University of the Highlands and Islands appoints new Principal and Vice-Chancellor

The University of the Highlands and Islands has appointed Professor Clive Mulholland as our next Principal and Vice-Chancellor.

Professor Mulholland is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Student Experience) at the University of South Wales, a post he has held since 2007.

A biomedical scientist, with expertise in clinical biochemistry and online learning, Professor Mulholland has worked in the scientific civil service and in the NHS as well as the universities sector. Professor Mulholland joined the former University of Glamorgan in 2007 from the University of Ulster where he was Director of Lifelong Learning. He is a native of Bangor, Northern Ireland.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and he is a Chartered Scientist. He has previously held appointments in Queens University Belfast, University of Wales Swansea and the Department of Agriculture Northern Ireland.

Garry Coutts, University of the Highlands and Islands Rector and Chair of the appointing panel said: “I am delighted Professor Mulholland has accepted the position of Principal and Vice-Chancellor and I look forward to working with him. This is an exciting and decisive time for the university and it is important that our new Principal has impeccable academic credentials and significant experience in leading complex organisations particularly in improving quality and outcomes for students.

“Professor Mulholland meets these criteria brilliantly and I am sure he will provide both academic and managerial leadership and also act as an excellent ambassador for the university within the region, within further and higher education and throughout the world at large.”

Professor Mulholland said: “I am delighted to be joining the university at an exciting time of its development. As a tertiary institution the University of the Highlands and Islands can establish itself as a role model of a 21st century distributed university adding significant value to the region, and further progressing international reputation in research and scholarship.”

Professor Mulholland will take up his appointment on 1 June 2014. He replaces James Fraser who retired at the end of December 2013.