Professor Stephen Wilks
Biography
Current post: Professor of Politics
Exeter is a great place to be. I came in 1990 and have seen substantial changes in the University and in the Department. Here I'll talk about my role at Exeter before going on to national areas, international linkages and to research which is covered in a separate section. This is highlights. For the detail, which is for those willing to wade through the exhaustive content of an academic CV, the following are linked to this page:
I've had periods as Head of the Department of Politics (1992-95 and 2003-04), the second round of which was rather easier since Politics joined the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HuSS). All the constituent Units secured '5' ranking in the 2001 RAE; and the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts. Which goes especially for our large Graduate School. The achievement of a '5' by Politics in 2001 was a great source of pride. It recognised the reality of a renaissance of Politics at Exeter and the creation of a young, impressive team with tremendous potential still to realise.
After holding an ESRC personal research fellowship in 1995-96 I went on to become a Deputy Vice Chancellor (for research) from 1999 to 2002 and steered Exeter through the RAE cycle. We did very well on the basis of extraordinarily hard work from the top downwards. As someone apparently unable to learn from past experience I did a second round as Deputy Vice Chancellor for research in 2004-05 with the new Registrar and, delightfully, a new Vice Chancellor, Steve Smith, a name well known to most students of Politics. From 2005 I returned to become a 'jobbing' professor of politics with teaching at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels.
Nationally I took on in 2001 two Ministerial appointments to fascinating bodies. I was appointed to the ESRC, Economic and Social Research Council, where I was Chair of the Research Priorities Board - now renamed as the Strategy Board. That was hugely interesting and rather satisfying. The funding of good social science research and seeing the work come through is wonderfully creative. I was renewed for a further year on the ESRC (2004-05). I was also appointed to the Competition Commission, an agency very much at the heart of my research interests and again an absolutely fascinating organisation. The ability to work with a top class team on matters that are intrinsically fascinating and of national importance is a privilege which I greatly value. My membership of the Commission was renewed in 2005 for a further four years and I joined the Remedies Standing Group which monitors and adapts the remedies packages negotiated through the various CC investigations. I have served now on eight inquitries, the latest being BSkyB/ITV.
Internationally I continue to work with long standing collaborators including Bruce Doern (Carleton, Ottawa and Exeter) and Roland Sturm (Erlangen, Nuremberg). I retain international links with Japan and especially with Michio Muramatsu. My long standing interest in Korea and Korean social science took something of a back seat during the DVC years but I hope to renew contacts with Korean academics and former students over the next 12 months.
