On the move

Leszek (Les) Borysiewicz , head of medicine at the University of Wales College of Medicine, has been appointed principal of Imperial College School of Medicine from February, succeeding Christopher Edwards.

Richard Shaw , principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Paisle y, retires in September.

Sir Philip Ledger , principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama , will retire next year. Dame Judi Dench is to succeed Sir Alexander Gibson as president.

Neil Armstrong , professor of postgraduate medicine and health sciences at Exeter University , has been appointed head of postgraduate medicine and health sciences, succeeding John Tooke , who is now dean of Peninsula Medical School .

Also at Exeter : Paul Chadwick , former head of adult mental health clinical psychology at the Royal South Hants Hospital, has been appointed to a chair in clinical psychology from January; Valentina Corradi , former lecturer in economics at Queen Mary and Westfield College, London, has been appointed to a chair in econometrics; Stephen Haslam , former reader in psychology at the Australian National University, has been appointed to a chair in social psychology from March; David Parker , former head of the strategic management research group at Aston Business School, has been appointed to a chair in management from January; Robert Chia , former professor of organisation and management, has been appointed to a chair in strategy and organisation; Charles Tyler , former reader in biological sciences at Aston University, has been appointed to a chair in biology; Philip Zarilli , former professor of theatre and performance studies at the University of Surrey, has been appointed to a chair of drama; Helen Taylor , professor of English, has been appointed to the chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Board postgraduate panel for English language and literature, and is a member of the AHRB Council.

Michael Grigsby , a documentarist, has been appointed part-time visiting professor of practice in media arts at Royal Holloway, University of London .

Paul Williams , professor of Indian and Tibetan Philosophy and co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, has been elected president of the UK Association of Buddhist Studies .