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Incoming Oxford Vice-Chancellor starts work

1 October 2009

 

Professor Andrew Hamilton, BSc, MSc, PhD, FRS, has taken up post in Oxford today, ahead of his formal installation on Tuesday 6 October as the 271st Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. 

Professor Andrew Hamilton has joined the University from Yale, where he was Provost from 2004 until late 2008. Professor Hamilton said: 'Oxford is one of the world's greatest universities and the opportunity to serve as its Vice-Chancellor is both inspiring and energising. With the support and help of colleagues in every part of the collegiate University, I intend to play my part in ensuring that Oxford's outstanding reputation as a pre-eminent centre of teaching, learning and research is safeguarded and enhanced for generations to come. I will strive to repay the trust that has been placed in me and to ensure that a great University has an even better future.

'Professor Hamilton begins his new responsibilities on 1 October and on Tuesday 6 October he will be formally admitted to office at a ceremony in the Sheldonian Theatre. The ceremony witnesses the change-over of Vice-Chancellors and takes place at a meeting of Congregation (the University's 'parliament of dons'). The occasion will begin with an Oration by the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Dr John Hood, followed by the admission of Professor Hamilton as the new Vice-Chancellor, and his inaugural address.

Professor Hamilton was Provost of Yale and combined his wide-ranging administrative duties with a distinguished teaching and research career. In addition to serving as Provost, he was Benjamin Silliman Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He intends to continue active research whilst at Oxford.

The Chancellor of Oxford University, Lord Patten of Barnes, said: 'Andrew Hamilton's remarkable combination of proven academic leadership and outstanding scholarly achievement will stand him in excellent stead to help guide Oxford into the second decade of the twenty-first century. This is a particularly exciting time for us, and in Professor Hamilton we have someone with the experience and talent to help us take advantage of these opportunities.'

For more information please contact the Press Office, University of Oxford, 01865 280528, press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

Images of Professor Hamilton are available; they are free to use but must be credited to Phil Sayer. They can be downloaded at:

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http://d2cxul3p6tm83t.cloudfront.net/Andrew%20Hamilton_interior2.jpg

http://d2cxul3p6tm83t.cloudfront.net/Andrew%20Hamilton_RadcliffeSquare1.jpg

http://d2cxul3p6tm83t.cloudfront.net/Andrew%20Hamilton_RadcliffeSquare2.jpg

Notes to editors

  • Biographical information: Professor Hamilton was born in Guildford, Surrey, and read chemistry at the University of Exeter. After studying for a master's degree at the University of British Columbia, he received his PhD from Cambridge University in 1980. In 1981 Professor Hamilton was appointed assistant professor of chemistry at Princeton University. He moved to the University of Pittsburgh in 1988, where he became Professor of Chemistry and served as department chair. He joined Yale in 1997 and was chair of the chemistry department from 1999 until 2003, when he became Deputy Provost for Science and Technology. Professor Hamilton was Provost of Yale between 2004 and late 2008 and combined his wide-ranging administrative duties with a distinguished teaching and research career. In addition to serving as Provost, he is Benjamin Silliman Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. His research interests lie at the interface of organic and biological chemistry, with particular focus on the use of synthetic design for the understanding, mimicry, and potential control of biological processes.Professor Hamilton, 56, is married with three children.
  • Professor Hamilton's academic achievements have been widely recognised internationally. In 1999 he received the Arthur C Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society, and in 2004 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
  • Professor Hamilton's achievements during his time as Provost of Yale include:-the acquisition of the new West Campus, a 136 acre research campus which will be home to new scientific initiatives and a new Collections Campus, dedicated to the accessible storage and preservation of Yale's arts, library and natural history collections-the re-establishment of the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science after a forty-year hiatus-a comprehensive change in Yale's tenure and appointments process-the development of a new interdisciplinary programme of teaching and research in the humanities
    -new interdisciplinary science and engineering initiatives focusing on nanoscience and quantum engineering, stem cell research and genomics and proteomics-a significant enhancement of the Yale undergraduate curriculum, including the strengthening of science, quantitative reasoning, humanities and arts requirements
  • Professor Hamilton begins work on 1 October but his ceremonial installation as Vice-Chancellor takes place on Tuesday 6 October.