One of the advantages of being an academic is that there are very clear career structures that allow promotion as your teaching and research profile grows and you take on more responsibilities. The process can be daunting experience (as well as often being opaque) opening yourself up to peer review. Just to add to the confusion each Higher Education Institution in the UK has its own process and criteria and nowadays different job role names (associate professor versus senior lecturer versus reader.) And, of course, that is before you step outside of the UK. (No one outside the UK system knows what a reader is. And I’m not sure those in the UK system know either as every institution has a slightly nuanced interpretation of the position. So I’m not going to have a crack at explaining.) Balancing teaching excellence along with a successful research track record (both publishing and securing grant income) is a tough ask. Add into this the need to demonstrate leadership/management skills to ensure that things the University needs to do get done and the whole thing gets even trickier. So I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the recent successes in the Faculty that have navigated this minefield effectively in the last round of promotions:
Senior Lecturer: Susanne Gebhard (Biology & Biochemistry), Andrew Johnson (Chemistry), Christof Lutteroth (Computer Science), Andy Thompson (Pharmacy & Pharmacology), Peter Mosley (Physics), Kei Takashina (Physics)
Reader: Tim Rogers (Mathematical Sciences), Ian Eggleston (Pharmacy & Pharmacology)
Professor: Sofia Pascu (Chemistry), Gavin Shaddick (Mathematical Sciences)
Many congratulations & well-deserved!
Respond
