Churchill College

We are pleased to announce the appointments of Professor Sir John Aston and Professor Anna Philpott to Pro-Vice-Chancellors of the University. Professor Sir John Aston has been appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research. He is Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life within the University’s Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. Professor Aston takes over the role from Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, and will begin as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor on 1 September, 2024. An applied statistician, Professor Aston leads research into the use of quantitative evidence in public policy making, works with those in public life to ensure the best methods are used, and aims to improve the use of statistics and other quantitative evidence in public policy debates. As Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor Aston will provide senior academic leadership on the University’s research activities, and be responsible for sustaining and enhancing a supportive research culture which allows Cambridge to continue to flourish as an outstanding research-intensive institution with worldwide influence. Professor Aston will build on the foundations laid by Professor Ferguson‑Smith, who has been appointed Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Appointed to Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Resources and Operations is Professor Anna Philpott. She is currently Professor of Cancer and Developmental Biology, and Head of the School of Biological Sciences at the University. Professor Philpott will take up her new position in October 2024, and takes over from current Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor David Cardwell. A developmental biologist with a long-standing interest in how cells within developing embryos decide which fate to adopt, as well as how they decide whether to proliferate or arrest cell division and adopt a mature functional state, Professor Philpott is also interested in how control of these processes is subverted in cancer cells. As Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Resources and Operations, Professor Philpott will provide leadership across four principal areas: · The prioritisation, distribution and use of resources across the University to optimise operational effectiveness · Integration of academic planning with resource planning · Oversight of the University’s change programmes · Oversight of the University’s IT and digital capability There are five Pro-Vice-Chancellors at the University of Cambridge. Their role is to work in partnership with other senior leaders, including Heads of School and Professional Services leads, to help drive strategy and policy development. The Pro-Vice-Chancellors also support the Vice-Chancellor in providing academic leadership to the University.