Adrian Smith , principal of Queen Mary, University of London, has been named chairman of a government inquiry into mathematics from the age of 14. Professor Smith, a recent president of the Royal Statistical Society, held chairs in maths and statistics at Nottingham University and Imperial College London before joining Queen Mary in 1998. The inquiry, which follows a sharp drop in the number of sixth-formers taking the subject, is due to report next June.
Anglia Polytechnic University has appointed Helen Valentine , formerly assistant vice-chancellor at the University of the West of England, pro vice-chancellor; Joan Adams , previously at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, is the new dean of the School of Education; Jenny Secker , formerly at the Centre for Mental Health Services Development, King's College London, has been appointed to a chair in mental health.
David Green , pro vice-chancellor and professor of economics at Thames Valley University, has been appointed principal of University College Worcester. He will take over from Dorma Urwin.
A. L. Kennedy , winner of numerous literary awards for her novels and short stories, has joined the School of English at the University of St Andrews to teach creative writing.
Robert Putnam , Peter and Isabel Malkin professor of public law at Harvard University, has been appointed Leverhulme visiting professor at the University of Cambridge's history department and a visiting fellow at St John's College.
Frances Lannon is principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, not Cambridge, as stated last week.