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Peter Fidler, who has been vice-chancellor of Sunderland for 15 years, will become president this September until January 2016, after which he will retire from the university.

According to a statement from the university, as president, ¡°Professor Fidler will give senior and strategic focus to the university¡¯s key strategic and civic partnerships, the international portfolio, its London Campus, and to high level ambassadorial work¡±.

Shirley Atkinson, currently Sunderland¡¯s deputy vice-chancellor, will become interim vice-chancellor when Professor Fidler steps down. The university will start looking for a permanent vice-chancellor in 2015 to take up the role at the beginning of 2016.

In the statement, Professor Fidler said that Sunderland was now a ¡°truly international university which provides huge economic value and impact to our City and region¡­in this context I am delighted to be asked to take up this new role of president¡±.

The chairman of Sunderland¡¯s board of governors, Paul Callaghan, said that the board ¡°has asked Peter to take the role of president to enable the university to develop our international and civic partnerships in line with our ambitious plans¡±.

¡°Peter¡¯s expertise, experience and reputation will continue to be a significant asset to our university.? He has great respect with our partners and with civic, business and education leaders, both at home and overseas,¡± he said. ¡°I am delighted to secure Peter¡¯s ongoing commitment to the university for this next exciting phase of our development.¡±

david.matthews@tsleducation.com