* The Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council have appointed: Linda Woodhead , professor and head of the department of religious studies at Lancaster University, to direct their collaborative Pounds 8.3 million Religion and Society research programme.
* Keith Hollinshead , professor of public culture at Bedfordshire University, has been awarded the title distinguished professor of tourism by the International Tourism Studies Association.
* Harpal Kumar , chief operating officer of Cancer Research UK and chief executive of the charity's subsidiary Cancer Research Technology, will succeed Alex Markham as chief executive in April.
* Lawrence Mair has been appointed head of the new School of Dentistry at the University of Central Lancashire. He joins UCLan from the Cumbria and Lancashire Medical and Dental Education consortium at Liverpool University, where he was director of dental studies.
* Naomi Holloway has been appointed director of human resources at Hertfordshire University. She was director of human resources at Queen Mary, University of London.
* Loughborough University has appointed Nick Slater , visual arts officer at Arts Council England, West Midlands, and former exhibitions assistant at the Royal Institute of British Architects, director of arts; and Ian Cairns , former director of marketing and recruitment at Lincoln University, director of marketing and communications.