Dr Nick Witham appointed as new Director of UCL Institute of the Americas

We would like to announce that Dr Nick Witham will be taking the role of Director of the Institute of the Americas as of September 1, 2022, as Professor Jonathan Bell steps down after eight years at the helm of the institute.

Jonathan Bell arrived at UCL in 2014 as Professor of US History and Director of the Institute of the Americas. During his time in office, the institute grew in terms of numbers of staff and students; a new, popular BA degree was established, and the institute scored resounding successes in various areas: 1^st ranking in Area Studies and Impact at the REF2021, Athena Swan Bronze Award as well as a dramatic improvement in most areas of student satisfaction according to the National Student Survey (NSS) 2021. As a recipient of a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship, Professor Bell will be on research leave until September 2024.

Nick Witham joined the UCL Institute of the Americas in 2015. Before taking over as Director of the Institute, Dr Witham served in various departmental leadership roles including Director of Research in the build-up to REF 2021, and was instrumental in the formulation, design and launch of the Institute’s undergraduate degrees.

We would we like to express our gratitude to Jonathan Bell for his leadership of the Institute. And we warmly welcome Nick Witham to the post, which he takes on at a crucial time for the Institute.

Links:

Dr Nick Witham | academic profile

Professor Jonathan Bell | academic profile

REF2021 | web news article

Image:

[from left to right] Dr Nick Witham, Professor Jonathan Bell