Professor Sir Roy Anderson will succeed Richard Sykes in summer 2008.

Matt Brown

Sir Roy Anderson. Source.

Sir Richard Sykes is stepping down after seven years as Rector of Imperial College. His replacement, Sir Roy Anderson, has held the chair in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial since 2000. He is currently on secondment from the College, serving as Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Ministry of Defence, and will return to Imperial next year.

The appointment follows a year and a half long search for a successor to Sykes. The Committee was headed by Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, who paid tribute to Anderson. "He is Imperial through and through, and I am delighted that he has agreed to take the top job and will lead Imperial through the first years of its second century.”

Today’s announcement comes during Imperial’s centenary year, as it prepares to withdraw from the University of London next month.

Anderson spoke of his special affinity for Imperial, and highlighted the work of the current Rector. "Sir Richard Sykes has done an extraordinary job for Imperial College and the College is fitter than it has ever been,” he said. “I look forward to working with all my outstanding colleagues and our exceptional students so that we make the most of the great opportunities that lie ahead for science, engineering and medicine in the service of society.”

Anderson’s credentials for the role include a 40 year association with the college. He achieved a First-class Honours Degree in Zoology at Imperial in 1968, followed by a PhD in parasitology in 1971. He has also served as head of the Department of Biology, and founded the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in 2000.

Anderson will be Imperial’s 14th Rector since Henry Bovey in 1908.