Professor Philip Murphy to join from Reading
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies 
, School of Advanced Study, is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Director, Professor Philip Murphy 
, from 1 September 2009.
Professor Warwick Gould, Acting Director of the Institute since the retirement of Professor Crook in December 2008, commented that ‘the Institute is especially pleased by the appointment of such an outstanding scholar in the field of Commonwealth Studies’.
For Professor Murphy, who is currently Professor of British and Commonwealth History at the University of Reading, it ‘is a great honour to be appointed Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, which has a distinguished history and is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary. The Institute has a major role to play in promoting and disseminating research in the area of Commonwealth studies, and I am very excited by the opportunity to be able to shape its future’.
Professor Murphy has published extensively on decolonisation and the development of the modern Commonwealth. Intelligence history is one of his major interests, and he has produced pioneering work in the area of Commonwealth intelligence liaison.
At Reading, Professor Murphy established one of the first courses in the UK on the intelligence community and British politics in the 20th century. He is currently co-editor of the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, and is writing a book for Oxford University Press on the monarchy and the post-war Commonwealth.
For further information, please contact:
; T: (020) 7862 8020 ; T: (0118) 378 7388Notes:
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies is the only postgraduate academic institution in the UK devoted to the study of the Commonwealth. It is the national and international centre of excellence for human rights, policy-relevant research and teaching on Commonwealth studies, focusing on North-South relations, global peace and security, development, good governance and the politics of civil society.