British political economist Professor Richard Higgott has been appointed by Murdoch University as its sixth Vice Chancellor and President.

 

Professor Higgott has been Pro Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Warwick in the UK for the last four years, and previously held professorial appointments at the Australian National University and the University of Manchester.

 

He is currently on leave from Warwick and is engaged as a Winthrop Professor at the University of Western Australia. He is also director of a $15 million European Commission project of research institutes from 15 leading universities examining the implications of the emergence of a multi-polar world.

 

Professor Higgott held posts at the University of Western Australia and Murdoch in the early years of his academic career, including several years on the Advisory Board of Asia Research Centre.

 

He will take up the position in August, replacing current Vice Chancellor Professor Gary Martin, who has held the role on an interim basis since Professor John Yovich’s retirement from academia. Professor Yovich had been Vice Chancellor and President since July 2002.