University appoints new Pro-Vice-Chancellors

The University Council has appointed three new Pro-Vice-Chancellors who will take up their positions over the next 12 months. They are Professor Eilis Ferran, Professor Chris Abell and Professor Nigel Slater.
They will join Professor Graham Virgo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, who took up his post in October last year, and Professor Duncan Maskell, when he starts as Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor in August 2015.
The five Pro-Vice-Chancellors are responsible for taking forward the University’s strategy and policy development, and supporting the Vice-Chancellor in his or her role in providing leadership to the University. Each post covers areas of strategic importance to the University.
Professor Ferran, whose appointment takes effect on 1 October 2015, will focus on human resources and provide oversight of the University’s international affairs. She is currently Professor of Company and Securities Law in the Faculty of Law, chair of the Faculty and a Professorial Fellow at St Catharine’s College.
Professor Abell will take up his appointment on 1 January 2016, focusing on research. He is Professor of Biological Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and a Fellow of Christ’s College. In 2013, he became the University’s first Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, set up to deal with issues relating to the postdoctoral community at Cambridge.
Also taking up post on 1 January 2016, Professor Slater will focus on enterprise and regional affairs. He is currently Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and is Professor of Chemical Engineering and a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College.
They will take over from Professor Jeremy Sanders (Institutional Affairs), Professor Lynn Gladden (Research) and Dr Jennifer Barnes (International Strategy).
Further biographical details on departmental websites are available via the Further Links section.
Picture, from left to right: Professor Eilis Ferran, Professor Chris Abell and Professor Nigel Slater.