Business School appointments strengthen research expertise – University of Reading
17 May 2004
The University's Business School continues to build upon its considerable research and training excellence with the appointment of two academics who are internationally renowned in their respective fields. Dr Philip Allmendinger will join the Department of Real Estate & Planning as Chair of Planning Studies in September, while Michael Ball has recently joined the School as part-time Professor of Urban and Property Economics. Dr Allmendinger is the author of many books and papers, and is primarily interested in the fields of planning theory, planning practice and regeneration. He will further strengthen Reading's research expertise in planning and development and contribute to the professional planning education programmes at the University. He joins Reading from the University of Aberdeen where he was Head of the Department of Land Economy. Professor Michael Ball is a leading economist specialising in housing and the built environment. He has published many books and articles in this area and undertaken much policy-relevant research. He contributed to the recent Barker Report on Housing and the Office of Fair Trading investigation into the activity of estate agents. He also conducts the influential Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' European Housing Review and has recently completed research on urban regeneration for the RICS and the Economic and Social Research Council. Professor Ball will work with the Centre for Real Estate Research and the Centre for Spatial and Real Estate Economics, further strengthening Reading's international reputation in property research. End For any media enquiries, please contact Craig Hillsley, the University's press officer, on (tel) 0118 378 7388 or (email) c.hillsley@reading.ac.uk Notes for editors The University of Reading Business School was established in 2001 and comprises Economics, Real Estate & Planning, Management and the ISMA Centre – The Business School for Financial Markets, a specialised finance school funded by the International Securities Marketing Association. The School undertakes research, teaching and consultancy across the full range of business related disciplines, including accounting, economics, finance, management, planning and real estate. Research in the School is based around 10 interdisciplinary research centres. The Business School is the largest academic unit in the University, responsible for around one in six of its students. There are some 1100 undergraduates and 1100 postgraduates, drawn from 100 countries.