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Dame Lynne Brindley DBE, Chief Executive of the British Library, appointed to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

  • John Denham, Secretary of State for Universities, Innovation and Skills, appoints Dame Lynne Brindley DBE to the AHRC Council
  • Council members are responsible for the overall strategic vision of the AHRC and for the key decisions about its research direction

Dame Lynne Brindley DBE, Chief Executive of the British Library, welcoming her appointment stated: "I am honoured to have been selected to sit on the AHRC Council. Supporting research in arts and humanities in the UK is vital for the development of a creative and innovative knowledge economy.

Supporting the changing needs of researchers is crucial if libraries are to remain relevant and I believe it will be more and more important to do this in an increasingly digital world. The British Library has a key role to play in providing researchers with the tools, resources and space to innovate, discover and learn."

For further information and interviews, please contact: Lawrence Christensen at the British Library Press Office, +44 (0)20 7412 7114, lawrence.christensen@bl.uk or Suvi Kankainen, +44 (0)20 7412 7105, suvi.kankainen@bl.uk

For further information about the AHRC please contact Emi Spinner, AHRC Communications Officer e.spinner@ahrc.ac.uk , +44 (0)117 9876 770

Notes for Editors

1. John Denham, the Secretary of State for Universities, Innovation and Skills, has appointed five members to the AHRC Council under the chairmanship of Sir Alan Wilson:

  • Dame Lynne Brindley DBE - Chief Executive of the British Library
  • Professor Roger Kain - Geography scholar
  • Professor Ellen Douglas-Cowie - Linguistics expert
  • John Howkins - ‘Creative Economy’ expert
  • Richard Halkett - the Executive Director of Policy & Research at NESTA

2. Biographies:

Dame Lynne Brindley DBE is the first woman to hold the prestigious post of Chief Executive of the British Library, which she’s done since July 2000. While in post, Lynne has championed a major strategic overhaul of the British Library ensuring the organisation continues to remain relevant, innovative and accessible in the 21st century. Prior to her role at the British Library, Lynne was Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leeds with which she continues to be involved as a visiting Professor speaking and writing on digital society, copyright and IP, knowledge management and innovation. Previously she was a senior consultant with KPMG and has held leadership positions in information technology and knowledge management at Aston University and at the London School of Economics.

Professor Roger Kain has been Montefiore Professor of Geography, University of Exeter since 1991 and Deputy Vice–Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer from 2002. He became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1990 and is currently the Academy's Treasurer and Vice-President, and was appointed CBE in 2005. At Exeter, Roger is responsible for the Schools of Arts, Languages and Literatures, and Humanities and Social Sciences.

Professor Ellen Douglas-Cowie is the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Queens University Belfast and Pro-Vice-Chancellor designate. A Linguistics expert, Ellen's range of topics includes spoken English, phonetics and sociolinguistics. Her research focuses on speech analysis including speech deterioration in post-lingual deafness and the identification and recognition of emotion from speech and face. She has written numerous journal articles, co-authored the title, 'Postlingually Acquired Deafness: Speech Deterioration and the Wider Consequences' and co-edited the special edition of Speech Communication on 'Speech and Emotion'.

Richard Halkett is currently the Executive Director of Policy & Research at NESTA, the UK's National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. There, he oversees a research agenda designed to enrich and strengthen innovation policy in the UK. In Autumn 2008, he joins Cisco (Systems) as Director of Strategy and Research in their Global Education Group. Prior to joining NESTA, Richard worked as the Assistant Director of Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. Previously, he worked for Lloyds TSB plc and as Chief Executive of Boxmind, the Oxford-based technology company. From 2003-2005, he was a UK-US Fulbright Scholar at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

John Howkins is an expert in creativity and innovation. His ideas on the subject were published in the book, 'The Creative Economy' in 2001. He is a Visiting Professor at Lincoln University, and Vice Dean and Visiting Professor, the Shanghai School of Creativity, Shanghai Theatre Academy, China. His published work includes 'Understanding Television', 'Communications in China', 'New Technologies, New Policies' and 'Four Global Scenarios for Information'. John is also Chairman of BOP Consultants and a Director of HandMade Films.

3. The AHRC Council is the governing body responsible for determining the strategy and policy of the AHRC. Members receive an honoraria of £6,740 per annum. Appointments are made in accordance with OCPA Code of Practice. These appointments have been made on the basis of merit. In accordance with Nolan recommendations there is a requirement for appointees' political activity to be made public. The appointees have not been involved in any relevant political activity in the last five years and do not hold any other ministerial appointments.

Arts and Humanities Research Council - Each year the AHRC provides approximately £100 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,000 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK. www.ahrc.ac.uk

4. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. www.bl.uk.