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Vice-Chancellor to head Rockefeller Foundation

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The University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gordon Conway has been appointed President of the US Rockefeller Foundation, based in New York and will leave the University in March 1998

Professor Conway who has been Vice-Chancellor of Sussex since 1992, will be the first non-American to lead the Foundation. Before coming here he was the Ford Foundation representative for India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. He is a world renowned agricultural ecologist who has worked and lived in numerous countries, including India, Malaysia and Thailand. For twelve years he was an administrator, director and professor at Imperial College where he developed an interdisciplinary centre for environmental education. He is currently Chair of the Runneymede Trust's commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia which is due to report in late October and his book The Doubly Green Revolution: food for all in the 2lst century will be published by Penguin Books in November.

The Rockefeller Foundation, endowed in 1913 by John D Rockefeller, is one of the oldest philanthropic foundations in the USA. Currently the value of its endowment is nearly $3 billion and it makes grants of about $210 millon a year. Unlike other American foundations, the majority of these grants are made to overseas institutions and individuals. It thus aspires to be a truly global foundation.

Dr Brian Manley, Chairman of the University Council, wrote to members of Council at the beginning of the week informing them of Professor Conway's intention to resign with effect from 3l March 1998. He has called a meeting of Council for Wednesday 22 October in order to establish a Search Committee to recommend to the Council a new appointee. It will also be asked to consider the appointment of an Acting Vice-Chancellor from l April 1998 until such a time as a successor to Professor Conway takes up this appointment.

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Friday October 10th 1997