University of Birmingham appoints inaugural Heads of Faculty

The University of Birmingham has appointed three inaugural Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Heads of Faculty to lead its new academic structure, which takes effect on 1 August 2027.

Professor Helen Abbott will lead the Faculty grouping of arts, humanities and social sciences.

Professor Neil Hanley will lead the Faculty grouping of health, medicine and life sciences.

Professor Karl Dearn will lead the Faculty grouping of science and engineering.

The appointments are a milestone in the University's reorganisation programme, approved by the University Council in June 2026, which will move the institution from its current five-College structure to three new academic Faculties, to be named later in the process. It is the first change to its academic structure since the Colleges were established in 2008.

The new Faculty model is designed to help the University thrive in a landscape that has changed significantly since then by bringing together cross-disciplinary expertise at greater scale, making it easier to respond quickly to major interdisciplinary research opportunities, and accelerating the development of new flexible, multidisciplinary programmes that students increasingly seek.

Each Faculty will be broadly comparable in scale - with approximately 1,200 academic staff and £300 million in annual income - large enough to compete internationally across multiple disciplines while retaining the academic identity of its constituent Schools.

The five existing Colleges will remain the University's academic delivery units throughout 2026–27, with the new Heads of Faculty working with College colleagues on Faculty and School design during the transition year.

Announcing the appointments to staff today, Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, said: "I am delighted that Helen, Neil and Karl will be Birmingham’s first Heads of Faculty. Each already leads one of our Colleges and know this institution well. They bring outstanding academic records, genuine commitment to working across disciplinary boundaries, and a clear sense of what makes Birmingham distinctive.

"Our university is moving to a new academic structure from a position of real strength: we have risen in the QS World University Rankings every year since 2023, and our students are more satisfied than at any point in our history. But the world around us is changing rapidly, and our structures need to change with it. The new Faculties are not an end in themselves. They are about making it easier for our partners, funders and collaborators to connect with us, easier for colleagues to work together across disciplines, and to ensure Birmingham remains a place where students and staff alike can do their best work as we pursue our ambition to be one of the world's top 50 universities."

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of Faculty roles are Council appointments. The appointees will join the University Executive Board, sharing responsibility for institutional strategy alongside their Faculty leadership.

Professor Helen Abbott, Head of the Faculty grouping of arts, humanities and social sciences

Professor Helen Abbott BA MA PhD is a Professor of Modern Languages whose research into modern French poetry and music has been supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust.

Specialising in theories of voice and digital methods, Helen develops language pronunciation apps and works regularly with creative industries practitioners as a vocal coach and language adviser. She has produced award-winning albums with leading British vocalists working in French. She is currently an Advisory Board member of the AHRC.

She joined the University in 2016 and has served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Arts and Law at Birmingham since 2024, having previously been Deputy Head of the College and Head of the School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music.

Professor Neil Hanley, Head of the Faculty grouping of health, medicine and life sciences

Professor Neil Hanley MBChB PhD FRCP is a clinician-scientist and expert in early human development and stem cell biology with over 8,000 journal citations.

He has held research fellowships from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Wellcome. He is currently a chief investigator on an Innovate UK-funded project, translating discovery science into novel diagnostics for early liver disease detection. He serves on the Council of the International Society of Endocrinology and chairs the Wellcome Molecular, Cellular and Physiological Sciences Early Career Advisory Group.

He has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health at Birmingham since 2023, having previously served as Vice-Dean (Research and Innovation) in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester.

Professor Karl Dearn, Head of the Faculty grouping of science and engineering

Professor Karl Dearn PhD FHEA is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering whose research on friction, wear, lubrication and mechanical engineering design has led to applications in zero-emissions engines, spinal implants and sustainable energy systems, supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Innovate UK and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

After serving an engineering apprenticeship, he joined the University as an undergraduate in 2001. He was the first person since 1944 to hold both a Whitworth Scholarship and a Whitworth Senior Scholarship, and joined the academic staff in 2008. He now chairs the Whitworth Awards Panel, through which he has supported 100 former apprentices into degree-level study. He has served as Head of the School of Engineering and subsequently as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Interim Head of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.