Profile

Portfolio

I am Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and have responsibility for all aspects of the University's policy and strategy on research including research postgraduates.

Along with the University Research Committee which I chair, I have responsibility for the development and implementation of the University’s Research Strategy. I have overall responsibility for trying to ensure that the University maintains its ability to undertake excellent innovative research which tackles problems that are both important and challenging.

Together with Hilary Layton, I ‘champion’ the internationalisation strand in the new University Plan.

Biography in brief

I am a Professor of Phonetics and Linguistics. I originally trained as a teacher of Music and English and after a short period teaching in a secondary school in the North East of England, I took a first degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. This was followed by a PhD on phonetic variation in Tyneside children's speech.

Since joining the faculty at York my research and teaching has centred on the organisation of sound systems in languages, speech synthesis and especially the phonetics of talk-in-interaction. My work on how speakers use fine phonetic detail to construct meaning in conversational interaction, led to the award of a British Academy Readership in 2000 and was the cornerstone of a recent major EU Marie Curie Research Training Network with collaborating researchers in 20 institutions across Europe.

I have been a Head of Department, Academic Coordinator for the Arts & Humanities and have served on a range of university committees including chairing the University Working Group which reviewed undergraduate and postgraduate modularisation.

Beyond the university I have collaborated with industrial partners in the UK and the US and have served on various research council panels and Committees. In 2008 I was Chair of the Linguistics sub-panel for the national Research Assessment Exercise.

Roles and responsibilities

What is your day job?

No two days are the same, though most involve a mixture of meetings and discussions with academics, and colleagues in Research and Enterprise, Planning and Finance to develop and implement policy, facilitate new research initiatives and respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing external research environment.

I also try to continue my research and am currently writing a book on Phonetics, Meaning and Talk-in-interaction with a colleague from the University of Sheffield.

Role on SMG

I represent my Research portfolio, and my remit as a champion for internationalisation as well as engaging with a wide range of institutional strategic issues. I try to make sure that we don’t lose sight of the daily challenges faced by academics trying to balance the competing demands of research and teaching.

Other responsibilities

With the Director of Internationalisation, I take a lead in developing and promoting the University’s Internationalisation strategy and chair the International Steering Group.

I sit on the 1994 Group Research and Enterprise Policy Group and on the White Rose Consortium PVC Research Enterprise Group. I am the University’s representative on the Academic Advisory Group for the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) and academic chair the WUN Global Challenge ‘Understanding Cultures’.

About me

What makes me tick?

Having fun working with bright, enthusiastic colleagues who want to make a difference, challenge received ideas and improve what we do and how we do it.

My research: trying to understand how speakers and listeners use phonetic detail in shaping and interpreting talk in everyday interaction.

My vision for the University

I want the research undertaken at the University of York to be of the highest quality and value to society, and for the University to be seen as one of the best places for researchers worldwide to work, tackling problems that are both important and challenging.

I also want us to have fun while doing it.

Register of interests

• None