Appointments

Fiona Jones has been honoured by the Stroke Association, which has presented her with an Excellence in Stroke Care Award for her work with stroke survivors. Dr Jones is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, which is run jointly by Kingston University and St George's, University of London.

Goldsmiths, University of London, has named Sally Townsend as its new director of finance. She was previously director of resources with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

The director of the Institute of Education, Geoff Whitty, has become the first-ever recipient of the Lady Plowden Memorial Medal. Professor Whitty was awarded the medal in recognition of his services to education. The award is named after Lady Bridget Plowden, author of the 1967 Plowden Report into the UK's primary education sector.

The UHI Millennium Institute has conferred professorships on three academics. They are: UHI principal Bob Cormack, who is due to retire in September; Hugh Cheape, course leader at Sabhal Mor Ostaig UHI on the Isle of Skye; and Toby Sherwin, senior lecturer and reader at the Scottish Association for Marine Science UHI in Dunstaffnage.

The Arthur Seldon Award for Excellence has been shared between Stephen Copp, associate professor of law at Bournemouth University, and Razeen Sally, senior lecturer in international political economy at the London School of Economics. The prize was presented to Dr Copp and Dr Sally by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and is named after the late founding president of the IEA.

Anjuu Trevedi has been appointed head of regional business engagement at the University of Leicester, as part of the institution's plan to increase its work with businesses in the area. Ms Trevedi has previously worked at the University of Brighton and the Sussex Innovation Centre.

The former director of enterprise and executive dean at University Campus Suffolk (UCS), Peter Funnell, has been appointed chief executive of IDEA Ltd, a new joint venture between BT, University College London, University of East Anglia, University of Essex, UCS and Suffolk New College. The organisation aims to promote business innovation in the use of digital technology and to deliver employer-focused skills.

Stephen Perkins has been selected as chair of strategy and human resource management at the University of Bedfordshire. He was previously based at London Metropolitan University, and also founded and ran the Strategic Remuneration Research Centre, a research-led management consultancy. He is a senior visiting research fellow at Cass Business School, London.

A University of Bath academic has been honoured by the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science. Cathryn Mitchell, a professor at Bath's department of electronic and electrical engineering, was presented with a Wolfson Research Merit Award for her research in the field of tomography, a data-processing technique she has used to study the Earth's upper atmosphere.

Emma Hunt, dean of the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield, has been named chair of the Council for Higher Education in Art and Design. The association brings together 75 member institutions, all of which offer a degree or postgraduate provision in art and design.

Ivor Grattan-Guinness, emeritus professor of the history of mathematics and logic at Middlesex University, has been presented with the Kenneth O. May Medal and Prize by the International Commission for the History of Mathematics. The prize is given once every four years.

The head of the University of Leeds' equality service, Levi Pay, has been seconded to the Equality Challenge Unit, the organisation which promotes equal opportunities in the higher education sector. He will take up the role of interim policy director in September. He has previously worked in the equalities field for the Scottish Parliament and the Commission for Racial Equality.

In other appointments at the University of Leeds, Stephen Garrity has been named Hoffman Wood professor in architectural engineering, School of Civil Engineering. Professor Garrity's research interests include the repair and strengthening of buildings and structures, and heritage conservation. Christopher Collier has been appointed chair in atmospheric science in the School of Earth and Environment, and head of strategic partnerships in the National Centre for Atmospheric Science. An expert in the field of meteorology, Professor Collier was previously based at the Meteorological Office. He joins from the University of Salford.

Marie McHugh takes on a new post as dean of the business school at the University of Ulster. Having joined the institution in 1987, Professor McHugh's previous roles at the university include research officer, lecturer in organisation studies, personal chair in organisational behaviour and head of the department of management.

A satellite navigation systems expert from the University of Nottingham has had his achievements recognised by a Chinese higher education institution. Alan Dodson, professor of geodesy at Nottingham, was awarded an advisory professorship by Tongji University in Shanghai. It is hoped the award will help foster future collaborations between the two institutions.

The director of an arts commissioning and research programme based at the University of the West of England has been awarded a grant by the Paul Hamlyn Breakthrough Fund, which supports entrepreneurs in the arts. Claire Doherty received £300,000, which will be used over the next three years.

A former head of business systems at the BBC has been recruited by City University London. David Chan will take on the role of director at City's new Centre for Information Leadership, which seeks to develop the chief information officers of the future.

Peter Hermitage has been appointed the new chairman and pro chancellor at Canterbury Christ Church University, replacing Bishop Stephen Venner, who is retiring as Bishop of Dover. Having spent most of his career in policing, Mr Hermitage retired from the force in 1999. He has been vice-chairman at the institution for the past four years.