Our former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Sir Ian Diamond, has been appointed as the new head of the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, Sir Ian will succeed John Pullinger as the UK鈥檚 National Statistician on 22 October.
Commenting on the appointment, Professor Jane Falkingham, Dean of Social Sciences said:
鈥淪ir Ian鈥檚 appointment is fantastic news. Whilst at Southampton, he was instrumental in establishing both the Department of Social Statistics & Demography and our close partnership with ONS, which continues to this day. Ian is passionate about statistics and providing robust evidence to inform policy and practice that makes a difference for society, and I can think of no one better for the job.鈥�
Sir Ian鈥檚 previous appointments include Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council, Chair of the Research Councils UK Executive Group and Vice-Chancellor of the University Aberdeen. He is currently Chair of British Universities and Colleges Sport, Chair of the Council for Mathematical Sciences and a Board Member of UK Research and Innovation, and the UK Statistics Authority.
Sir Ian was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to social science and higher education.
