PROFESSOR Mike Saks has officially taken up his role as provost of University Campus Suffolk (UCS).

The provost is the chief executive of the organisation, which is overseen by a board chaired by the vice-chancellors of the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia.

Prof Saks joins UCS from the University of Lincoln where he was senior pro vice-chancellor. He was at Lincoln for eight years and during his time there was responsible for a number of areas, in addition to his wide-ranging subject oversight. These include research, commercial partnerships, marketing and recruitment, teaching and learning, learning resources, academic quality, the student experience, industrial relations, health and safety, and international strategy.

There are clear similarities between the University of Lincoln and UCS. It is also a new institution, founded in 2001, and has quickly developed a high reputation in the sector – with a rapidly improving league table position.

It has also helped to transform the local community socially and economically, creating more than 3,000 jobs and generating some �250million per annum for the local economy.

Prof Saks is committed to the core values of UCS in widening participation, raising local educational aspirations and increasing student employability.

He is well known in the university sector, with a distinguished research and publication record on health and social care and the professions. He is the author of a dozen academic books and is regularly invited to be a keynote speaker at high-profile international conferences.

Professor Saks said: “UCS has great potential and has developed rapidly since its formation in 2007.

“Working with partners, it is already making an important contribution in Suffolk and beyond, in a range of areas from widening participation to enterprise development.

“I hope to use my experience in liaison with colleagues to enhance the role and profile of UCS.”