Geoff Whitty, dean of research at London University's Institute of Education for the past two years, is to become the institute's director, beating more than 30 candidates from six countries. He will succeed Peter Mortimore.
Baroness Prashar of Runnymede, chairman of the Parole Board of England and Wales and First Civil Service Commissioner from August, has been appointed chancellor of De Montfort University. She succeeds John White.
Jonathan Benthall has resigned as director of the Royal Anthropological Institute and editor of Anthropology Today to concentrate on development work in the Middle East and North Africa. He will be succeeded by Hilary Callan, who will become director of the institute, and Gustaaf Houtman, deputy director and editor.
Tim Blackman, former deputy head of social sciences and law at Oxford Brookes University, has been appointed director for the school of social sciences at Teesside University.
Gerry Johnson, professor of strategic management at Cranfield School of Management, has been appointed professor of strategic management and director of executive development at the University of Strathclyde Graduate School of Business.
Donal Bradley, professor of physics at the University of Sheffield, will take up a chair in experimental solid state physics at Imperial College, London, in October.
Nish Chaturvedi, senior lecturer and honorary consultant in the department of epidemiology and public health, University College London, has been appointed to a chair in clinical epidemiology, division of primary care and population health sciences, at Imperial.
Ara Darzi, consultant surgeon in coloproctology and minimal access surgery at St Mary's Hospital, London, has been appointed to the chair in surgery at Imperial.
Mark Davis, visiting professor in the financial mathematics research group, Technical University of Vienna, has been appointed to a chair in mathematics at Imperial from August. Sylvia Richardson, research director, Inserm, France, will join Imperial in a chair in biostatistics.
Susan P. Douglas, professor of international business marketing at Stern School of Business, New York University, has joined Aston Business School as a part-time professor.