{"id":13908,"date":"2019-10-01T09:46:47","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T08:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=13908"},"modified":"2019-10-01T09:46:47","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T08:46:47","slug":"the-open-university-welcomes-new-vice-chancellor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/around-ou\/the-open-university-welcomes-new-vice-chancellor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Open University welcomes new Vice-Chancellor"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Open University\u2019s 50th<\/sup> anniversary celebrations are being extended to welcome the OU\u2019s eighth Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Blackman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Professor Blackman is no stranger to the OU having previously been the OU\u2019s Acting Vice-Chancellor at The Open University and previously Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Quality from 2011-2015. Before returning to the OU, Professor Blackman was Vice-Chancellor at Middlesex University since July 2015.<\/p>\n

\"Tim

Professor Tim Blackman ready to lead The Open University<\/p><\/div>\n

Unrivalled knowledge and experience <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Professor Blackman has extensive leadership experience in higher education. A graduate of Durham University, he later returned to his alma mater to take up positions including the Head of the School of Applied Social Sciences, Director of the Wolfson Research Institute and the Dean of the University\u2019s campus in Stockton\u2013on\u2013Tees. He has also served as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at Teesside University and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at Oxford Brookes University.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the new appointment Pro-Chancellor of The Open University, Malcolm Sweeting, said: \u201cProfessor Blackman\u2019s appointment as The Open University\u2019s new Vice-Chancellor was a unanimous decision by the University\u2019s Council.<\/p>\n

“He comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience of the OU, and a track record of success in his leadership of Middlesex University. He brings a detailed understanding of the complexities of the sector and the opportunities and challenges that these bring to our unique University.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photograph

The OU’s eight Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Blackman<\/p><\/div>\n

A tremendous honour <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Blackman said: \u201cIt is a tremendous honour and privilege to be appointed as Vice-Chancellor of The Open University.<\/p>\n

“The OU is one of the UK\u2019s best inventions. It ranks with the NHS and National Parks as a visionary idea, bringing the opportunity to learn and study to anyone, whatever their circumstances.”<\/p>\n

Malcolm Sweeting also commended Professor Mary Kellett for her stewardship and her personal commitment to the University. \u201cI would also like to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to Mary Kellett for her calm and inspired leadership of the OU since she took over this role in April 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cMary embodies the very best qualities of the OU and has led us not just through periods of significant change, but also of celebration in our 50th year. Her approach has been central to keeping the OU radical and relevant and positioning us positively for the future. Mary is a true ambassador for the OU and the vital role education plays in improving lives and society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photograph

Thanks paid to Professor Mary Kellett from across the OU for her leadership<\/p><\/div>\n

The role of a VC<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The role of the Vice-Chancellor is the principal academic and administrative officer of the University. Among the main tasks of the Vice-Chancellor are to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Provide leadership, academic and administrative to the whole University;<\/li>\n
  • Represent the University externally, both within the UK and overseas;<\/li>\n
  • Secure a financial stable base to allow the delivery of the University’s mission, aims and objectives;<\/li>\n
  • Carry out certain important ceremonial and civic duties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Open University\u2019s 50th anniversary celebrations are being extended to welcome the OU\u2019s eighth Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Blackman. Professor Blackman is no stranger to the OU having previously been the OU\u2019s Acting Vice-Chancellor at The Open University and previously Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Quality from 2011-2015. Before returning to the OU, Professor Blackman was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":13922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,22],"tags":[1525,1640,2210,2357],"class_list":["post-13908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-ou","category-university-news","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home","tag-ou50","tag-vice-chancellor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}