Congratulations to Colin Sparrow, who has been appointed Academic Director (Graduate Studies) to succeed Amanda Dowd.

Colin will provide leadership for our postgraduate provision and champion postgraduate studies across the University. In this role, based in the Graduate School, he will report to the PVC (Education), and work closely with the Graduate School team, the Education Executive, Faculty Chairs, academic colleagues and the SU. He will liaise closely with the PVC (Research) on postgraduate research issues, and with the departments that sustain the smooth running of postgraduate programmes. He will seek to innovate around new opportunities for promoting postgraduate study, and will ensure we continue to offer the highest national and international standards of postgraduate programmes, training and student engagement.

In his new role, Colin will form part of the new Education Executive led by Chris Hughes to provide direction and coordination across key institutional priorities in education and the student learning experience. He will join Andy Clark, Academic Director (Undergraduate), Will Curtis, Academic Director (Partnerships), David Lamburn, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) and Gwen van der Velden, Director of Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA). We are shortly to confirm the final appointment to this team for an Academic Director (Employability and Skills).

Colin has been Head of the Mathematics Institute since 2005, during which time the Institute has grown significantly in research and teaching, and added significantly to its international prestige. Most recently, the department, together with Statistics and Computer Science and in liaison with the Development team, was awarded £2M from the Wolfson Foundation towards the new Mathematical Sciences building – the largest capital grant ever won by the University. He is also Director of the Warwick in Africa programme.

Colin will start his new role in October 2017. Steps are being taken to appoint a new Head of the Mathematics Institute, but he will undertake both roles in parallel for the next few months.

Colin will replace Amanda Dowd, who is retiring after over 30 years at Warwick. In the Graduate School, she has led a range of developmental projects including the recently launched SkillsForge at Warwick, alongside having responsibility for all academic quality issues relating to postgraduate and post-experience courses. At WMG, Amanda has been responsible for the development of taught postgraduate programmes in the UK and abroad – including the WMG collaborative overseas programme, which started in Hong Kong in 1990 and now extends to China, Cyprus, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey. She has served on the Council of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, is honorary fellow of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a reviewer for the UK Quality Assurance Agency.

Chris Hughes said:

I am very grateful to Amanda for her many years of service, both to the Graduate School and through the significant expansion of our postgraduate taught operations overseas. I wish her a happy and fulfilling retirement. I am looking forward to working with Colin and the Education Executive team in partnership with academic and service departments and the Students’ Union to continue to ensure a Warwick postgraduate education is distinctive and at the forefront of excellence."