Professor Matthew Cragoe is to head the new School of History and Philosophy at the University of Sussex.

Professor Cragoe is currently at the University of Hertfordshire, where he is Professor of Modern British History; Associate Dean in the Faculty of Humanities, Law and Education; and Head of the Social Science, Arts and Humanities Research Institute. He was their Head of History from 2000-04, during which period they achieved a 5 rating in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, chaired the appointment panel. He said: “Professor Cragoe has a proven track record of international-class research, combined with highly successful leadership and management gained in a thriving and high-achieving faculty.”

Professor Cragoe said: “I am excited at the prospect of joining Sussex and working with colleagues whose work I have long admired. I hope that together we can build a dynamic, outward-facing school capable of combining the highest standards of teaching with cutting-edge research.”

Professor Cragoe is a member of the Peer Review College of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and their honorary Director of Communications.

His research focuses on environmental history, the social history of religion and the cultural history of 19th- and 20th-century British politics. He is currently leading a major three-year project funded by the AHRC’s Landscape & Environment Programme, exploring the cultural impact of parliamentary enclosure in Northamptonshire between 1700 and 1900.

He completed his DPhil at St Anthony’s College, Oxford in 1990, after an MA from University College, Swansea (1986) and a BA from Royal Holloway (1985).

Professor Cragoe will be appointed as Head of School designate from 1 January 2009, and work with colleagues at Sussex on the process of building the new school, taking up the new role fully in August 2009.

The new School of History and Philosophy brings together the current departments of History, Philosophy and Art History together with historians from the current department of American Studies.