Following formal approval of his appointment at the Academy’s Council on Wednesday 20th November, Sir Ivor Crewe, the Master of Univ will serve as President of the Academy of Social Sciences for a period of three years, from 1st January 2014.

The Academy of Social Sciences released the following to the press on Wednesday 20th November:

“The next President of the Academy of Social Sciences will be Professor Sir Ivor Crewe AcSS, Master of University College, Oxford. The Academy’s Council formally approved the appointment at a meeting today.

“The President’s role is to represent the Academy at public meetings and events, and Sir Ivor will serve for three years from 1 January 2014. The Academy comprises more than 900 individual academicians – awarded the title for services to social science – and 46 learned societies, representing nearly 90,000 social scientists.”

Sir Ivor was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex from 1995 to 2007, and was the founding Director of its Institute of Social and Economic Research. During his tenure as Vice-Chancellor the university rapidly expanded, doubling its student numbers. Sir Ivor has also been actively engaged on the national policy scene in higher education, including a term as President of Universities UK from 2003 to 2005.

He has published and broadcast extensively on British politics, particularly on elections, parties and public opinion. In 2013 he published with Anthony King The Blunders of our Governments, a study of major failures of domestic public policy in modern Britain. Sir Ivor succeeds as President of the Academy Professor Sir Howard Newby AcSS, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool.

Professor Cary Cooper AcSS, the Chair of the Academy, said: “The Academy’s regulations say that the President must be ‘a senior, distinguished social scientist’ and in our choice of Sir Ivor Crewe we certainly meet those requirements. He is a highly esteemed researcher, communicator, innovator and administrator, and will be an enormous credit to our organisation.”

Professor Cooper paid tribute to Sir Howard for his “invaluable” service to the Academy over the past three years. “Sir Howard often went beyond his formal duties as President – for instance, leading several of the Campaign for Social Science’s roadshows at universities around the country.”

Sir Ivor said: “I am honoured to have been appointed President of the Academy of Social Sciences. The Academy’s mission to promote the social sciences as an academic discipline and a critical tool of public policy and decision-making has never been more important. I look forward to supporting the Academy in all its endeavours.”

The President’s term of office can be renewed for a further three years on the agreement of the Council.

The Academy of Social Sciences is the national Academy of academics, learned societies and practitioners in the social sciences. Its mission is to promote social sciences in the UK for the public benefit. Its members include over 900 academicians from universities and the policy and practice communities – who are entitled to put the letter AcSS after their name – and 46 member learned societies, representing almost 90,000 social scientists. It launched the Campaign for Social Science in 2011.’

Published: 21 November 2013

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