Source: Mim Saxl

The former vice-chancellor of the University of Essex from 1995 to 2007, Sir Ivor has played a number of leading roles within British academic life.

He was founding director of its Institute of Social and Economic Research and, from 2003 to 2005, president of Universities UK.

A forthright commentator on higher education, he has also published and broadcast extensively on even more central aspects of British political life, notably elections, parties and public opinion.

In 2013, he published with Anthony King The Blunders of our Governments, a wide-ranging analysis of major failures in domestic public policy.?

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Sir Ivor will become president of the national organisation of academics, learned societies and practitioners - whose mission is to promote the public benefit of the social sciences in the UK - on 1 January. He takes over from Sir Howard Newby, vice-chancellor of the University of Liverpool.

Initially appointed for three years, though this could be extended to three more, Sir Ivor will represent the academy at public meetings and events.

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He was praised by Cary Cooper, chair of the Academy, as ¡°a highly esteemed researcher, communicator, innovator and administrator, [who] will be an enormous credit to our organisation¡±.?

The Academy comprises more than 900 individual academicians ¨C awarded the title for services to social science ¨C and 46 learned societies, representing nearly 90,000 social scientists in all. It launched the Campaign for Social Science in 2011.

matthew.reisz@tsleducation.com