Dear colleagues
In July 2014 Professor Don Nutbeam announced that he would be retiring as Vice-Chancellor no later than October 2016, so allowing us sufficient time to search for his successor.
We have now completed an exhaustive international search during which we received interest and applications from a range of extremely talented, diverse and experienced candidates from higher education and other sectors, both national and international.
Following a rigorous selection process, it is my great pleasure to announce that Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, has accepted the position as the new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton.
Professor Snowden’s distinguished academic career has been recognised through his Fellowships of the Royal Academy of Engineering and The Royal Society. Before becoming Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey in 2005, from where he joins us, Sir Christopher had a dynamic international career with senior leadership roles in academia and industry. He is currently President of Universities UK and is a member of the Prime Minister’s advisory Council for Science and Technology.
Professor Snowden’s extensive experience will provide the strong leadership necessary to build on the University of Southampton’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading universities for research, education and enterprise.
Professor Snowden commented that, “I am honoured and delighted to be joining the University of Southampton as its Vice-Chancellor and look forward to building on its strong international reputation to achieve even greater success in the future. Southampton has a reputation for being a friendly institution and I look forward to meeting staff, students and alumni. I am particularly excited at the prospect of leading a university which has academic strength across such a wide range of disciplines.”
As Professor Snowden begins the transition to Southampton we will develop a series of opportunities to engage with Sir Christopher so that we can get to know each other better. Subject to final arrangements we look forward to welcoming Sir Christopher at the beginning of October 2015.
This is an exciting time for the University as we welcome a new Vice-Chancellor and look to a bright and successful future in which we continue to ‘change the world for the better’.
Gill Rider
Chair of Council