Drummond Bone, vice-chancellor of Liverpool 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, has been appointed president of Universities UK. He will replace Ivor Crewe, who is vice-chancellor of Essex 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, on August 1.

Professor Bone declined to give interviews this week, but in a statement he said: "I am looking forward enormously to taking up office and guiding the sector through a time of important change as variable tuition fees are introduced for the first time in 2006."

Professor Bone is a UUK board member and a member of the UUK England and Northern Ireland council. He was the favourite to succeed Professor Crewe.

He defeated Janet Finch, vice-chancellor of Keele 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, and Geoffrey Copland, vice-chancellor of Westminster 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ.

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While Professor Crewe is closely associated with the '94 Group of universities, Liverpool is a member of the Russell Group.

But the university is an unusual member on a number of indicators. It does not have the research budget of other Russell Group members, but it does have a good widening participation record.

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Liverpool has about 22,000 undergraduates and postgraduates, with over a fifth coming from the poorest social classes. It plans to expand student numbers by about 10 per cent by 2010 and has developed a series of partnerships with local further education colleges to achieve this.

The university is also a strong player in its region, playing a key role in the Government's Northern Way task force, which is striving to regenerate the area.

Professor Bone was principal of Royal Holloway, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London, until he moved to Liverpool in 2002. He did his first degree at Oxford 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and his MA at Glasgow. He is a professor of English literature and a world expert on romanticism.