The caretaker boss at the University of Central Lancashire has been given the hot seat on a permanent basis.
AdvertisementProfessor Mike Thomas has been in the role since April this year when former boss Professor Gerry Kelleher stepped down.
David Taylor, Pro Chancellor and Chair of the University Board, said: “I am delighted to announce that following a competitive recruitment process, the University has appointed Professor Mike Thomas to the post of Vice-Chancellor.
“The appeal of the University of Central Lancashire as a large, ambitious University at a time of great change in the sector guaranteed a high calibre shortlist of leadership candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. It is a great testament to Mike’s experience and skillset that we were able to appoint him with a clear mandate to deliver the new 2015-2020 Corporate Strategy.
“These are exciting times for UCLan with the backdrop of significant change heralded in the recent Higher Education Green Paper. I look forward to working closely with Mike as he leads the University through this landscape and makes significant positive change at UCLan in the coming years.”
The university is currently working on a £200 million redevelopment programme of its main Preston campus.
Professor Thomas, from North Wales, said: “Working as Interim Vice-Chancellor over the last eight months has been the most intensive induction programme that I could ever hope for. I feel as if I already know the University inside out – its strengths; the areas where it needs to improve – but most of all, I feel a true affinity for the ethos of the institution. This is a University that changes peoples’ lives for the better, through its research and predominantly through its teaching and learning and the impact it has on the community around it.
“As someone who passionately believes that there is an onus on universities to do social good, and in the power of university education as a social enabler, I feel very much in tune with the approach taken at the University of Central Lancashire.
“It’s a fascinating and highly challenging role, but having worked with the staff and the students here I have seen that we have the potential to really make an impact over the next few years. I would like to thank David Taylor and the Board for entrusting me to lead the University on a permanent basis.”
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