New Head of CSM announced

by Line Elise Svanevik

Professor Jeremy Till has been appointed as the new Head of Central Saint Martins (CSM) starting in August this year as Professor Jane Rapley OBE retires.

Professor Till, an award-winning architect and academic has previously worked as Professor of Architecture and Head of School at the University of Sheffield.

“When the job at Central Saint Martins came up I just thought it was such an amazing opportunity that I had to put my hat in the ring,” Till told the Arts London News.

The Rector of University of the Arts London, Nigel Carrington, welcomed the appointment: “Jeremy has a tremendous track record as a creative practitioner and as an academic leader.

"He knows our sector well and has been working very successfully in the tough environment in which all universities now find themselves,” said Carrington.

Devoted

Professor Rapley, who announced last summer she would be retiring, has worked at CSM for 25 years and has been a popular and devoted Head of College for the past six years.

She has played a major role in the recent changes made to the college, particularly in the process of moving the main campus to King’s Cross.

Till relishes the fact that CSM was founded by an architect: “I think architects are quite good at being across a breadth of issues, we have to think quite spatially and also quite laterally at how to put various things together.”

A large factor in Till deciding to take the job was his fascination with what CSM has to offer: “I just think it’s extraordinary for a major institution like Central Saint Martins to have the potential for sort of cross-fertilisation between various bits, now that it’s been brought together.”

Happy students

Coming from a background of teaching, Till is particularly focused on engaging with the students, he told ALN: “The open engagement with the student body is going to be a really important part of my job. If you don’t have happy students, you don’t have good work and therefore the reputation starts not filling itself.

“Students in colleges of art and design are notoriously quite tough on their institutions. One needs to be incredibly open and transparent about what’s going on and what you can actually achieve.

“When you set realistic parameters, it’s fine. It’s the conspiracy theories that are often the death of institutions,” he added.

Concerned with the raised tuition fees and what it will mean for the future of arts education, Till said: “I think it’s very, very worrying, and fairly explicitly I think it’s an attack on the arts and humanities in which the creative arts are exposed.

“My main concern is about diversity, not for CSM in particular, but the effect it’s going to have on people who otherwise would be applying to university and whether it’s going to put them off.”

He believes his curiosity is a great part of why he got the job: “I’m a big fan of curiosity, I think it’s one of the most important attributes you can have. If someone’s not curious, they might as well give up.”

Eager to show what he has to offer CSM, in addition to his dedication to the students and staff, Till said: “I think I will bring my academic credibility because I’m internationally known for my research. What else will I bring? My charm,” he laughs.