Appointments

Washington University in St Louis

Stephen Legomsky

Stephen Legomsky, John S. Lehmann university professor at the School of Law at Washington University in St Louis, has been appointed chief counsel for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Professor Legomsky originally studied mathematics at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts. He went on to complete a professional doctorate in law at the University of San Diego and a DPhil at the University of Oxford. A member of the American Law Institute, Professor Legomsky founded and chaired the Immigration Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools. He has also testified before Congress on several occasions and has served as a consultant on immigration and refugee policies to the transition teams of presidents Clinton and Obama, to the first President Bush's Commissioner of Immigration, to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and to several foreign governments. At St Louis, Professor Legomsky is the founding director of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, and a past chair of the university's Judicial Board. He said he was "deeply honoured and very excited" to be taking on his new role. "Our immigrant heritage has long been one of our great national gifts," he said. "Newcomers and native-born alike deserve an immigration policy that is both humane and effective, and it is a privilege to be part of a team working toward that goal."

University of Hull

Christopher Bovis

An academic will be passing on his expertise and helping to shape national policy after being appointed as an adviser to the government. Christopher Bovis, H.K. Bevan chair in law and professor of European business law at the University of Hull, will be advising the government on public procurement. In addition to his academic role, Professor Bovis is editor-in-chief of the European Public Private Partnerships Law Review and contributing editor of the Encyclopedia of Competition Law, with responsibilities for transport, telecommunications and public procurement. He has also served on the editorial board of legal journals such as European Public Law and Company Lawyer. Professor Bovis said of his new role: "It's challenging and time-consuming but it's a privilege to be able to disseminate my research into cutting-edge issues of policymaking. The government is committed to promoting growth - this is linked to industrial policy, manufacturing and demand from the public sector. Procurement is an essential component of growth in every economy." Professor Bovis' appointment comes as the government attempts to overhaul procurement processes in the public sector. Last week, David Willetts, the universities and science minister, set out a vision for greater involvement from commercial companies in higher education. "Universities will be able to contribute more to their local economy by negotiating direct with local business," he said at the Conservative Party conference.

University of Alberta

Cora Weber-Pillwax

A Canadian scholar has been recognised for more than four decades of work in Aboriginal education. Cora Weber-Pillwax, associate professor in educational policy and indigenous peoples education coordinator at the University of Alberta, was awarded an Alumni Recognition Award for her efforts in engaging Aboriginal communities. Professor Weber-Pillwax received an undergraduate degree in secondary English from Alberta in 1977, and for years worked as a classroom teacher and administrator at predominantly Aboriginal schools. She moved into academia with a master's in intercultural and international education, completed in 1992. Professor Weber-Pillwax remained at Alberta to study for a doctorate in First Nations Education, which she received in 2003. She said that although her academic career has required writing articles, her priority has been "indigenous knowledge mobilisation". Of her success, she said: "None of this has been on my own. I've never seen myself as separate and above the people I'm working with...My work is so community embedded, if you really want to know about my successes, you'd have to ask the people."

University of California, San Francisco

James Fraser

A young researcher has been given an early career boost with a National Institutes of Health Early Investigator Award. James Fraser, a QB3 Fellow in the department of cellular and molecular pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco, was one of 10 recipients of the award and will receive $1.25 million (£800,000) in support for his laboratory over the next five years. The awards are given to junior researchers to help accelerate their development. On his research, which deciphers complex mutations in proteins and could lead to a better understanding of a broad array of genetic diseases, Dr Fraser said: "We don't really understand how most point mutations in proteins cause disease. A lot of what we've been describing as causal is just a symptom. We hope to use the tools I developed in the lab and new collaborations I've established at UCSF to understand the real mechanisms that are causing these diseases."

OTHER CHANGES

The Academy of Social Sciences has conferred the award of academician on the following scholars: Robin Alexander, Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge; Bjorn Asheim, professor in economic geography, Lund University, Sweden; Greg Bamber, professor in business and economics, Monash University, Australia; George Boyne, professor of public sector management, Cardiff University; Susan Cartwright, professor of organisational psychology and well-being, Lancaster University; Sarah Childs, professor of politics and gender, University of Bristol; Amanda Coffey, professor in social sciences, Cardiff; Joanne Conaghan, professor of law, University of Kent; Christopher Dandeker, professor of military sociology, King's College London; Panicos Demetriades, professor of financial economics, University of Leicester; Jenny Donovan, professor of social medicine, Bristol; Suzanne Fitzpatrick, professor of housing and social policy, Heriot-Watt University; Matthew Flinders, professor of parliamentary government and governance, University of Sheffield; Jan Fook, professor of professional practice research, Royal Holloway, University of London; Gianni de Fraja, William Tyler professor of economics, Leicester; Steve Fuller, Auguste Comte professor of social epistemology, University of Warwick; Andy Furlong, professor of social inclusion and education, University of Glasgow; Peter Gatrell, professor of economic history, University of Manchester; Jonathan Gershuny, professor of sociology, University of Oxford; Kenneth Gibb, professor of housing economics, Glasgow; Richard Giulianotti, professor of sociology, Durham University; Simon Green, professor of politics, Aston University; Steven Greer, professor of human rights, Bristol; Barrie Gunter, professor of mass communications, Leicester; Henrik Halkier, professor of regional and tourism studies, Aalborg University, Denmark; Robert Hazell, professor of government and the constitution, University College London; Margaret Holloway, professor of social work, University of Hull; Allison James, professor of sociology, Sheffield; David Lane, emeritus reader in sociology, Cambridge; Alan Lewis, professor of economic psychology, University of Bath; Jim Love, professor of international business, University of Birmingham; Rosalind Marsh, professor of Russian studies, Bath; Daryl O¹Connor, deputy head, Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds; Nicholas O¹Regan, professor of strategy, enterprise and innovation, University of the West of England; Hilary Pilkington, professor of sociology, Warwick; Andrew Pithouse, professor in social sciences, Cardiff; Andrew Pratt, professor of culture, media and economy, KCL; Charles Raab, emeritus professor in social and political science, University of Edinburgh; Kenneth Ruthven, professor of education, Cambridge; Steven Shardlow, professor of social work, University of Salford; Denis Fischbacher-Smith, professor of risk and resilience, Glasgow; Roger Smith, professor of social work research, De Montfort University; Mark Stephens, professor in urban economics, Glasgow; Penny Summerfield, professor of modern history, Manchester; Robin Wensley, professor of marketing and policy, Warwick; Adrian Wilkinson, professor of employment relations, Griffith University; Hugh Willmott, research professor of organization studies, Cardiff; Geof Wood, emeritus professor of international development, Bath; Mary Dixon-Woods, professor of medical sociology, Leicester.