Appointments

University of Greenwich

Darrick Jolliffe

A specialist in the psychology of crime and the development of criminal behaviour who has joined the University of Greenwich said he liked the idea of being associated with an institution committed to investing in new posts to increase its research profile. Darrick Jolliffe, who has been appointed professor of criminology in Greenwich's department of law and criminology, joins from the University of Leicester. Professor Jolliffe is a chartered scientist and an expert on evaluating whether "interventions" can help reduce reoffending. His work has assessed the impact of community justice initiatives, high-intensity training for young offenders, and methods of policing violence by organised gangs. "I am looking forward to being part of the dynamic and enthusiastic team at Greenwich," he said. "I have already started to collaborate with colleagues on very innovative projects that have the chance to make a difference to how the police deal with serious sexual violence." Professor Jolliffe gained a BSc in psychology from McMaster University in Canada and an MPhil and PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has also worked at London Metropolitan University.

Aston University

Asif Ahmed

Aston University has named Asif Ahmed pro vice-chancellor for health. Professor Ahmed will be responsible for the development and implementation of a major healthcare strategy for the university as well as new teaching developments, working to facilitate cross-cutting initiatives in biomedicine, business and engineering. Professor Ahmed will also take up a chair in vascular biology. "I was delighted and felt privileged to be asked to build Aston University's health and biomedical science agenda," he said. "This is an opportunity to put into action my vision that I had formulated over many years as an academic." He joins from the University of Edinburgh, where he was assistant principal for international postdoctoral training and the Gustav Born professor of vascular biology. Professor Ahmed graduated from King's College London with a BSc in pharmacology and stayed in the capital for his doctoral studies, obtaining his PhD in surgery from University College London. His research interests are focused on pregnancy disorders and cardiovascular disease: he has identified protective enzymes and growth factors that could be key to efforts to prevent pre-eclampsia, a hypertensive disorder that kills 70,000 pregnant women worldwide each year. Previously he was professor of reproductive physiology at the University of Birmingham and visiting professor at Stanford University.

University of Cambridge

Simon Tavare

The University of Cambridge, in association with Cancer Research UK, has appointed Simon Tavare to the post of director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. Professor Tavare has been a professor in the department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge since 2003 and is also a professor of cancer research in the oncology department. He will take up his new post in February, succeeding Sir Bruce Ponder. "I'm thrilled to be taking on this exciting new role," he said. "Our understanding of cancer is at a turning point. We are uncovering more of cancer's secrets - and these secrets are taking us down new avenues of research that can lead to better treatments. Cancer research is indeed in an unprecedented age of discovery." Professor Tavare is a world-leading expert on probability, statistics and the biological and medical sciences. Much of his work has focused on the development of statistical methods to aid the understanding of cancer, including aspects of population genetics, cancer genomics and DNA sequencing. He gained undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Sheffield, where he began his academic career. A move to the US took him to institutions including the University of Utah and Colorado State University. He was made a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2009 and of the Royal Society in 2011.

University of Huddersfield

Jonathan Sands

The new visiting professor of innovation at the University of Huddersfield believes that shared cross-discipline teamwork is the key to superlative design and bold new ideas. Jonathan Sands, who is chief executive of brand agency Elmwood, joins Huddersfield as part of a Royal Academy of Engineering-backed project to encourage collaboration between engineering and design students. "Great design is by teams, not individuals, so cross-functional working - such as engineers working with graphic designers - is really important," he said. "At Elmwood we have people with all sorts of backgrounds, with multidisciplinary skills, and it is the differences that make you look at things in a different way." Professor Sands aims to hold regular workshops, lectures and masterclasses, and he will deliver his inaugural professorial lecture in the spring. He began his career in advertising when he joined Elmwood aged 21. He soon rose to become managing director and later took over the company in a management buyout. His association with Huddersfield began a decade ago, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate for design.

OTHER CHANGES

Sally Everett has been appointed to the post of deputy dean of the Lord Ashcroft International Business School at Anglia Ruskin University. Dr Everett joins from the University of Bedfordshire, where she was head of the department of marketing, tourism and hospitality. She will oversee all aspects of quality management and the student experience within the business school.

Claire Baines has been appointed to the new position of chief operating officer at the University of Exeter. She will have overall management responsibility for a wide range of activities including human resources, student recruitment, marketing, fundraising, estates and international relations. Dr Baines joins the institution from a similar role at De Montfort University. Prior to that, she held a number of senior management positions at the University of Sheffield, including the post of academic secretary and head of academic services.

Two new professors have been appointed to posts in the sociology department at the University of Edinburgh. Graham Crow has been named director of the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science and professor of sociology and methodology, while Vernon Gayle has been made a professor of sociology and social statistics. Professors Crow and Gayle join Edinburgh from the universities of Southampton and Stirling, respectively.

The Robert Gordon University Foundation has announced the appointment of Charles E. Davis III as its first chief executive officer. The foundation is being established to undertake philanthropic fundraising to support the work of the university, including access for disadvantaged students and the development of focused, industry-oriented and high-value research programmes. Mr Davis joins the foundation from Elon University in the US, where he led a successful fundraising campaign, Ever Elon.