Professor Debbie Keeling

The University is pleased to announce that Professor Debbie Keeling, from the University of Sussex Business School, has been appointed as Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Knowledge Exchange.

The duties of the Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor will be combined 50/50 with Professor Keeling’s academic role within the Business School. The multifaceted role will involve strategic oversight of the University’s participation in the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF); developing relations with external stakeholders; and working to enhance the University’s research income.

Professor Keith Jones said: “Sussex is embarking on an exciting journey at the moment. At a time when we face such a complex external environment, it’s never been more important to take a strategic approach to our external engagement – while at the same time fostering excellence in research and scholarship across the University.

"Debbie is a uniquely talented academic who is perfectly suited to this key leadership position. I look forward to seeing her flourish within this critical role.”

Professor Keeling said: “I’m delighted to start this new role at a time when the University has a new academic vision and a commitment to invest in excellence. Recently, we signed the Knowledge Exchange Concordat, a foundation for raising future performance around impactful knowledge exchange, which we’re really focused on. The recently published KEF results provide us with a good baseline from which to develop opportunities for meaningful collaborations.

“We’re internationally minded, but we also believe in strong local and regional ties. We innovate with external partners to find solutions to their challenges, and the past year has been a true test of that. I look forward to helping spread the word of just what an outstanding centre of learning, research, scholarship and enterprise Sussex is – and will be for generations to come.”

In her new role Professor Keeling will report to Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, Professor Keith Jones, and she will join the University Leadership Team (ULT).

About Professor Keeling

Professor Keeling is currently Associate Dean of Engagement and Professor of Marketing in the University of Sussex Business School. She is also the Director of the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account for the University of Sussex.

She was previously a faculty member within the School of Business and Economics at Loughborough University and within Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester. Prior to this she ran her own successful research company.

With a background in psychology, Professor Keeling now has more than 25 years’ experience of research in health and social care, market-facing technologies and, more recently, in enablement in B2B channels.

Professor Keeling is Regional Editor (EMEA) for the European Journal of Marketing. She also serves on the Editorial Review Boards of Psychology and Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and the Advisory Board of Emerald Open Research.

She has authored more than 100 scientific papers, public and private reports and chapters and regularly speaks at national and international events, including Practice-Based Leadership Forums in the UK, USA and Australia.