The university is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Nigel Watson as Senior College Principal. This is a new role within the university, with the Senior College Principal working collaboratively with all College Principals.

Nigel Watson became the 11^th Principal of Pendle College in May 2018, having previously been the Assistant Senior Advisor, Vice Principal and Acting Principal. He is a Senior Lecturer in LEC, with teaching and research interests in integrated environmental governance and management. Nigel was a member of the interdisciplinary team awarded an ESRC Outstanding Impacts in Public Policy prize in 2013 for their work on flood recovery. He was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oregon in 2014, and the Royal Bank of Canada Visiting Professor at the Water Institute, University of Waterloo in 2014 and 2018.

A Senior Fellow of the HEA, Nigel completed the Bonington Leadership Programme in 2015. He has also served as the Independent Chair of the River Ribble Catchment Management Board since 2012.

Commenting on his new role as Senior College Principal, Nigel said:

“The group of nine colleges is a tremendous asset at Lancaster. Staff and members of the JCRs and SCRs work hard to ensure all of our students have positive and transformative learning experiences, and leave feeling fully prepared for graduate careers and life after university.”

“At the same time, the colleges have much more to offer. By coordinating our actions and working in a joined-up manner with colleagues in the SU, in SBS, in the faculties and departments, and in other key divisions such as Facilities and Commercial Services, we can create an even stronger and more distinctive student experience. This new leadership role is a great opportunity. I am really looking forward to building our collaborative capacity and to supporting the College Principals and our colleagues so that Lancaster can continue to provide an outstanding student experience, and make big strides towards becoming a global ‘go-to’ university.”

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development), Steve Decent, said:

“I am delighted that Nigel will take on this important role as Senior College Principal. Lancaster’s colleges provide an extremely valuable contribution to our university, especially for the student experience, and are a distinguishing feature of our university. Nigel will work collaboratively across a talented student and staff leadership team in the colleges. I am confident that our colleges will continue to excel.”