New Dean for Human and Health Sciences
Fri, 04 Nov 2016 10:37:00 GMT
Professor Paul Bissell will commence as Dean of the School of Human and Health Sciences in February next year
PROFESSOR Paul Bissell (pictured right) will be joining the University of Huddersfield from 1 February, 2017, as Dean of the School of Human and Health Sciences.
Currently based at the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield, one of the largest Schools of public health in the UK, Professor Bissell has a background in the social sciences and is an active researcher, experienced educator and manager. He was Director of the Public Health Section from 2010 to 2015, and is currently Director of Learning and Teaching and a member of the senior management group in the School. Previously, Professor Bissell taught at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Bob Cryan CBE DL said: “I am delighted to welcome Professor Bissell to our team at Huddersfield. His experience as a researcher, educator and manager will be greatly valued by his colleagues in the School of Human and Health Sciences, and by staff across the University. I know everyone here will extend him a very warm welcome, and will engage with his plans for the future with great enthusiasm.”
As an applied social science researcher working at the interface between public health and the health science, Professor Bissell is uniquely placed to understand the research in the University’s School of Human and Health Sciences, and he will take an active role in continuing to build its reputation for excellence.
He has published over 90 journal articles, with research interests in the areas of medicines management, patients’ use of medication, patient and public involvement in health care, health inequalities and public health responses to obesity. He has considerable experience in successfully supervising PhD students, mentoring staff as well as building collaborations to obtain grant income from a range of awarding bodies. He brings with him collaborative links with other European and UK institutions, from across the health sciences and the social sciences and will exploit these to the benefit of his new University.
Equally passionate about learning and teaching, Professor Bissell has been heavily involved in teaching innovation and development at both undergraduate and postgraduate level in Nottingham and Sheffield.
One of his major achievements has been to grow the postgraduate public health and health sciences teaching portfolio at Sheffield, enabling a major expansion in staff whilst also maintaining a focus on student satisfaction, retention and employment. He also has considerable experience in developing online learning and teaching approaches as ways of stimulating new markets for courses. He will continue to be an active, involved and inspirational educator as Dean of the School.
Across the areas of teaching, research and school management, the themes that have informed his approach are academic innovation, inspirational teaching and world-leading research, within an environment where both academic and professional services staff can flourish and achieve their best. In terms of his priorities for the School, he will be seeking to build a culture of academic entrepreneurialism, where staff feel empowered to respond positively to the challenges and opportunities facing the HE sector, and are rewarded for doing so. The ultimate aim will be to grow what is already a competitive and highly regarded School, producing some of the best graduates and postgraduates in the sector, and one where all staff are engaged in producing high quality research.
Professor Bissell said: “This is a great time to be coming to the University of Huddersfield. Just walking around the campus, you can feel the breadth and depth of ambition here and I am delighted to be joining the largest school in the University.”
