Deans of Academic Schools

• School of Applied Sciences
• School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering
• School of Art and Media
• School of Business and Law

• School of Education
• School of Humanities and Social Science
• School of Sport and Health Sciences

School of Applied Sciences

Dr Kirsty Smallbone
Dean of the School of Applied Sciences

Dr Kirsty Smallbone is Dean of the School of Applied Sciences. Her current research focuses on air quality management and health. She is part of a Pan-European air quality initiative, to examine the distribution of ultrafine particulates and how this affects people’s health. She is also investigating the perceptions of, and access to, environmental information as well as people’s perceptions of using rural spaces for recreation. Kirsty is a member of the university’s Sustainable Development Working Group.

Kirsty’s research helps to inform her teaching. She is a course leader for the MSc Environmental Assessment and Management degree programme and an Admissions Tutor for undergraduate Geography Division courses.

Her consultancy work includes assessing the effectiveness of directly delivered air quality information to those with respiratory illnesses in Sussex, Luton and Bedfordshire. She is a member of CSAS, a subgroup of the Committee of the Medical Effects of Air Pollution and a technical advisor to the Sussex Air Quality Steering Group.

More about Kirsty Smallbone
Contact: k.smallbone@brighton.ac.uk
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School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering

Professor Mohammed Arif
Dean of the School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering

Professor Mohammed Arif graduated in Engineering (Mechanical) from Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, then received a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida. He started his career at Walt Disney World in Orlando, where his work included roller coaster design and commissioning.

He moved into academia in 2002, initially holding positions in the US and UAE. In the UK, he spent a decade at the University of Salford, before joining the University of Wolverhampton, where he was Head of School for School of Architecture and Built Environment. At Wolverhampton, Professor Arif was academic lead for the £14.9m National Brownfield Institute project, and also helped establish the Brownfield Research and Innovation Centre and Construction Futures Research Centre.

Professor Arif's main areas of research at Brighton focus on Offsite and Green Construction, and he has led the development of a global roadmap for offsite construction, which has formed the basis of research and practice worldwide. His commitment to green construction and development of brownfield sites involves regular engagement with a wide range of global committees, and he continues to work with a range of companies in the field.

More about Professor Mohammed Arif
Contact: m.arif@brighton.ac.uk
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School of Art and Media

Professor Tamar Jeffers McDonald
Dean of the School of Art and Media

Tamar joined the university on 1 October 2021 as the new Dean of the School of Art and Media and Professor of Film History. She was previously the Head of the School of Arts at the University of Kent and brings a wealth of leadership experience to drive the future development of the School of Art and Media.

More about Professor Tamar Jeffers McDonald
Contact t.jeffersmcdonald@brighton.ac.uk
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School of Business and Law

Professor Toni Hilton
Dean of the School of Business and Law

Professor Toni Hilton is the Dean of the School of Business and Law. She gained her PhD at Nottingham University and spent 10 years working in the private sector in a variety of marketing roles, including as European Marketing Director at Fisher-Price Toys. She was Dean of Glasgow School for Business and Society at Glasgow Caledonian University and previously headed the business schools at Regent’s University London, Westminster University and Unitec in Auckland, New Zealand. She was also Head of the School of Marketing at Bristol Business School where she later became a Visiting Fellow.

More about Professor Toni Hilton
Contact: t.hilton2@brighton.ac.uk
More about the School of Business and Law

School of Education

Dr Cathy Gower
Dean of the School of Education

Dr Cathy Gower is the Dean of the School of Education. She originally qualified as a teacher of secondary physical education (PE) and English and worked in two schools in west London before joining Brunel University London in 1997, initially as a physical education teacher educator. Cathy went on to hold various leadership positions in the Department of Education at Brunel, including Director of Teaching and Learning, Director of Initial Teacher Education and then Head of Department.

She has taught students at all levels and across different areas of provision in education and is passionate about ensuring students are challenged and inspired by their experiences in higher education. Cathy’s research interests are in teacher education pedagogy and policy and recent research has explored how narratives and video analysis techniques can be used to support the concept of noticing as part of professional learning for teachers and educational leaders.

She has presented her research at international conferences, has been a co-investigator on an EU funded project on mentoring (MenSi) and has led professional development workshops for teachers and fellow teacher educators. Cathy has also supervised doctoral researchers on both the professional doctorate route and those studying for their PhD.

More about Dr Cathy Gower
Contact: c.p.gower@brighton.ac.uk
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School of Humanities and Social Science

Professor Stephen Maddison
Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science

Professor Stephen Maddison is Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science. He joined the university in January 2019 from the University of East London where he was Professor of Cultural Studies and Director of Research for the College of Arts, Technology and Innovation. He gained his doctorate from the University of Sussex, where he taught for some years, before moving on to UEL where he undertook a variety of roles, including Head of Humanities and Creative Industries.

Stephen is co-director of CityLife, a life writing research project, and was a co-director of the Centre for Cultural Studies Research for many years. He is a co-editor of the book series Radical Cultural Studies for Rowman and Littlefield International, and a member of the editorial board of the journal Porn Studies.

His research on queer studies, pornography, embodiment and cultural politics has appeared in major international journals and collections. He is the author of Fags, Hags and Queer Sisters: Gender Dissent and Heterosocial Bonds in Gay Culture (Macmillan and St. Martin’s Press, 2000), and recently co-edited the collection Affect and Social Media: Emotion, Mediation, Anxiety and Contagion (RLI 2018).

More about Professor Stephen Maddison
Contact: s.c.maddison@brighton.ac.uk
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School of Sport and Health Sciences

Dr Angela Glynn
Dean of the School of Sport and Health Sciences

Angela joined the University of Brighton as a Lecturer Practitioner in 2002 and took a full-time post in 2003. She has excelled in a number of important roles including BSc(Hons) Physiotherapy course leader and Physiotherapy team lead; MRes Clinical Research course leader; Assistant Head School of Health Professions; Deputy Head of School of Health Sciences leading on student experience, quality and learning and teaching; and Chair of Apprenticeship Approval Panel. She was appointed Dean of the School of Sports and Health Sciences in October 2021.

More about Dr Angela Glynn
Contact: a.glynn@brighton.ac.uk
More about the School of Sport and Health Sciences