BNOC ALERT: UCL Announce New Provost

UCL has announced that the current Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds, Michael Arthur, will be our new Provost, replacing Malcolm Grant. Grant has held the position for ten years and will step down at the end of this academic year, with Arthur taking the mantle in September 2013.

UCL’s newest BNOC

Arthur has served as Vice-Chancellor for Leeds since 2004 and was the Chair for the Russell Group of Universities from 2009 until August 2012, part of the “significant national and international profile” described on his University of Leeds’ bio.

Further noted for having “galvanised the institution with the vision of a place in the world’s top 50 universities by 2015” and the fact “his expertise in liver research is internationally acknowledged.”

Sir Stephen Wall, Chair of UCL Council, said of Arthur: “He has not been afraid to take difficult decisions and to lead from the front…” However, these same difficult decisions  led to the vote of no confidence he suffered in November 2009 from Leeds’ University and College Union, after a proposal for a 10% cut in academic staff that would have rendered Leeds the UK university with the worst student to staff ratio.

Professor Michael Arthur said of his appointment: “It is a very great honour to be appointed as the next President and Provost of UCL, one of the world’s leading universities… Malcolm Grant will be a very hard act to follow, but I look forward to rising to that challenge in leading London’s Global University.”

Presumably his biggest challenge will be growing a comparable moustache.