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New Pro-Vice-Provosts (International) appointed
5 February 2019
Professor Dame Hazel Genn and Professor Deenan Pillay will take up their roles in UCL's Global Engagement Office from April 2019 and 2020 respectively
Professor Dame Hazel Genn, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at UCL and former Dean of the Faculty of Laws, will take up the role of Pro-Vice-Provost (International) from April 2019 for one year.
Hazel is particularly renowned as Founder and Director of the UCL Centre for Access to Justice and for her influential work focusing on the experiences of ordinary people caught up in legal problems. She takes over from Dr Karen Edge and Professor Gudrun Moore, who together became UCL’s first Pro-Vice-Provost International in early 2016.
Hazel will be succeeded in the role of Pro-Vice-Provost (International) from spring 2020 by Professor Deenan Pillay, Division of Infection and Immunity, currently seconded from UCL as Director of the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) based in South Africa. He will be appointed for a three-year term.
Academic leadership
As Pro-Vice-Provosts (International) in UCL’s Global Engagement Office (GEO), the pair will focus on providing engaging, inspirational and strategic academic leadership for UCL’s two academic networks which help to implement the Global Engagement Strategy (GES) and ensure continued strong academic engagement for all international objectives.
They will also work closely with the Vice-Provost (International), Dame Nicola Brewer, on the review of the GES 2015-2020 and consultation on our next five-year GES, beginning in mid-2019.
Both Dame Hazel and Professor Pillay have strong records of achievement in supporting UCL’s global engagement.
Hazel has been instrumental in leading development of collaboration with the University of Hong Kong and Yale University.
Commenting on her appointment, Hazel said: “I look forward to continuing the global engagement work that I undertook as Dean of Laws and having the opportunity to work more closely with GEO and the academic networks.”
Global impact
As Director of AHRI in South Africa, Deenan has been a key driver behind this strategic international programme for UCL, which has significant potential for global impact.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “The global environment is rapidly changing. I’m looking forward to supporting the UCL academic community in responding to this challenge and in continuing to grow our reputation and impact across the world”.
Inspiring leader
Dame Nicola Brewer, UCL Vice-Provost (International) said of Hazel's appointment: “Hazel has been an outstanding and inspiring leader of Laws as Dean and has been a key supporter of UCL’s global engagement work - particularly in East Asia and North America. I am delighted to be appointing her as Pro-Vice-Provost (International) from spring 2019 for one year”.
Of Professor Pillay’s appointment, Nicola said: “Deenan has been excellent in the role of Director of AHRI, ensuring its clear development in close alignment with its strategic goals. The potential global impact of AHRI is significant and has progressed fantastically under Deenan’s leadership. I am greatly looking forward to Deenan returning to UCL and taking up the role of PVPI from April 2020”.
Nicola added: “I’d like to thank most warmly our outgoing Pro-Vice-Provosts (International) Dr Karen Edge, who will complete her term in February 2019 to return full time to the UCL Institute of Education, and Professor Gudrun Moore, who stepped down in June 2018 to return to the Institute for Child Health, for all of their hard work and enthusiasm in developing global partnerships, supporting the wider academic community to strengthen existing collaborations, and facilitating UCL’s efforts to address pressing global issues. I’d also like to welcome our new Pro-Vice-Provosts (International) to UCL’s Global Engagement Office”.