Bangkok--13 Mar--Spark Communication
The University of Central Lancashire in Preston (UCLan UK) has appointed Professor Gerry Kelleher as its new Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Kelleher will take up his post as the head of the Preston-based University in summer 2013. At the same time, Dr Malcolm McVicar, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, will move to take up his post as the interim UCLan Group CEO.
Last year, UCLan announced plans to move to a revised Group Structure by August 2013.
Under the new structure, the University’s activities in Preston under Professor Kelleher’s leadership will be the central point of the Group, acting as the guardian of academic quality, standards and awards.
The other elements of the Group - including the international campus developments in Cyprus, Thailand and Sri Lanka - will be managed separately.
While the University Board will oversee the activities of the entire Group, the Group’s commercial scope requires the management of a new Group CEO. The Board asked Dr McVicar to be the interim Group CEO while the new structure beds in and Professor Kelleher begins his new role in charge of the Preston-based University.
Brian Harris, Chair of the University Board, said: “I am delighted to announce that following a thorough recruitment process, the University Board has appointed Professor Gerry Kelleher to the post of Vice-Chancellor of UCLan UK.
“I know that all members of the University community will congratulate Gerry on his appointment and will look forward to welcoming him to the University.
“The Board is also delighted that Dr Malcolm McVicar has agreed to act as the Group CEO while these changes bed in. In a time of unprecedented change, the University group needs his stability and experience.
“Working together, we fully expect them to take UCLan from strength to strength — ensuring first class university education both in Preston and around the world.”
Professor Kelleher said: “I am delighted to be joining UCLan as its new Vice-Chancellor and have already experienced the passion and purpose of the University Board and Directorate. There is clearly a shared vision that will enable us to realise our ambitions locally, nationally and internationally.”
Professor Kelleher is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer at Manchester Metropolitan University — a very large civic University with one of the largest undergraduate student cohorts in the UK. He is responsible for strategic planning, research, knowledge exchange, recruitment, marketing, international and line management of Deans and Faculties. Prior to this role, Professor Kelleher was a Pro Vice-Chancellor at Liverpool John Moores University. His career includes several years in the software industry in the UK and Europe working on planning, scheduling and logistics.
Professor Kelleher has spent a significant period of his career in the North West HEI community and in his early career he was an academic and Research Fellow at the universities of Warwick and Leeds. He is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence, and until recently was an active researcher.