Professor Paul Bartholomew appointed vice chancellor of Ulster University

By Rebecca Black

Professor Paul Bartholomew has been appointed as the vice chancellor at Ulster University.

He has been acting as interim vice chancellor since February following the departure of his predecessor Paddy Nixon who left to take up a position at the University of Canberra in Australia.

The university has around 27,000 students and 2,700 staff across four campuses in Belfast, Coleraine, Jordanstown and Londonderry.

Prof Nixon received a salary of £264,000 to lead the university.

Chairwoman of Council at the university, Jenny Pyper said Prof Bartholomew has been providing “strong, clear and progressive leadership” in recent months.

“With the recent news that our graduate entry medical school at the Magee campus will welcome its first students in September 2021 and the Belfast campus currently also on track for a September 2021 opening, this is an exciting time,” she said.

Ulster University Magee Campus

Prof Bartholomew said he feels “truly privileged” to lead the university.

“Our unique role and responsibility as a core economic engine to support individuals and communities right across Northern Ireland is something I know every colleague feels passionately about and I share that commitment,” he said.

“Never has Ulster’s vital and multi-faceted impact been more needed than at this unprecedented time.

“The natural pace of change has become much amplified over 2020 and we will meet these challenges with the commitment, profound expertise and collaborative spirit and that is so much part of Ulster’s strength and value.”

Prof Bartholomew previously worked in the NHS as a diagnostic radiographer before moving into Higher Education in 2001, and previously served as deputy vice-chancellor at Ulster.