Personal Chair Appointment
We are delighted to announce the promotion of Dr Richard Vidgen who has been appointed Professor of Information Systems in the School of Management. Richard has built his 13-year academic career on the foundation of 15 years of working in information systems development in industry. During his career he has been employed by a large US software firm, a high street bank, and has worked as a consultant.
Richard holds a first degree in Computer Science and Accounting, and an MSc in Accounting, both from the University of Manchester. In 1992 he left industry to join the University of Salford, where he completed a PhD in systems thinking and information system quality. His current research interests include systems theory, information system development methodologies, business process modelling, and e-commerce quality. He has published the books Data Modelling for Information Systems (1996) and Developing Web Information Systems (2002) as well as many book chapters and journal papers. Richard is a member of both the British Computer Society (MBCS) and the UK Academy of Information Systems.
Some of Richard’s recent research includes the development of: ‘eQual’ - an instrument which assesses the quality of e-commerce web sites using three criteria: usability, information quality, and service interaction quality; business process modelling to support business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce; and the application of complex adaptive systems theory in software development.
Commenting on the appointment, Professor Andrew Pettigrew, Dean of the School of Management, said:
“Richard deserves to be highly congratulated on this well-deserved promotion, we are lucky to have him in the School and I warmly welcome him to the Professoriate. Congratulations Richard.”
Notes to Editors
Professors are divided into two groups:
- those who apply for an 'established' post of Professor - usually from outside the University, but it could be an application from a current member of staff
- those who are promoted from within - these are known as 'Personal Chairs'.
When someone is appointed to a Personal Chair, or an established Chair, they use the title of Professor. Therefore, Professor is both a grade (the highest grade for academic staff) and a title.
In general, if a Professor moves on to another University it will be for another Professorial post. When a Professor retires, they may be (but are not always) given the title 'Emeritus Professor'.
7 January 2005
For further information / press enquiries, contact:
Tom Mitchell, Marketing Officer
School of Management
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath BA2 7AY
UK
Tel:+ 44 (0) 1225 386856
Fax: + 44 (0) 1225 383902
Email: pr@management.bath.ac.uk
General Notes For Editors:
The University of Bath School of Management has consistently achieved both top research and teaching ratings in the UK's Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) assessments. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), the School was rated 5th in the UK for management research.
We are one of a select number of international business schools accredited by EQUIS, the European Foundation for Management Development's quality inspectorate and the Bath MBA has been accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) since 1976. The School is consistently ranked among the top UK business schools by The Times, The Financial Times and The Guardian.
The centrality of research to teaching is an essential feature of all our programmes. The School offers a full range of programmes from undergraduate to postgraduate up to PhD level and post-experience programmes including the world-ranked Bath MBA. The School also provides tailored executive development programmes for middle and senior management.
The School of Management has a faculty of around 90 teaching and research staff, including visiting academics, with a support team of around 70 managerial and administrative staff. Research income averages £2 million per annum. There are approximately 2,100 students in total comprising some 200 MBA students, 370 Master’s students, 210 full- and part-time research students, and over 1100 undergraduates following BSc degrees. The School also runs joint undergraduate programmes with Departments in the Faculties of Engineering and Design, Science, and European Studies and Modern Languages.
