May 11, 2017

UOW welcomes new Executive Dean of Law, Humanities and the Arts

Professor Theo Farrell to bring outstanding record of scholarship and academic leadership to the role

Renowned war historian and international relations expert Professor Theo Farrell has been appointed Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Wollongong (UOW).

Professor Farrell joins from City, University of London, where he is Dean of Arts and Social Sciences and Professor of International Security. Previously, he was Head of the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where he was also for a decade the Professor of War in the Modern World.

UOW Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings, CBE, said Professor Farrell appointment would greatly enhance the University’s reputation for excellence and innovation in teaching and research.

“Professor Farrell has an outstanding record of academic leadership and an impressive body of work as a researcher. We are delighted that he will be joining UOW as the new Executive Dean of Law, Humanities and the Arts,” Professor Wellings said.

Professor Farrell is former President and Chair of the British International Studies Association. He has served on the boards of numerous trusts, academic journals, and associations, including the Governing Council of the International Studies Association. He also brings a wealth of experience chairing and serving on UK research council grant panels. Professor Farrell is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute.

“I am delighted to be joining a Faculty with so many research strengths and a truly outstanding track record in teaching and learning. I look forward greatly to working with colleagues at UOW to develop new areas of research and expand education provision in Law, Humanities and Arts,” Professor Farrell said.

Professor Farrell has held 10 UK research council awards, including a prestigious three-year Global Uncertainties Research Fellowship. In his leadership roles and own research, Professor Farrell has championed academic engagement with the worlds of policy and practice. Britain’s leading expert on the war in Afghanistan, Professor Farrell served on high-level strategic reviews for three commanders of international forces, and for many years advised government at the highest level. He has also held direct talks with senior Taliban figures to explore a negotiated end to the conflict.

Professor Farrell has published 11 books, and over 45 journal articles and book chapters on military affairs and security studies. His latest book, Unwinnable: Britain’s War in Afghanistan, 2001-2014, will be published this September by Penguin Random House. The historian Andrew Roberts has hailed it as “the definitive history of what was effectively the Fourth Anglo-Afghan War.”

Professor Farrell will take up his post at UOW in October.