New Heads of School
21 September 2010
Five new Heads of School have recently been appointed. In this edition of Blas we profile each and ask them about their plans and ambitions for their Schools in the future.
Professor Gary Baxter
Professor Gary Baxter, Welsh School of Pharmacy
“Any successful leadership and management role is predicated on an interest in people and what makes them give their best; people first, processes second is my basic approach to management theory! A primary aspiration for me in this new role is the satisfaction, personal success and corporate pride of all my colleagues in the School, because with those in place, every other aspiration for the School will be easier to achieve,” says Professor Gary Baxter, acting Head of the Welsh School of Pharmacy.
As a Professor of Pharmacology, Professor Baxter is internationally recognised for his work in the area of cardiovascular pharmacology and coronary artery disease – a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialised nations for more than five decades.
Professor Baxter serves on the editorial boards of several journals. Until recently, he was a member of the College of Experts for the Physiological Systems and Clinical Sciences panel of the Medical Research Council and Secretary of the International Society for Heart Research.
When asked about his new role, Professor Baxter said: “The main challenge for the School, indeed for the whole University, is maintaining and enhancing research performance in a highly competitive global environment. This is my top priority. My vision is for the School to be recognised worldwide as a leading institute of pharmaceutical sciences research and scholarship. We are building on a firm basis to realise that vision; the School is already home to internationally leading research groups, for example in the areas of novel drug design and drug and vaccine delivery systems. But we have some way to go. We need to pursue outstanding research with high international visibility and recognition; for many of us that will only be achievable through collaborative work and our involvement in larger consortia.”
Professor George Boyne
Professor George Boyne, Cardiff Business School
“A major challenge for me is to maintain and build upon the School’s excellent research performance (4th out of 98 Business Schools in the 2008 RAE, and 2nd for the percentage of research classified as world leading), and to ensure that the School’s teaching and engagement activity are strongly underpinned by this research base,” says Professor George Boyne, Head of Cardiff Business School.
Having joined the School in 1995, Professor Boyne has held a number of posts including Director of Research and Associate Dean for Finance and Resources. He established and leads the Public Management Research Group in the School, which in the written feedback from the 2008 Business and Management Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) panel was singled out as world leading in all three RAE categories (outputs, environment and esteem).
Professor Boyne said: “I am very pleased to be leading the Business School at this exciting stage in our development. We have a very strong research base, and our position as part of a Russell Group University is an excellent platform for new activities and achievements. We also have a strong commitment to innovation in our Teaching and Engagement, and make outstanding contributions to the local community by bringing in over £20M of teaching and research revenue from outside Wales annually, and by the practical relevance of our research”.
During his time as Head of School, Professor Boyne will continue with his own research interests. He is currently working on an Economic and Social Research Council project on executive succession in central government, and a Communities and Local Government project on structural change in local government.
Professor Karen Holford
Professor Karen Holford, Cardiff School of Engineering
The new Director of the Cardiff School of Engineering, Professor Karen Holford said: “The School of Engineering is widely recognised as one of the best in the UK for both research and teaching. Our mission is to deliver world-class scholarship in order to address national and global challenges and to inspire the next generation of engineering leaders. Our greatest asset is our excellent staff; I hope to develop all staff to achieve their full potential. I am guided by the principles of fair play, honesty and integrity and I am committed to a team approach.”
Professor Holford is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. She joined the School as a lecturer in 1990 from a position as senior design engineer at AB Electronic Products, where she led a variety of projects with companies such as BMW, Jaguar and Rover. She had previously worked for Rolls Royce in Bristol. She is an active researcher in the field of acoustic emission with a focus on structures such as bridges and aerospace components and a long track record of successful industrial contracts. She is currently leading a TSB funded project in conjunction with TWI, Boeing and Airbus. Before taking up her current role she was a deputy director and research institute leader. She is committed to the delivery of teaching of the highest quality and this year won one of the School’s “Teaching of the Year” awards.
Professor Holford is a champion for equality and diversity in the workplace. In 2006 she was awarded ‘Welsh Woman of the Year in Science and Technology’ in recognition of notable achievements in her field and in 2007 was awarded the WISE Excellence award for personal contribution to engineering and long-term commitment to supporting girls and young women in science and engineering.
Professor Mike Lewis
Professor Mike Lewis, School of Dentistry
Professor Mike Lewis has taken up the post of Dean of the School of Dentistry, heading the only School of its type in Wales, which has 150-staff and 400 students. Professor Lewis came to the University in 1992 and was subsequently promoted to Senior Lectureship and then Reader, gaining a personal Chair in 2000. During the past three years he has served as Dean of the Dental Faculty at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and Chair of the Joint Meeting of Dental Faculties of the Surgical Colleges in UK and Ireland.
“As well as being a critical provider of clinical care to approximately 150,000 patients each year, throughout the 18 years of working at Cardiff I have witnessed the School go from strength to strength and become one of the top dental institutions in the UK, said Professor Lewis. “We have progressively improved our rating in the past three research assessment exercises and I hope that this trend will continue in the forthcoming REF in 2013. It is an honour for me to be given the opportunity to now lead the School to what I hope will be further academic achievement and success in the future. In addition, I will be working equally as hard to ensure that our undergraduate and postgraduate students have a successful and enjoyable academic experience whilst studying in Cardiff.”
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/dentl/
Professor Nigel Lowe
Professor Nigel Lowe, Cardiff Law School
“Children are our future and if I can contribute in some small way in improving our laws protecting children I will feel that I will have achieved something worthwhile,” says Professor Nigel Lowe, the new Head of Cardiff Law School.
Specialising in child law, and in particular international child law, Professor Lowe is currently involved in helping to draft a new international instrument for the Council of Europe on the Status of Children and Parental Responsibilities. He has also recently obtained external funding to examine the operation of the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention.
Speaking about his new role as Head of School, Professor Lowe said: “In 2010 Cardiff Law School had its best student results ever while according to the last Research rankings, we came 7th overall. The challenge therefore as the new incoming Head is to maintain and improve upon these achievements and generally to make Cardiff Law School the place to be at!”
Professor Lowe has been a Professor of Law at Cardiff Law School since 1991 and is a Barrister of the Inner Temple.
