School of Geography, University of Leeds

The school has generally expanded over the years and in 2011 has about 70 members of academic staff and a large number of research students studying a broad spectrum of geographical topics.

In the recent past the school was the hub of a major glaciology research group headed by Tavi Murray now based at the University of Swansea.

[1] Various notable people have worked or studied in the school including: Danny Dorling and Stan Openshaw; Martine Croxall and Piers Sellers.

Other notable people are still based there albeit in an emeritus capacity including Robin Butlin, Mike Kirkby and Phil Rees.

In the 2008 RAE exercise, it was ranked in the top six geography departments in the UK and awarded an 'Excellent' grading by HEFCE for the quality of its teaching, which is research-led.

[11] Global alliances of forest researchers in South America (RAINFOR) [12] and in Africa (AfriTRON) [13] are led by Oliver Phillips and Simon Lewis.

Previous incumbents include David Bell, Gill Valentine, Adrian McDonald, Graham Clarke, John Stillwell, Phil Rees, Mike Kirkby and Alan Wilson.

Alumni include: Piers Sellers, NASA astronaut; Simon Rix, bassist of Leeds-based band the Kaiser Chiefs; Jon Hammond, gold, silver and bronze medal winner in the men's 50m shooting at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Martine Croxall, BBC journalist and presenter and the Most Reverend Alan Harper, former Archbishop of Armagh (appointed an OBE for services to conservation).