New Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education appointed

Professor Whatmore is Professor of Environment and Public Policy at Oxford, and the institution's Academic Champion for Public Engagement with Research. She read geography at University College London, where she also completed a DPhil. She completed her DSc at the University of Bristol.

A Fellow of Keble College, she has previously held posts at UCL, Bristol, Leeds and the Open University. Her research addresses cultures of nature and interrogates the ways in which human relations with the natural world are practised and contested in the conduct of science, governance and everyday life. A Fellow of the British Academy, Professor Whatmore is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), and is an appointed member of the Defra Science Advisory Council (SAC) and Chair of its Social Science Expert sub-group.

Professor Whatmore said: 'I look forward to working with the Vice-Chancellor, colleagues and students across the University and colleges to advance Oxford's exceptional educational opportunities. There is a shared commitment to making them accessible to talented and aspiring undergraduate and graduate students from every background in the UK and worldwide.'

Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: 'I am delighted that Sarah Whatmore has accepted our offer of appointment as PVC Education. Sarah has a truly impressive record of achievement in research, in teaching, and in contributions to the Social Sciences Division at Oxford. She has also brought both energy and creativity to her role as the University's academic champion for public engagement. The depth and range of her experience and her vision for the role made her the clear choice of the appointments panel. I very much look forward to working with her.'

Professor Whatmore, who will formally take up her duties in January 2017, will succeed Professor Sally Mapstone, who has been appointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor of St Andrews University.