Prof Michael Arthur has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds since 2004.
Prof Arthur was formerly Professor of Medicine (1992), Head of the School of Medicine (1998-2001) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences in Southampton (2003-4). His speciality is hepatology and his main research interest is in liver cell biology, developed initially at the University of California, San Francisco (1986-1988) and more recently as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York (2002). He became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1998. He is a board member of Opera North and a trustee of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition.
Prof Arthur has a significant national and international profile. He is Chair of the NHS Advisory Group for National Specialised Services and a member of the Council of the Medical Research Council. He is a US/UK Fulbright Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Worldwide Universities Network. From 2009-12 he chaired the elite Russell Group of UK Universities.
Prof Arthur has recently been appointed as President and Provost of University College London (UCL) and will take up that post in Autumn 2013. On making this appointment Sir Stephen Wall, Chair of the UCL Council said “Michael Arthur impressed by his personal qualities, by his own record of professional and academic attainment and by his leadership and achievements at Leeds. He transformed Leeds University’s research and teaching, established healthy finances, put Leeds on the map as a Russell Group institution and developed a strong sense of community and commitment among academic and non-academic staff. He has a long record of engagement with the local community. He made Leeds a high performer in education, reflected in its ratings in the National Student Survey. He has not been afraid to take difficult decisions and to lead from the front but he also has a proven record of empowering others at all levels.”