Professor Simone Buitendijk appointed as interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost

Professor Buitendijk brings with her an impressive academic background having recently led the University of Leeds as Vice-Chancellor, and prior to that served four years as Vice-Provost (Education) at Imperial College. Professor Buitendijk has also held a senior leadership role as Vice-Rector (Education) at Leiden University in the Netherlands, has been a Chair in Maternal and Child Health at both Imperial College and Leiden University, and held a Chair as Professor of Midwifery Studies at the University of Amsterdam Medical Centre. She presently holds an extraordinary Chair at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria.

Commenting on Professor Buitendijk’s appointment, Vice-Chancellor Professor Nic Beech commented, “Simone brings with her specific and valuable experience in delivering education that is interactive and student-centred; fostering cross-institutional research engagement and compassionate leadership that has championed equity, diversity, and inclusion with a specific emphasis on supporting women leaders and leaders from minoritised backgrounds within academia.”

Commenting on her appointment Professor Buitendijk said, “I am really looking forward to joining the Salford community. Everything I have seen and heard about the University has demonstrated that it is going from strength to strength, it is ambitious for its future and defining its role as an innovative university through an outstanding student experience, deep and lasting partnerships and its world-changing research.”