The University of Plymouth has announced the appointment of its new Executive Dean to lead its Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business.
Professor David Finkelstein will formally take up the role in May, bringing more than 20 years of HE experience across education, research, knowledge exchange and senior leadership.
A multilingual cultural historian and social scientist, Professor Finkelstein is currently Interim Head of the Departments of Economics and Psychology at Heriot-Watt University. He has previously held senior positions at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Dundee.
Professor Judith Petts CBE, Vice-Chancellor, said:
“I am delighted to announce that we have appointed Professor David Finkelstein to be the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business. This is an appointment that will enable us to build on our existing strengths and maximise the opportunities afforded by a faculty newly expanded to include the Plymouth Business School.”
At Edinburgh, where he was Head of the Centre for Open Learning, Professor Finkelstein brought together education, research and knowledge exchange activities. At Dundee, he was Dean of the School of Humanities, and he has held visiting fellowships at Trinity College Dublin, Oxford Brookes University and Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. He is currently a visiting professor of the Research Institute for Media Art and Performance at the University of Bedfordshire.
Professor Finkelstein has published more than 70 books, essays and journal articles on topics across the arts, humanities and cultural history, and he is an experienced media commentator, having worked with national broadcast, web and print media.
“It is great to be joining Plymouth at this important juncture in its history,”
Professor Finkelstein said.
“What is particularly exciting for me is the way the faculty encompasses so many of the disciplines I have had the pleasure of working within over the past 20 years. It is such a delight to be joining colleagues from disciplines and subject areas covering such a range of human creativity, culture, social endeavour and business enterprise. I look forward to supporting them, the faculty and the University of Plymouth in our shared goal of research, teaching and engagement excellence.”