New Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research and Global Engagement appointed at University of Sunderland

With nearly 25 years in the higher education sector, Professor Crotty joins Sunderland from Edge Hill University, where for the last five years, she has been Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange and Professor of Management. 

Prior to this, Professor Crotty was Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Aberystwyth University and Head of Department at Salford Law School.

Professor Crotty brings a vast range of knowledge and experience across research, knowledge exchange and international partnerships.

She said: “The University of Sunderland has already built a strong reputation for world leading and internationally recognised research. 

“I am really looking forward to building and enhancing that research in terms of scope and reach as the University prepares for REF29. The international reach of Sunderland is also very impressive and offers some exciting opportunities to combine and grow teaching, research and knowledge exchange in innovative ways.”

Sir David Bell, the University’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive commented: “I am delighted to welcome Professor Jo Crotty to Sunderland. She brings a wealth of experience from several different universities which speaks to her distinction as a researcher, teacher and academic leader.

“Jo is exactly the right person to take on this new role and I am sure that she will make an outstanding contribution to our work in the months and years ahead.”

Professor Crotty started her academic career as a PhD student at the University of Nottingham. After working for PWC in the former Soviet Union for three years, she completed her thesis on the impact of privatisation on environmental management within Russian manufacturing enterprises. 

Professor Crotty then moved on to Liverpool Management School, leading the new BA(Hons) Business Studies programme and, with British Academy funding, she extended the scope of her PhD findings to look at the impact of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and pressure groups in the Russian Federation on firm behaviour.

Taking up a post at Aston Business School, where she was programme leader for MSc International Business, she won Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding to look at corporate social responsibility and civil society development in the Russian Federation. This was a project that combined research on both profit and non-profit sectors. 

Appointed to a Chair at Salford Business School, she led the new Department of Strategy, People Management and Law; and then to Aberystwyth University as Dean of Faculty for Business and Law. In both roles, she led on significant increases in international recruitment, through innovative approaches to recruitment and curriculum design. 

In her current role, Professor Crotty was part of the team that delivered Edge Hill’s best ever REF result in 2021 – doubling Quality Research (QR) funding – and is institution lead for knowledge exchange. She continues to lead research projects funded by the British Academy and ESRC examining non-profit organisations’ response to COVID in the UK, and conflict in Ukraine.

Professor Crotty sits on the editorial board of Voluntary Sector Review and Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management Journal, in addition to being a member of the Universities UK (UUK) Knowledge Exchange Concordat Working Group. She is also a member of the executive team of the Public and Non-profit Division of the Academy of Management.

[source: https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/more/news/story/new-pro-vice-chancellor-of-research-and-global-engagement-2305]