University of Liverpool welcomes new Vice-Chancellor

Professor Tim Jones is the new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool

Professor Tim Jones has begun his tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool. Professor Jones took up his position 3 January, joining Liverpool from the University of Birmingham where he held the post of Provost and Vice-Principal for more than six years.

Professor Tim Jones said: “I’m delighted to return to the University of Liverpool more than thirty years after obtaining my PhD here and it’s an immense privilege to take up the role of Vice-Chancellor.

“In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be getting to know Liverpool’s vibrant community of staff, students and alumni and getting reacquainted with this wonderful city. I’m also looking forward to working with the large number of organisations in the city, wider city region and beyond with whom the University collaborates on impactful research and civic initiatives.

“I’m honoured to have joined the University of Liverpool to help build on its considerable achievements and work towards our local, national and global ambitions.”

At the University of Birmingham, Professor Jones held the post of Provost and Vice-Principal for more than six years, responsible for leading several strategically important institutional projects. These include the establishment of the University of Birmingham Dubai, including a new state-of-the-art campus which opened in 2022, and the development of the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus.

He gained both his undergraduate degree and PhD from the University of Liverpool, before working as a postdoctoral research assistant in the Surface Science Research Centre. The majority of his academic career was spent at Imperial College London and the University of Warwick, where he led several interdisciplinary research centres and consortia. His research was focused on the surface, interface and thin film properties of a wide variety of advanced electronic materials, with applications in areas such as photovoltaics.

Professor Jones is also a member of several external Boards and advisory groups including the Manufacturing Technology Centre and the Welsh Science and Innovation Advisory Council. He was previously a member of Council at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and was a founding Board member of the Alan Turing Institute.

Prior to his role at the University of Birmingham, Professor Jones held a number of leadership positions at the University of Warwick, including Interim Provost, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Science, Engineering and Medicine, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Transfer and Business Engagement, and Chair of the Faculty of Science.

Professor Jones succeeds Professor Dame Janet Beer who retired from the University of Liverpool Vice-Chancellor role in December 2022, after almost eight years.