Professor Simon Ofield-Kerr to become Vice-Chancellor of Norwich University of the Arts

Norwich University of the Arts has appointed Simon Ofield-Kerr to succeed Professor John Last as Vice-Chancellor on his retirement in 2021.

Simon will join NUA in the spring from University of the Arts, London (UAL), where he has served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor since 2017.

Albert McMenemy, Chair of the NUA Council, said: “NUA is proud of its achievements over the past decade under John Last and his colleagues and we, the Council, are excited about the ambitions Simon Ofield-Kerr has for NUA’s future. Simon brings a wealth of senior management experience gained in several universities and we are delighted he is joining us to lead the university on the next stage of its development.”

Simon said:

“Only Norwich University of the Arts could have tempted me away from my current job. NUA is a remarkable institution and community, which has achieved so much over the past ten years and has positioned itself beautifully for the next phase of its ambition.

I am looking forward to getting to know my new colleagues, our partners in the city and to engaging with the challenges and opportunities of the region. NUA evidently has the potential to demonstrate that creative arts education is fundamental for imagining and creating a world in which ‘building back better’ has never been more important.”

Reflecting on his time at UAL, Simon said he was proud that diversity and its fundamental relationship with creativity had been made central to the university’s academic strategy, with the aim of eradicating awarding gaps.

He added: “I am also hugely proud of the UAL Institutes, which have coalesced strengths from across the UAL and publicly made a powerful case for the importance of creative pedagogy in addressing urgent global challenges.”