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Shearer West will be the next vice-chancellor of the University of Nottingham, becoming the first woman to hold the post.

Professor West, currently provost and deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield, will take up her new role in October, following the retirement of Sir David Greenaway, who has led Nottingham since 2008.

She will be Nottingham¡¯s seventh vice-chancellor.

Professor West said that she was ¡°honoured¡± to be appointed Nottingham¡¯s vice-chancellor.

¡°I am a sincere admirer of the wonderful work that Nottingham has undertaken across its faculties in the UK and overseas,¡± she said. ¡°It will be a privilege to work with a highly regarded international community of scholars and students, and I look forward to taking up this role at a time of both challenge and opportunity for universities.¡±

Professor West took an undergraduate degree in art history and English at the College of William & Mary, in Virginia, and a PhD in art history at the University of St Andrews.

She then held posts at the University of Birmingham, including as head of the history of art department, before being appointed director of research at the Arts and Humanities Research Council in 2000, and head of the humanities division at the University of Oxford in 2011. She moved to Sheffield in 2015.

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com