Congratulations to Professor Mike Shipman who will take up the role of Chair of the Faculty of Science from 1 August 2015.

Mike Shipman has been a Professor in the Department of Chemistry since 2003, and served as Head of Department from 2010-14. He was educated at Imperial College London, and after postdoctoral studies at Colorado State University, held academic appointments at the Universities of Loughborough and Exeter prior to joining Warwick. Professor Shipman leads a research group in chemical synthesis with a particular interest in the preparation and uses of heterocycles. He is a past recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Meldola Medal (1996), and an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship (1999-2004).

Professor Robin Ball will act as Chair of the Faculty of Science for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 July 2015.

The role of the Faculty Chair

In addition to Chairing the Board of the Faculty, Chairs of Faculties serve on a range of University committees and are responsible for promoting the policies, programmes and procedures within their respective Faculty. Faculty Chairs are also a source of support and act as ‘first port of call’ for Heads of departments and research centres in the relevant Faculty and will inform and influence the Faculty on key decisions affecting it and the University.

Faculty Chairs are also engaged in the appointment processes for key academic posts within the Faculty. Chairs serve ex officio on the following formal bodies: Senate, Steering Committee, Research Committee, Honorary Degrees Committee, Academic Quality and Standards Committee, Information Policy and Strategy Committee, Capital, Space and Amenities Group, the Academic Resourcing Committee, and may also act as Chair of the Investigating Committee and Appeals Committee.

The following will be continuing in their roles as Chairs of Faculty for the 2015/16 academic year: Professor Chris Hughes, Social Sciences, and Professor Peter Winstanley, Medicine. A recruitment process will be held over the coming weeks to identify a new Chair of the Faculty of Arts with effect from 1 September 2015.