New Vice-Chancellor takes up office in Nottingham

Professor Shearer West has begun her role as President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Nottingham. She is the seventh Vice-Chancellor in the University's history and the first woman in the role. Greeting staff and students today, October 2, she said: "I am a strong believer in the value of a comprehensive university like Nottingham. We produce research that provides new discoveries across the full disciplinary spectrum, fosters different ways of thinking and benefits society, the economy and our quality of life; and we offer an education that promotes globally aware, responsible citizens who are prepared for a changing world of work. "I have every confidence that we can work together to ensure that Nottingham adapts, thrives and retains its reputation for an entrepreneurial spirit and world-changing work, building on Jesse Boot's foundational principles." As an academic art historian Professor West has held a number of significant leadership roles in universities and higher education - including, most recently, as Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield. Growing up in a small town in southwest Virginia, USA, Professor West was the first person in her family to go to university. She studied for a degree in Art History and English and so began a life-long love of culture and the arts.