Professor Ken Badock became interim Vice Chancellor and President in September 2026.
He is a computational scientist whose research was supported by the aerospace industry to develop simulation methods for aircraft dynamics.
He was previously Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost at York from 2023 and before that was senior Vice Principal at Royal Holloway and Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Liverpool.
He holds a doctorate from University of Oxford and a degree in mathematics from the University of Strathclyde.
He sees the University of York’s mission statement as the University for the Public Good as a challenge to unlock the benefits of the academic strengths for influence outside academia.
He is committed to increasing ways that the University benefits student education, for example from its international environment. A major focus of his recent work has been establishing York’s international campus in Mumbai.