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University community celebrates latest academic promotions

Posted 22 January

Colleagues across the ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ community are celebrating more than 30 promotions in academic and learning and teaching roles. 

The latest promotions round has resulted in the appointment of five new Professors, four Readers, 13 Principal Lecturers and nine Senior Lecturers.  

Harper Adams Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Lee, said: "It was a great honour to lead our new academic promotion process and I wish to thank all involved and congratulate all those who have achieved promotion. 

“Our University's process recognises and rewards the demonstration of excellence in the work of our academic staff across Teaching, Research, Knowledge Exchange and Academic Service, in support of the University Strategy and in line with our values.” 

Many of the newly promoted colleagues belong to the Department of Agriculture and Environment – including the Head of Department, Professor Andy Wilcox; Professor Martin Hare, Director of Postgraduate Research; Professor of Applied Entomology, Tom Pope; Professor of Evidence Synthesis and Agroecology, Nicola Randall; and soil ecologist, Professor Simon Jeffery.  

Also from Agriculture and Environment are newly appointed Readers Stephen Mansbridge, Joe Roberts and Ed Harris; Principal Lecturer Laura Vickers and Senior Lecturers Julia Casperd, Ben Clunie, Nicky Naylor and James McCaughern.  

Two further Heads of Departments secured promotion to Principal Lecturer: Jane Thomas, Head of Animal Health, Behaviour and Welfare (AHBW) and Ian Moorcroft, Head of Engineering. 

Also promoted in AHBW are now Principal Lecturers Karim Farag, Sue Jeavons, Jayne Powles, Helen Cartlidge, Emily Chapman-Waterhouse and Maz Behnke; as well as Senior Lecturers Pippa Bond, Kat Hart and Ellen Williams.  

The Harper Adams Business School celebrates the promotion of Iona Huang to Reader, of now Principal Lecturers Richard Byrne, Emma Pierce-Jenkins and Alastair Boot; and now Senior Lecturer, Kreseda Smith.  

Edward Bond is now a Senior Lecturer in the Engineering Department and Lynn McIntyre, Interim Head of Harper Food Innovation, is promoted to Principal Lecturer.  

All newly promoted colleagues met or exceeded the threshold for academic promotion during a new structured and transparent process that ran from October to December 2024, led by the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Lee.  

Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan, said: “May I offer congratulations to everyone who met the threshold for promotion at the different academic levels.  Each outcome is a great achievement, and I look forward to seeing the impact of each person’s development and further contribution in the years ahead.

May I also offer my thanks to everyone who has been involved in the development and implementation of the new academic promotions process.”