New Professors appointed at Leeds Metropolitan

Professor Kevin Hannam has joined the University as Professor of Tourism Mobilities. Professor Andrew Sparkes is set to take up his post from 1 February 2013 as Professor of Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure.

Professor Carlton Cooke, Associate Dean of Carnegie Research, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Professors Kevin Hannam and Andrew Sparkes to our University and the Carnegie Faculty. The Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure will be all the stronger for their contributions, given that they are both leading researchers in their chosen fields of study."

Professor Hannam joins Leeds Met from the University of Sunderland, where he was Associate Dean (Research) and Head of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Events. He is the founding co-editor of the Routledge journal Mobilities (with John Urry and Mimi Sheller) and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Heritage Tourism, Tourist Studies and Annals of Tourism Research. He has published books on tourism and led substantial research projects in collaboration with other European universities as well as with industry.

Professor Sparkes is currently Professor of Sport and Body Pedagogy at Liverpool John Moores University and his research interests revolve around the ways that people experience different forms of embodiment over time in a variety of contexts. He has published extensively across a range of disciplines in international journals and has contributed chapters in leading edited books. His latest co-authored book, entitled Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health: From Process to Product, is due for publication by Routledge in 2013. Professor Sparkes currently serves on the advisory or editorial board of twelve international journals and is currently leading a £30,000 funded project for the English Rugby Football Union Injured Players Foundation, investigating narrative transformations and posttraumatic growth following spinal cord injury for players and their families.