Stirling appoints new Dean to its Faculty of Social Sciences

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The University of Stirling has appointed Professor Derek McGhee as Dean of its Faculty of Social Sciences.

The leading Sociology academic will take up the role in January 2022, arriving from Keele University where he currently is the Faculty Dean of Research for Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Director of the Institute for Social Inclusion.

Professor McGhee will succeed Professor Alison Bowes, who is stepping down after 10 years in the role and will remain at the University.

Professor Derek McGhee
Professor Derek McGhee
New Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences
I am delighted to be joining the University of Stirling and feel honoured to be appointed as the next Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. I very much look forward to working with colleagues in the Faculty, and across the University, and to being part of Stirling's unfolding success story.

Previous to joining Keele in 2018, McGhee was Professor of Sociology and Head of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton, where he had been for 18 years. He was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts in 2015 and a Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2016, in recognition of his contribution to the disciplines of Social Policy and Sociology.

Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Professor McGhee to the University. He brings a wealth of experience to this key role, and we look forward to working with him to further advance and bolster the Faculty’s success and development.

“I would also like to extend my thanks to Professor Bowes for her contribution, expertise and leadership over the last 10 years as Dean.”

World-leading research and teaching

As a leader in its field, Stirling’s Faculty of Social Sciences is home to around 70 academics, with research and teaching covering subjects including: dementia, education, housing, sociology, social policy and criminology. Focusing on research that has a positive global, social impact, its world-leading dementia research recently attracted the attention of the King and Queen of Sweden, who visited the Faculty’s Dementia Services Development Centre to discuss Stirling’s expertise in this area.

The Faculty received a number of top course rankings in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 – including, Top 5 in the UK for Education, 1st in Scotland for Criminology and Top 15 in the UK for Social Policy.