The University of Abertay Dundee has announced Lord Cullen of Whitekirk as its new chancellor. Lord Cullen will succeed the Earl of Airlie, who was the founding chancellor of Abertay when it won the right to use the title of university in 1994. Before his retirement in 2005, Lord Cullen was one of the senior members of the Scottish Judiciary, and held the titles of Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session.
Lord Mandelson, the First Secretary, has named Alan Gillespie and Sir Tom Blundell the new chairs of the Economic and Social Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, respectively. Dr Gillespie's career has been based mainly in the private sector. He is currently senior independent director of United Business Media and an honorary fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. Sir Tom is head of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge; he will become an emeritus professor and director of research in the department of biochemistry from October.
The Higher Education Academy has awarded six senior fellowships to academics from England and Ireland. The fellowships, which are part of the academy's professional recognition scheme, aim to reward champions of teaching and learning in higher education. They have been awarded to: Ross Hobson, senior lecturer in orthodontics, Newcastle University; Iain McLabhrainn, founding director of the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, National University of Ireland, Galway; Gill Marshall, research development lead in the faculty of health, medical science and social care, University of Cumbria; John O'Donoghue, chair in learning technology, University of Central Lancashire; Tina Overton, professor of chemical education, University of Hull; and Martin Talbot, honorary university reader in medical education and consultant physician, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Sir James Sassoon, formerly managing director of finance and industry at HM Treasury, will become the new chairman of the ifs School of Finance. Sir James will take over from the current chairman, Donald Brydon, in December.
Roger Worthington, lecturer and healthcare law and ethics lead at Keele University's School of Medicine, has been appointed an adjunct assistant professor of medicine at Yale University. Dr Worthington has had an affiliation at Yale for the past ten years, jointly running an exchange programme between the two schools of medicine for students studying ethics and health policy.
The University of Chichester has announced the promotion of four members of its academic staff to the position of professor and reader. Bill Gray and Alison MacLeod from the English department have been appointed professors, while Andrew Chandler in the history department and Benjamin Noyes, also from the English department, have been appointed readers.
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies' School of Advanced Study has appointed Philip Murphy its new director. Professor Murphy, who is professor of British and Commonwealth history at the University of Reading, has published on decolonisation and the development of the modern Commonwealth.
Nottingham Business School, part of Nottingham Trent University, has appointed Roulla Hagen head of MBA programmes. Professor Hagen, who has previously been an MBA director of curriculum development and innovation at Durham University, will lead the entire portfolio of MBA programmes.
The University of Brighton has made two new additions to its staff. Jonathan Black-Branch joins as professor of international and comparative law from Royal Holloway, University of London, and Jacqueline O'Reilly, currently visiting lecturer in sociology at the University of Sussex, has been appointed professor of comparative employment relations and human resource management.
Bob Cormack, principal of the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands, has been awarded an honorary degree by Cape Breton University in Canada. The award of an honorary doctor of letters was presented at the university's spring assembly, where he gave an address.
The new director of research at Leeds Metropolitan University has been named as Carlton Cooke. Professor Cooke joined Leeds Met in 1990 while working as a principal investigator on the Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey.
Tim Minshull has been appointed head of the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science. Professor Minshull joined Southampton from the University of Cambridge as a Royal Society university research fellow in 1999. He takes up his new post in August.
Bournemouth University has appointed Jenny Jenkin director of student and academic services. Ms Jenkin came to Bournemouth from the University of Hertfordshire at the end of 2008 as director of operations in the university's Business School.
Human rights in Cambodia will be championed by the University of Leeds' Surya Subedi. The professor, who is based in the School of Law, has been appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council as special rapporteur for human rights in the country.
City University London has appointed Roger Neill director of its new Centre for Creativity in Professional Practice. Mr Neill, currently managing partner of consultancy Per Diem, was until recently international managing partner for Synectics Corporation.
A scientist at the University of Liverpool has been awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Busk Medal for field research into river systems and their conservation. Janet Hooke, a professor of geography, was commended for raising awareness and adding value to field-based research.
A professor of English from the University of Exeter has been named the new chief executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Rick Rylance will replace Philip Esler, the current chief executive, from 1 September. Professor Rylance is head of the School of Arts, Languages and Literatures at Exeter, and was previously dean of arts and letters at Anglia Polytechnic University. He is a member of the higher education committee of the English Association and also of the executive committee of the Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.