The Open University has appointed Musa Mihsein as its new pro vice-chancellor (academic). Professor Mihsein is currently rector of an affiliated institution, the Arab Open University. In his new position, he will have responsibility for the academic performance of the university's faculties, and for coordinating and approving faculty plans, managing deans and determining the academic size and shape of the institution. This will include initiating and approving major shifts in curriculum areas and ensuring that faculties have plans for maximising opportunities for student growth and income generation. "I am honoured and delighted to be chosen...at this challenging period facing the higher education sector in the UK," he said. "The university has a reputation for academic excellence and placing tremendous value on the student experience." Professor Mihsein graduated from Imperial College London with a BSc and a PhD, and completed an MBA at Newcastle University. He comes to his new post with experience at a similar level, having been pro vice-chancellor for academic development at the University of Derby. He has also held senior academic posts at De Montfort University and the University of Wolverhampton. "(The Open University) is also a university with a great vision and mission, and I am proud to be given the opportunity to play a part in that in the coming years," he added.

Other changes

The coach of Team GB's women's Olympic football team has been given a lifetime achievement award and an honorary doctorate of arts by the University of East London. Hope Powell, a former England international who will manage the national side at the 2012 Games in London, received the honours at UEL's annual sports awards, held at West Ham United Football Club.

The University of Kent has appointed Martin Hammer to a chair in the history and philosophy of art. He joins from the University of Edinburgh, where he worked across the field of mid-20th-century British and international art.

Imperial College London has named Simon Harding-Roots its chief operations officer. Mr Harding-Roots will be responsible for providing and enhancing operational services in support of Imperial's academic mission. He joins the university from Treasury Holdings Group.

Vicki Hanson, professor of inclusive technologies at the University of Dundee, has been elected to a prestigious post in the world's largest educational and scientific computing society. Professor Hanson has been named secretary/treasurer of the Association for Computing Machinery, which represents more than 100,000 members globally.

A sustainable business expert has joined the University of Bath. Eric Arnould, previously distinguished professor of sustainable business practice at the University of Wyoming, has joined Bath's School of Management, where he will be a member of a group leading research in sustainable business practice.

David Rae, professor of business and enterprise at the University of Lincoln, has been appointed editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research. Professor Rae succeeds Simon Down, who is moving to a new role at Anglia Ruskin University.