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Professor Seán Hand receives first senior academic appointment for Warwick in California

We're pleased to announce the very first senior academic appointment to our Warwick in California partnership in Placer County California; Professor Seán Hand has been appointed as Dean of the Warwick in California Graduate School and he will shortly move to California to take up that role.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Croft said:

I am delighted to be able to reveal that Professor Seán Hand is to be the first Senior Academic appointment in our Warwick in California partnership between the University of Warwick and the University Development Trust which is developing teaching and research, and a physical presence for Warwick, in California. Seán will be our pioneer academic in a phased project building towards a campus supporting around 6000 students by around 2031.

Professor Seán Hand is a distinguished researcher and academic leader, and a strong and convinced internationalist. He is the ideal person to take forward the Graduate School at this prestigious and exciting development and ensure that it will deliver teaching and ultimately research of the highest quality”

Subject to meeting the needs of the academic regulatory framework in the US and California, Warwick in California’s Graduate School aims to begin providing teaching in 2018. That will be the first phase of the eventual establishment of a comprehensive University of Warwick in California located near Sacramento, in Placer County.

Seán is the founding Head of Warwick School of Modern Languages and Cultures, having previously also served as the Head of the University’s Department of French Studies. On hearing of his appointment, Professor Seán Hand said:

I am delighted and honoured to be entrusted with this role. Warwick has received an incredible degree of welcome and support from so many partners and supporters in California. I look forward to working closely with them, and the many Warwick colleagues who want to be involved, to establish the Graduate School as the first academic step to a full-spectrum University of Warwick campus in California. This is a game-changing initiative for our sector as well as an exciting transformation of Warwick. I shall soon begin work as a pioneer of Warwick’s academic activity in California."

Kyriakos Tsakopoulos, President and CEO of the University Development Foundation in California, said:

“We are thrilled at the appointment of Professor Seán Hand as the first Dean of the Warwick in California Graduate School. This appointment demonstrates the deep commitment of the entire University of Warwick community to this ground-breaking effort in Placer County. We look forward to working closely with Professor Hand as he establishes a world-class Graduate School right here in our community.”

Arrangements for a new Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures will be confirmed in due course.

shWhat is Warwick in California?

In 2015 the University Council approved the Senate's recommendations to progress plans with the University Development Foundation (UDF) to establish academic and student activities and a physical presence, in California.
The potential benefits of Warwick in California are enormous. We’ve a real opportunity to scale new heights of excellence for research impact, outputs and income.

Find out more about the Warwick in California project.