The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) have announced a university first with the joint appointment of two associate professors as co-deans of Agricultural Science and Practice.
Dr. Cassie Newland and Dr. Karen Rial Lovera will be the first females to be honoured with the position since the RAU was founded in 1845, taking over from their successor who departed the office at the end of 2024.
They had originally took over the position temporarily, pending the recruitment of a permanent replacement, before both agreeing to take over the role for the foreseeable.
Dr. Newland said: “Karen and I initially took on the role as an interim measure and we split the role between staff facing and student facing responsibilities.
“We shared an office so we could easily keep each other in the loop and we found it was a really good way of working.
“We enjoyed it so much that, when the RAU advertised to recruit a permanent dean, we approached HR with a job-share suggestion.
“The few months we had spent in the interim role had worked so well – for both us and the university – that the RAU was happy that a job share was not only possible but highly desirable and we were encouraged to apply.”
Co-deans
The pair, who were both existing lecturers at the university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, underwent several rounds of interviews, some individually and some together, before being offered the permanent position.
Lovera, who, at aged 35, is also the youngest Dean the University has ever had, is an RAU alumnus, having completed her PhD at the RAU. She added:
“Having this shared role really appealed to us both as it meant that we could each have a great balance between our research and teaching responsibilities, while also having the opportunity to take on a senior management role. This is an exciting time at the RAU.
“Our Agricultural Science and Practice team is in a unique position, with extensive agricultural, environmental, and equine networks, national and international partnerships, and a focus on applied research, and I look forward to further developing these strengths to maximise our impact.
“I want to continue to enhance learning, teaching, and the overall student experience at the RAU, as well as ensuring our programmes remain cutting-edge, research-informed, and designed to equip students with the skills needed to pursue impactful careers.”
In their new positions as co-deans, the lecturers will work alongside Prof. Duncan Westbury, the university’s existing dean of Land and Property Management.
All three will work closely with Prof. David Main, the RAU’s pro vice-chancellor for Academic Planning and Resources, who heads up teaching at the Cirencester-based university.
“I am delighted that Karen and Cassie have secured the co-dean position. Job sharing such a senior management role is an excellent way for Karen and Cassie to maintain their research interests alongside management responsibilities.
“Cassie and Karen have obvious leadership skills that we value and it’s great they can act as a role model for our aspiring academics who want to juggle academic and leadership roles,” Main said.
Speaking about the advantages of their joint venture, Associate Prof. of Cultural Heritage, Newland added:
“It works really well. Karen and I can easily cover for each other to manage holidays, and other outside commitments, and we can, quite literally, be in two places at once if we have a meeting clash.
“One big advantage of sharing the role is that we can both keep up our own research and much-valued teaching activities in a way that would be much more difficult if the dean responsibilities were full time.”
The co-deans have committed to deliver a “great student experience” at the RAU during their reign, and have also endeavored to continue to support the research and teaching careers of their colleagues.
“We want to deliver a great student experience at the RAU and support our colleagues’ research and teaching careers.
“Expanding our transnational education offer is high on our agenda and we are currently training the next generation of sustainable agriculture students in our partner institutions in China, the UAE, and Uzbekistan.
“We are also keen to generate new knowledge through the RAU’s world-leading research, and to share this as impactfully as possible, whether this be through policy development, industry-facing CPD courses, or Knowledge Exchange events.
“With sustainable food and agriculture so important for all our futures, this new role feels like quite a big and exciting responsibility,” Newland said.
