* Carole Truman has been made professor of health and community studies at Bolton University. She was previously director of research training in arts and social sciences at Lancaster University.
* Oxford University has appointed: Béla Novák , professor at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, as professor of integrative systems biology. She will be a fellow of Merton College; Sheila Forbes , associate of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford; and Janice Hadlow , controller of BBC Four, has been elected to the News International visiting professorship of broadcast media for 2006-07.
* Jim Foulds has been appointed chair of Bristol University's governing Council. Mr Foulds has been vice-chair since 2004 and chair of the personnel and staff development committee since 1998. He succeeds Moger Woolley.
* The UK has nominated Professor Sir Nigel Rodley to serve on an International Independent Group of Eminent Persons to monitor the conduct of an inquiry into reported human rights violations in Sri Lanka.* James Gao , former leader of MSc programmes in engineering at Cranfield University, has been appointed to the Medway chair of manufacturing engineering at Greenwich University.