University College Falmouth confers professorships

University College Falmouth has conferred professorships on three distinguished members of its academic community - Alan Male (Illustration), Jason Whittaker (Journalism) and David Williams (Theatre).

Professor Male is an international authority on illustration and his most recent book - Illustration: A Theoretical and Contextual Perspective (AVA Academia, 2007) - has been critically acclaimed; translated into 30 languages; and is the acknowledged textbook for students of visual communication.

A recipient of a number of international awards, Professor Male's professional practice focuses on the interpretation of scientific research that has never before been visualised.

Professor Male has also illustrated more than 30 complete books during his career and has been instrumental in turning the BA(Hons) Illustration degree at University College Falmouth into one of the most respected in the country.

"Illustration is the dominant discipline for visual communication and is intrinsic in furthering the understanding of any given field of enquiry," said Professor Male. "To that end, my ambition is to establish a research culture for illustration as we progress towards Arts University Cornwall, through the awarding of research degrees in the subject."

Professor Whittaker is an acknowledged expert on William Blake. He has authored William Blake and the Myths of Britain (Palgrave, 1999); Radical Blake: Influence and Afterlife from 1827 (with Shirley Dent, 2002); Blake, Modernity and Popular Culture (with Steve Clark, Palgrave, 2007), and many articles about Blake's influence on contemporary writers, artists, filmmakers and musicians.

Professor Whittaker has also published extensively on new media and print cultures. Recent publications include Producing for Web 2.0 (Routledge, 2009), Magazine Production (Routledge 2008) and The Cyberspace Handbook (Routledge, 2004).

It is for his work on Blake, however, that Professor Whittaker has had the most significant influence, particularly in extending understanding around the reception of Blake's work in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. His current research projects include exploring the relations between Blake, the Cornish potter, Bernard Leach, and Japanese philosopher and founder of the mingei (folk art) movement, Soetsu Yanagi, as well as a projected book and forthcoming papers on the hymn, Jerusalem in the 20th century.

"The more I research William Blake, the more I discover his influence on a wide range of contemporary figures," explained Professor Whittaker. "I am very honoured to receive this accolade for a subject that I feel so inspired by."

Professor Williams is highly respected for both his academic writing and his performance projects, with an extensive and internationally recognised body of work behind him. In recent years, he has come to prominence for his scholarly activity in the areas of performance and live art, and is regarded as an international performance studies specialist.

Professor Williams is one of the world's leading authorities on the work of Peter Brook. On graduation in the early 1980s, he went to work with Brook in Paris, following the company on its world tours. From these experiences, he published the first scholarly accounts of Brook's work with his international company and, in so doing, helped establish an academic template for documenting the work of a theatre practitioner. Further to his work on Brook, he has had a considerable impact on the understanding of contemporary French theatre in the UK.

'This reflects the dynamic and innovative qualities of performance research at our Dartington Campus. It is a tribute to my colleagues' intellectual and creative energies over the past 7 years or so, and to their successes in the recent Research Assessment Exercise'.

"The conferment of these professorships is in recognition of the significant academic achievements and international standing of Professor Male, Professor Whittaker and Professor Williams, and they are to be warmly congratulated," commented UCF's Rector, Professor Alan Livingston. "This public declaration of academic excellence sends out a clear signal that we reward staff who enhance the institution's international reputation and emphasises our determination to create a vibrant research culture as we progress towards Arts University Cornwall in 2012."

Professor Male, Professor Whittaker and Professor Williams will deliver inaugural professorial lectures in the coming months. Details will be posted to the events page of the College's website as soon as confirmed.

For further information about University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 213730.

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name. It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing. The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2012 that will be unique to the South West.

The College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union, the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall County Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792; or email: jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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