Tony Downes to retire; Wing Lam appointed new UoRM Provost

Tuesday, 27 February 2018

Dr Wing Lam has been appointed as the new Provost and Chief Executive Officer of University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM), replacing Tony Downes, who will be retiring on 30 April 2018.

Wing brings diverse leadership experience in the areas of institution-building, transnational education and digital pedagogy – and was most recently the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of GlobalNxt University in Malaysia, part of the Manipal University Group.

Wing will join us once the contractual formalities have been completed, and plans to visit the UK before the end of this academic year to meet the Heads of School and other colleagues involved in our Malaysia campus.

Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell welcomed the appointment of Dr Wing Lam, and thanked Tony Downes for his work on Malaysia. “Tony has been the driving force behind the development of the University of Reading Malaysia from its inception almost a decade ago. His tireless work and commitment have provided the foundation on which we can build the next phase of our growth.

“More generally, Tony has been an outstanding servant to the University of Reading and has contributed a huge amount to our success. We wish him all the very best for a well-earned retirement.”

Dr Wing Lam

Dr Wing Lam is a former faculty member of the National University of Singapore, who led a successful consulting career with Accenture, International Computers Limited (now Fujitsu) and Logica, before moving into higher education. He has a PhD in Computer Science from Kings College, University of London and BSc in IT from Salford University, UK.

Prior to his official start with UoRM, he will be visiting the Iskandar campus to meet colleagues.

Vincenzo Raimo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) and Chair of the University’s company board in Malaysia, led the recruitment process for the new Provost. He said, “With his experience of the region and its education sector, Wing clearly has the credentials to help us grow our student numbers and the University’s presence and reputation in the region and beyond”.

Tony Downes

Tony Downes joined the University in 1990 as Reader in European Law at the School of Law, having previously been a lecturer at the University of Durham and Visiting Professor at the University of Iowa. He was an undergraduate at the University of Oxford, and studied as a postgraduate at the University of Aix-en-Provence before returning to Oxford to study for the BCL.

He has held senior posts with us including Head of the Law School (1994-1997), Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Social Sciences (1997-2000), Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (including two spells as Acting Vice-Chancellor).

As Deputy Vice-Chancellor, he had responsibility for planning and operational issues throughout the University - including managing the successful merger negotiations to create Henley Business School, which is now one of Europe's leading full-service business schools.