Professor Malcolm MacLeod BSc, PhD, FRSA, FBPsS

Professor Malcolm MacLeod is Senior Deputy Principal. He joined the University of Stirling in January 2015. Prior to this, he held a number of senior positions at the University of St Andrews including Dean of the Faculty of Science, Provost of St Leonard’s College, and Vice Principal for Internationalisation and External Relations.

Professor MacLeod is a Chartered Psychologist and holds a Chair in Experimental Psychology in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Commerce, an elected Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research focuses on the executive control of memory and particularly the relationship between remembering and forgetting. His research has attracted funding from the ESRC, The British Academy, and The Royal Society of Edinburgh. He also has interests in the civic responsibility of universities, their role in enterprise and entrepreneurship, and as drivers of regional economic growth. 

He is the academic lead for the University on the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Regional Deal projects which include a new Institute for Aquaculture and Global Food Security, and Scotland’s International Centre for the Environment. Professor MacLeod has primary responsibility for the performance of academic departments, and also leads on all aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion across the University. He is also the institutional lead on corporate sustainability.

He has built up strong connections across the higher education sector, Scottish and UK Governments, business and industry. Professor MacLeod is currently a member of the Scottish Land Commission’s Leadership Taskforce on Derelict and Unused Land, and a board member and trustee of various other companies, organisations and trusts. He is also a core member of the Clackmannanshire Commission that is tasked to stimulate employment and improve the quality of life for those who live in the region. He has also served as Chairman of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland, and MAST-S (2015-2019), and was a member of the Scottish Government’s influential review on postgraduate taught funding.

Responsibilities

Professor MacLeod’s remit as Senior Deputy Principal includes:

• deputising for the Principal as required
• ensuring appropriate academic engagement and representation in relation to service delivery priorities
• academic lead in operational planning and operational resource management process
• academic lead regarding institutional strategy on public engagement, internal and external communications and public affairs
• academic lead on academic staffing policy, operational staffing issues, and equality and diversity
• academic lead on institutional strategy on corporate sustainability, well-being and resilience
• enterprise and entrepreneurship
• management of the Deans of Faculty