After an extensive international search QUT has appointed a new Provost, Professor Nic Smith, currently the Dean of Engineering at the University of Auckland.
First published 10 October 2019
QUT Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Margaret Sheil said she was delighted Professor Smith had accepted the appointment that he will take up on March 16, 2020.
Professor Smith has held his current position since 2013 and prior to that was Head of Biomedical Engineering at Kings College, London, and Professor of Computational Physiology at the University of Oxford.
Professor Smith has a degree in Engineering Science with First Class Honours and a PhD in Engineering Science from the University of Auckland, in addition to a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford.
The Provost is responsible for the strategic leadership and delivery of the University’s academic objectives and represents the University on the world stage.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil said Professor Smith would play a critical role within QUT.
“Professor Smith will provide intellectual and strategic leadership, direction and evaluation for all QUT’s academic activities,” Professor Sheil said.
“His unique skill set will enable him to make a key contribution to the overall success and strategic positioning of the University, especially as we prepare to launch our strategic plan for the next five years,” Professor Sheil said.
Professor Sheil paid tribute to current Provost Professor Carol Dickenson, who has been in the role since 2012. Professor Carol Dickenson will retire from QUT at the end of 2019 after decades of service, her former roles including as Registrar, Director of Human Resources, Academic Adviser and Senior Lecturer.
“I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Dickenson who has played a leading role in shaping the University as Provost and through her other senior roles. Her career at QUT has spanned all aspects of the University, through its expansion across student numbers and research performance, and improvement in teaching quality and student preferences” Professor Sheil said.
QUT Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska, a world-leading air quality expert, has been elected as a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Public health strategies must begin at pre-conception and early childhood to attain optimum lung function for the world’s Indigenous Peoples who bear a higher burden of chronic respiratory disease, say an international research team in a review published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine.