Professor Nigel Norris, Professor of Education was appointed to the Centre for Applied Research in Education in 1979, first as a Senior Research Associate and in 1982 as a Lecturer specialising in programme and policy evaluation. Since then he has been involved in a wide variety of evaluation and research studies including evaluations of: curriculum development and information technology in education; police training in the UK and Australia; nurse education; GP training and professional and vocational training policies; curriculum reform in Spain; the reform of the comprehensive school curriculum in Finland; school breakfast clubs in England and the setting up of children's trusts. He has been Dean and more recently Head of the School and was a Pro-Vice-Chancellor from 1998 – 2004.

He is currently Chair of the University Research Ethics Committee, Chair of the Senate Student Disciplinary Committee and a member of Council. His research interests include the history, theory and practice of educational evaluation, the history of the curriculum reform movement and education and training in the professions. He is on the board of editors of the Cambridge Journal of Education and is reviews editor for the journal.