Two UCL Deans appointed

Links:

ac.uk/english/about/staff_information/hw.htm" target="_self">Professor Henry Woudhuysen

Professor Stephen Smith

President and Provost's Senior Management Team

UCL has appointed two Deans with effect from September 2008.

Professor Henry Woudhuysen is to become Dean of UCL Arts & Humanities, and Professor Stephen Smith is to become Dean of Social & Historical Sciences.

Stephen Smith is a Professor of Economics, with research and teaching interests in the fields of public finance and environmental economics. He is a former member of the Government Economic Service, working as an economist in the Department of Trade & Industry from 1977-1985. In 1985 he joined the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), an independent research institute specialising in the economic analysis of taxation and public finance. His research group at the IFS covered issues of European fiscal policy, environmental taxation and local-government finance. He was Deputy Director of the IFS from 1990-1997. He joined UCL Economics part-time in 1990, and left the IFS to a full-time post at UCL in 1997. He was Head of UCL Economics from 1997-2002. He is currently Vice-Dean (Research) of UCL Social & Historical Sciences.

Professor Smith's current research is on the economics of Value Added Tax (especially "carousel fraud") and the use of taxes and emissions trading in environmental policy. During the past two years he has contributed papers on VAT and environmental taxes to the Mirrlees Review, a major international exercise coordinated by the IFS and chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Sir James Mirrlees, which is looking at the future of the UK tax system and considering the scope for tax reform.

Professor Smith said: "The energy and creativity of UCL Social & Historical Sciences lie at the heart of UCL's academic culture. It is a privilege to lead a faculty with such a wealth of outstanding research and teaching."

Henry Woudhuysen is Professor of English. He joined UCL English Language & Literature in 1982 and was Head of it from 2002-2007.

His research is on English literature from the Renaissance to the 18th century, with particular interests in Sidney, Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson. His more specialised interest is in the transmission of texts in manuscript and print, in bibliography and palaeography, in editorial theory and practice, and in the history of the book.

He is co-general editor of the 'Oxford Companion to the Book': this will be a million words long and will attempt to cover all aspects of the book from ancient to modern times throughout the world. He is Principal Investigator to the Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700, one of the General Editors of the third series of the Arden Shakespeare, and writes regularly about book sales and libraries for 'The Times Literary Supplement'.

Professor Woudhuysen said: "UCL Arts & Humanities has a vital part to play in all aspects of the university's life and beyond it. It is a great honour to have been appointed Dean, and I shall look forward to building on the faculty's excellent record, especially in teaching and research."

Deans of UCL's eight faculties are appointed by UCL Council and, with the Vice-Provosts, are members of the President and Provost's Senior Management Team.

To find out more about Professor Woudhuysen, Professor Smith or the President and Provost's Senior Management Team, use the links at the top of this article.