New chief appointed for IAS

20 July 2009

Gregor McLennan, Professor of Sociology, is to become Director of the University's Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) following a competitive appointment process. He succeeds Martin White, Professor of Theatre, who has served a successful six-year term.

The mission of the IAS is to develop research at the University by facilitating visits by scholars from the UK and overseas, and to encourage interdisciplinary research. It also seeks collaborations with industries and the cultural sector. Perhaps above all, it aims to provide resources and create circumstances under which people can come together to generate ideas that otherwise might not see the light of day.

Professor McLennan, a former head of Bristol's Department of Sociology and holder of its Established Chair, is an Academician of the Social Sciences. His research interests include social theory, politics and ideology, and the philosophy of the social sciences.

The University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eric Thomas, said: 'Bristol is a research-intensive institution and the IAS is part of what that means. Gregor McLennan is a very worthy successor to Martin White. I'm delighted that someone with his outstanding intellectual and personal qualities has been appointed to take the Institute forward.'