Welcoming a new Executive Dean to the Faculty of Environment

A new Executive Dean will join the Faculty of Environment community at the start of 2022.

Professor Selina Stead will become Executive Dean of Environment on 1 January, alongside Professor Paul Johnson who will become Executive Dean of Social Sciences. Both roles sit on the University Executive Group and will report via the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hai-Sui Yu. 

I’m delighted to welcome Paul and Selina to the executive team and our wider Leeds community. They will each bring exciting academic and leadership experience and perspectives to Leeds and arrive at an important time, as we refresh our University values and work together to deliver our new strategy.

Professor Stead joins the Faculty of Environment from the University of Stirling, where she is Head of the Institute of Aquaculture. She is a UK Government Chief Scientific Advisor and Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute. Her research focuses on environmental science, policy and governance, with a focus on co-creating global sustainability solutions. 

Professor Stead said: “I am excited to be joining the University of Leeds at a time when research and education in sustainability science is fundamental to transforming the health of our planet and people’s lives. 

“It is a privilege to join the Faculty of Environment team to support global development solutions that reach towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.” 

Read Professor Stead’s University of Stirling profile.

Professor Andy Dougill will move to a new role as Dean for Global Development, providing academic leadership for the University in developing impactful collaborations with organisations across the Global South. 

Professor Simone Buitendijk, Vice-Chancellor, said: “I want to take this opportunity to thank Andy for his outstanding leadership of the Faculty of Environment and his significant contributions to the University through his eight years as Executive Dean.”