Four more Anniversary Professors at the University of York
Posted on 24 February 2004
A further four leading academics have been appointed at the University of York under the 40th Anniversary Professorships scheme. They are:
- Professor Geoffrey Bailey, Archaeology
- Professor Stephen Gorard, Educational Studies
- Professor John Hobcraft, Social Policy and Social Work
- Professor James Woodcock, Computer Science
Their appointments follow those of the first group of five 'Anniversary Professors' announced in early December. The University announced in June 2003 that it hoped to appoint up to 10 new professors as part of its research expansion and to celebrate York's 40th anniversary in 2003.
Professor Geoffrey Bailey, who joins the Department of Archaeology, has inter-disciplinary research interests and worldwide field experience in pre-historic archaeology. His research focuses on the ways in which long-term environmental change and human responses to it have shaped patterns of human evolution and later social and economic developments. He is an expert on the archaeology of coastal and marine environments.
Professor Bailey argues that many environmental changes blamed on recent human intervention have a much deeper history and require an archaeological perspective to unravel their underlying causes. He said: "I am looking forward to joining a department with an established tradition of bio-archaeology, and to the challenges of developing new research at the boundaries between archaeology, history, and the natural sciences."
Professor Bailey has taught at Cambridge, Australia, and Newcastle. He is currently Professor of Archaeology at Newcastle.
Jane Grenville, Head of the Department of Archaeology, said: "Geoff Bailey's international reputation as an archaeologist of coastal economies is second to none. His contribution to thinking on contemporary environment issues places his subject at the forefront of intellectual endeavour."
Professor Stephen Gorard has advised the British and Welsh governments and worked with the Brookings Institution, the Melissa and Bill Gates Foundation, and several American universities. He has wide expertise in educational inclusion, having studied schools' admissions issues, and the gap in educational achievement by sex, ethnicity, social class, region, and school sector, subjects which have brought him into the media spotlight.
He is interested in the nature and quality of research and is currently researching adult learning at home as part of the Government's inclusion agenda, equity in schools across Europe, and relationships between school performance and residence.
Professor Gorard joins York from Cardiff University. He began his career as a teacher of mathematics and computer science, later becoming a lecturer at the School of Education in the University of Wales. His interests include the recruitment and retention of new teachers. Among many other publications he has written a best-selling textbook on information technology for A-level students.
He said: "I was delighted to be offered this Anniversary Chair in Education, and am looking forward to meeting up with all my new colleagues within the department and across the University of York. I want to help build a centre of excellence for research on the effectiveness and equity of education systems."
Professor Richard Andrews, Head of the Department of Educational Studies, said: "We are delighted to welcome Professor Gorard to York. He is a rising star in the world of educational research and has pioneered an approach to education issues that embraces a breadth of research methods and a collaborative spirit."
Professor John Hobcraft will join the Department of Social Policy and Social Work from the London School of Economics. He will take up a new Chair in Social Policy and Demography.
Professor Hobcraft is an internationally renowned demographer and social scientist. His major research areas cover the origins of adult social exclusion and the understanding of reproductive behaviour. His work has influenced national policies on childhood poverty and international policies on family planning. He has also been involved with policy formulation at the United Nations on reproductive health and women's rights.
He chairs the UNECE Consortium Board of European demographic institutes for the gender and generations programme, is an elected member of Academia Europaea, and serves on the US National Academy of Sciences' committee on population. He has recently been a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University and is currently working at Princeton University in the US.
He said: "I am delighted to be joining York, a dynamic research-led University. I strongly believe that social scientists need to engage with the behavioural and life sciences for real further progress to be made in understanding human behaviour. York's international excellence in the social sciences, in psychology, and in biology will provide a wonderful opportunity to advance this agenda, both in relation to understanding demographic behaviour and in exploring the origins of adult disadvantage."
Professor Jonathon Bradshaw, Head of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, said: "We are very excited that John is coming to York. He is a leader in his field and will give a significant boost to the department in this area. He will contribute to establishing York as a national centre for research in social policy and demography."
Professor James Woodcock will be closely involved with the proposed new Software Engineering research centre at the University of York. The Centre will focus on advanced industrial software and safety engineering research, consultancy and continuing professional development. A group of SMEs and larger companies is expected to form a network with the Centre for joint research and technology transfer.
His research focuses on the practical application of engineering solutions for industry. In turn, industry has provided him and his research teams with particular problems to solve. Such projects have included financial transactions via smart cards, online customer transactions and safety-critical systems for railway signalling.
Professor Woodcock is currently Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Kent and previously worked at Oxford University for 14 years.
Notes to editors:
- During the first 40 years of its life, the University has become recognised for excellence in both research and teaching. Now, to sustain this excellence, it is about to embark on a major programme of expansion, which will involve significant growth in academic departments .The University's expansion will lead to an increase of student numbers, with a particular emphasis on postgraduate and international students. The research community is expected to benefit particularly, with more space available for research teams, spin-out companies, and opportunities to explore new subject areas. .The first five Anniversary Chairs were announced on 11 December 2003. They are Professor Helen Goodluck in Language and Linguistic Science, Professor David Richards in Health Sciences, Professor Quentin Summerfield in Psychology, Professor Chris Thomas in Biology and Professor David Wootton in History. Further details are available at www.york.ac.uk/admin/presspr/pressreleases/annivchairsapptments.htm
- York was named 'University of the Year' by the Sunday Times in September 2003.