Vice-Chancellor
Professor Simone Buitendijk
MD, MPH, PhD
Simone Buitendijk is the thirteenth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, a major Russell Group University with a commitment to high quality education, a strong and dynamic research base and a track record of social, economic and cultural development. Before joining the University, she was Vice-Provost (Education) and Professor of Maternal and Child Health at Imperial College London.
Before her role at Imperial, Professor Buitendijk was Vice-Rector at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She was responsible there for education, student affairs and diversity; and played a major role in the overall strategic leadership and direction of the university as a member of a three-person leadership team.
She was previously head of a large research group in Paediatrics and Child Health at TNO Institute for Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and concurrently Professor of Maternal and Child Health at Leiden University Medical Centre and Professor of Midwifery Studies at the University of Amsterdam Medical Centre.
In addition to strengthening the links between education and research in her previous roles, Professor Buitendijk has led large change programmes, worked to further equality, diversity and inclusion and has extensive experience of driving the digital and online learning agenda.
She has a clear vision for how research and education should work in tandem in a global university with strong civic roots.
Among other responsibilities, Simone is the Chair of the University’s principal academic authority, the Senate, and of the University Executive Group.
Further reading
- COVID-19: an opportunity to rethink global cooperation in higher education and research (2020)
- Lectures’ days are numbered at Leeds as new VC takes charge – Times Higher Education (2020)
- Next Vice-Chancellor appointed to the University of Leeds (2020)
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Universities: The power of a systemic approach (2019)
- League of European Universities’ report Women, Research and Universities: Excellence without gender bias (2012)
Blog
- The importance of listening (January 2021)
- Compassion can change the world (December 2020)
- Stepping off the hamster wheel: how a limited perspective can obscure the essential (November 2020)
- Equality, diversity and inclusion: simple principles to start getting it right (November 2020)
- Three steps to coping with uncertainty (November 2020)
- COVID: we can’t fix everything, and that should be OK (October 2020)
- Hello from the Vice-Chancellor (September 2020)
Follow Simone Buitendijk on Twitter
Contact
vice-chancellor@leeds.ac.uk
Executive Assistant: Kat Freeman k.s.freeman@leeds.ac.uk
Executive Officer (Interim): Elaine O'Flynn e.o'flynn1@leeds.ac.uk