University of Sheffield appoints Professor Koen Lamberts as its next President and Vice-Chancellor
27th June 2018
The University of Sheffield has today (Tuesday 26 June 2018) announced the appointment of Professor Koen Lamberts as its next President and Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Lamberts, an exceptional leader in higher education, is currently Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of York. Speaking of his appointment, Professor Koen Lamberts said: "I feel enormously privileged to be appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield. "Sheffield is known across the world for the excellence, impact and distinctiveness of its research and teaching, and for being a university which speaks fearlessly for the value of international scholarship to transform lives for the better. "I am committed to working with colleagues to further enhance Sheffield's reputation as a global university which strives to solve society's greatest challenges at the same time as upholding its proud history, guided by its founding principles. He added: -At its heart, Sheffield is a civic university for the 21st century and I am looking forward to working with partners in the Sheffield City Region. Professor Lamberts is a cognitive psychologist with an extensive track record in experimental and theoretical research on human perception and memory, for which he has been awarded prizes from the Experimental Psychology Society and the British Psychological Society. Throughout his career he has held a number of significant leadership roles in higher education, including Chair of the N8 group of research-intensive universities in the north of England. Tony Pedder OBE, Chair of the University of Sheffield Council, said: -I'm delighted to announce Professor Koen Lamberts as the next President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield. -This is an extremely important appointment for our University as we look to build further on our global reputation for world-changing research, inspirational teaching and a unique student experience. He added: -The University of Sheffield is a truly international community that continues to put civic commitment at its heart with a profound belief in the public benefit of providing excellent higher education in a research-intensive environment. -We know Professor Lamberts shares these values and will work with an exceptional community of colleagues and students while proudly serving as an advocate and ambassador for our University, both at home and across the world. Prior to joining the University of York as Vice-Chancellor and President in 2014, Professor Lamberts was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the University of Warwick. He joined Warwick in 1998 and was elected Head of its Department of Psychology in 2000, serving until 2008. He became Chair of the Faculty of Science in 2007 and was appointed as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research a year later. He later served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Academic Resourcing before being appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost in February 2012. Before moving to Warwick, he was a Research Associate at the University of Chicago (1991-1992), and a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader at the University of Birmingham between 1992 and 1998. Professor Lamberts was born in Hasselt, Belgium, and undertook both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Leuven, culminating in the award of his PhD in Psychology in 1992. Professor Lamberts succeeds Professor Sir Keith Burnett, who is retiring at the end of September after a very successful decade as the University's leader. The University's Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Gill Valentine will be the interim Vice-Chancellor from 1 October 2018 until Professor Lamberts joins the University on 1 November 2018. Professor Sir Keith Burnett said: "I am delighted that Professor Koen Lamberts will take up the role of President and Vice-Chancellor of this great University. In addition to his reputation as a scholar and educational leader, Koen has been a true advocate for the international community of scholars who together make such a profound difference for society here in the UK and around the world. -He will lead an institution which is deeply committed to the public benefit of education and its power to transform people's lives. I could not be more pleased for the University and for him, and wish him the very best in his endeavours."