Announcing the new Dean of York Graduate Research School

His appointment follows Professor Kate Arnold completing her term, with Paul starting on 2 January 2025.

Paul is currently a professor in the Department of Education, where much of his research is focused on graduate education and students. 

He is an expert on inequalities in access to graduate education, advising a range of funding bodies and other organisations about this topic. 

At present, he leads one of the workstreams of the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) - which is based at the University of York and directed by Kate Arnold - to address race/ethnic inequalities in doctoral education. 

Paul is also an advisory board member of the Martingale Foundation, a charity which supports widening participation to STEM research degrees for socio-economically disadvantaged students. He was one of the authors of the Review of the PhD in the Social Sciences for ESRC, resulting in changes to various aspects of the PhDs funded by the Council. From 2018 to 2023, he was Head of the Department of Education. Most importantly, however, he has supervised or examined nearly 50 doctoral students.

We asked Paul some questions as he prepares for the new role: 

What interested you in leading YGRS?

I had three main motivations for seeking the role. First, having spent so long researching and thinking about graduate education, and dealing with the relevant agencies and organisations which support doctoral study, I felt I could contribute something to the University and our graduate students. 

Second, York is a great place to do such a role. There is the opportunity to build on the work of the two former Deans - Tom Stoneham and Kate Arnold - and to connect further with the innovative work going on in projects such as YCEDE, RSVP and Generation Research.

Above all though, I have been very fulfilled by my work with research students and the colleagues who work with them (academic supervisors, graduate leads and professional services staff) and would like to do more of that!

What experience are you bringing to the role? 

I’ve been involved with postgraduate research for a very long time, as a student myself, as a supervisor but above all as a researcher. Through my projects and investigations, I’ve learnt a lot about funding, access, progression and success in postgraduate research. 

I’ve also taken a keen interest in the postgraduate research landscape across different disciplines and in different countries, including all that we might learn from comparison. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some key organisations on these topics, such as currently being a trustee of the UK Council for Graduate Education. 

I hope I can draw on this knowledge and experience in leading YGRS to support our research students and those who work with them.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward most of all to meeting lots of new students and colleagues from the YGRS community, and to reconnecting with some familiar faces too!

Our sector faces many challenges right now, and postgraduate research has its fair share of those: equity diversity and inclusion; research culture; funding and the cost of living; progression into employment, and so on. But the spirit of curiosity, innovation and openness which characterises postgraduate research and researchers gives me hope for finding ways to start to address these.

Next steps

If you’d like to contact Paul before he starts in January 2025, you can reach him at paul.wakeling@york.ac.uk.

Otherwise, Paul will be introducing himself in the New Year and outlining opportunities of the best ways to hear more from PGRs to shape his plans and to get in touch.