The Royal College of Art has announced the appointment of Professor Paul Anderson as Dean of the School of Design.
Professor Anderson received his MA in Industrial Design from the Royal College of Art in 1986 before working for consultancy firms in London and developing his own practice. He succeeds Professor Dale Harrow, recently announced as Director of the RCA’s new Intelligent Mobility Design Centre and inaugural Chair in Intelligent Mobility.
Professor Anderson has extensive experience in higher education at an executive leadership level. Joining Glasgow School of Art in 1993, in 1997 he was responsible for the creation of the Digital Design Studio (DDS), which became the focus for postgraduate design research at Glasgow School of Art and resulted in a multidisciplinary, unified approach to postgraduate academic teaching, pure research and commercial activity. Director of DDS until July 2016, Professor Anderson has an international profile in leading-edge research into fundamental human computer interface issues associated with 3D interfaces, haptics, 3D sound and gesture-based interaction supporting real-time 3D visualisation.
Professor Anderson has served as an on-call consultant to government agencies, and is an active member of SPIE and ACM SIGGRAPH. Cultural and academic affiliations include Fellowships of the Royal Society of for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and the Royal Geographical Society.
Rector of the Royal College of Art Dr Paul Thompson said: 'This is a very exciting time for the College, and I am delighted that Paul is joining the senior team. Having developed a thriving research centre at Glasgow School of Art, he brings to this role significant research credibility, both academically and with external partners. Paul’s vision for the School of Design will nourish it in new ways and take it in new directions.'
Professor Naren Barfield, Pro-Rector, added: 'As a senior academic and research leader with a track record of success and strong industrial experience in high-end technical product design, Paul’s appointment as Dean of the School of Design is excellent news. Under his leadership, I am confident that the exciting opportunities for new design models to develop here at the College, and for current programmes to thrive, will be successfully achieved.'
Paul Anderson said: 'I find the College’s appetite to embrace the STEM to STEAM agenda very exciting indeed, and I look forward to forging new connections with RCA colleagues and with the wider RCA community. The way that we approach design has changed dramatically over the last two decades: we no longer limit the discipline to purely object-orientated activities. System, experience, and service offering are now an integral part of the discipline, and the RCA is in prime position to continue to deliver world-leading design teaching and research.'
This appointment marks the conclusion of an international search.
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For more information, images or to arrange an interview with Professor Anderson, please contact: Bethany Bull, Communications & Marketing Officer, Royal College of Art T + 44 (0)20 7590 4114 E [email protected]
Notes to Editors
The Royal College of Art is the world’s leading university of art and design, ranking #1 in the QS World University subject rankings. It specialises in teaching and research, offering the degrees of MA, MRes, MPhil and PhD across the disciplines of fine art, applied art, design, communications and humanities. The College has over 1,700 masters and doctoral students supported by more than 200 professionals interacting with them – scholars and leading art and design practitioners – along with over 800 specialists, academic advisors and distinguished visitors.