Malcolm Press

Press was educated at Kingsbury High School. He studied environmental science at Westfield College, part of the University of London gaining a Bachelor of Science degree in 1980 followed by a PhD from the University of Manchester in 1984 supervised by John A. Lee.{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Malcolm Colin |last=Press |title=Responses to Acidic Deposition in Blanket Bogs |publisher=University of Manchester |year=1983|url=https://www.librarysearch.manchester.ac.uk/permalink/44MAN_INST/1r887gn/alma992983072847601631|id={{ProQuest|2350388520}}|website=manchester.ac.uk}} In 2008, he was awarded a Diploma in Spanish and Latin American studies from the University of Sheffield.

Following his PhD, Press was a postdoctoral research associate at University College London (UCL) from 1985 to 1989. He was appointed a lecturer in 1989 at the University of Manchester and promoted to senior lecturer in 1992.

Press moved to the University of Sheffield in 1994, where he served as a reader until 1998, then professor of physiological ecology, where he also served as head of the department of animal and plant sciences from 2002.

He was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor and head of the college of life and environmental sciences at the University of Birmingham in 2008. Press faced pushback from the University and College Union, which held a successful strike ballot following introduction of performance management measures to support university staff. Following constructive negotiations, the strike was later called off after negotiations and Press noted that his statements in a public strategy document "could have been more clearly and sensitively articulated"..

From 2013 he served as Birmingham's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for research and knowledge transfer.{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503215323/http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/biosciences/staff/profile.aspx?ReferenceId=9665|archivedate=3 May 2013|url=http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/biosciences/staff/profile.aspx?ReferenceId=9665|publisher=University of Birmingham|location=Birmingham|title=Professor Malcolm Press, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer, Life and Environmental Sciences}}{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222041936/http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/university/malcolm-press.aspx|archivedate=22 February 2014|url=http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/university/malcolm-press.aspx|publisher=University of Birmingham|location=Birmingham|title=Professor Malcolm Press BSc, PhD, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Transfer)}}

Press was appointed Vice-Chancellor at Manchester Metropolitan University in June 2015{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605121641/http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news-items/3587/|archivedate=5 June 2015|url=http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news-items/3587/|publisher=Manchester Metropolitan University|title=Professor Malcolm Press begins as Vice-Chancellor: New era for Manchester Metropolitan University}}{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614123235/http://www2.mmu.ac.uk/about/governance/vice-chancellor/|archivedate=14 June 2015|url=http://www2.mmu.ac.uk/about/governance/vice-chancellor/|publisher=Manchester Metropolitan University|title=Professor Malcolm Press, Vice-Chancellor}}{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Jump|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222040159/http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/birmingham-pro-v-cs-remark-infuriates-staff/2007245.article|url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/birmingham-pro-v-cs-remark-infuriates-staff/2007245.article|archivedate=22 February 2014|title=Birmingham pro v–c's remark infuriates staff|website=timeshighereducation.co.uk|publisher=Times Higher Education|year=2013}}{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614125116/http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/person/7C0DE4A4-C197-4CDF-BF82-38E8C0DD541B|archivedate=14 June 2015|url=http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/person/7C0DE4A4-C197-4CDF-BF82-38E8C0DD541B|publisher=Research Councils UK|title=UK Government Research Grants awarded to Malcolm Press}} where he took over from John Brooks who held the post from 2005 to 2015.{{Who's Who | title=Brooks, Prof. John Stuart | id = U8907 | author=Anon|year = 2015 | edition = online Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.8907}}{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215005448/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-metropolitan-university-appoints-new-8277245|archivedate=15 February 2016|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-metropolitan-university-appoints-new-8277245|publisher=Manchester Evening News|location=Manchester|date=12 December 2014|title=Manchester Metropolitan University appoints new vice-chancellor}}

Press served as president of the British Ecological Society from 2007 to 2009, and was awarded the BES president's medal in 2005. From 2009 to 2012, he served as a member of the council of the National Trust.{{Cite web|date=2019-07-08|title=UCAS welcomes three new Trustees to our Board|url=https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/ucas-welcomes-three-new-trustees-our-board|access-date=2020-09-21|website=ucas.com|language=en}} Between 2012 and 2018, he served on the Board of Trustees at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, appointed by Lord Taylor.{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222201726/http://www.kew.org/about-kew/press-media/press-releases-kew/malcolm-press/release120.htm|archivedate=22 February 2014|url=http://www.kew.org/about-kew/press-media/press-releases-kew/malcolm-press/release120.htm|title=Professor Malcolm Press has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by Lord Taylor|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|website=kew.org|author=Anon}} From 2015 until 2021 he was a trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature.{{Cite web|title=Malcolm Press|url=https://www.wwf.org.uk/trustees/malcolmpress|access-date=2020-09-17|website=wwf.org.uk|language=en}} In 2017, he was appointed chair of the Manchester Memorial Advisory Group, serving until 2020. In 2020, he was appointed a trustee of the British Council. Press also sits on the boards of several university-linked businesses, including UCAS,{{Cite web|date=2014-10-06|title=Board of Trustees|url=https://www.ucas.com/about-us/who-we-are/corporate-governance/board-trustees|access-date=2020-09-17|website=ucas.com|language=en}} the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.{{Cite web|title=Institute for Apprenticeships Board|url=https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/about/how-we-do-it/board-members/|access-date=2020-09-17|website=instituteforapprenticeships.org|publisher=Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education|language=en-gb}} and the Oxford Road Corridor.{{Cite web|title=Board|url=https://oxfordroadcorridor.com/about-us/our-board/|access-date=2020-09-23|website=oxfordroadcorridor.com|publisher=Oxford Road Corridor|language=en}}

Press is internationally recognised as a researcher in the fields of sustainable agriculture, climate change and tropical forests.{{Scopus id}} Highlights include:

• Impacts of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on upland vegetation (Sphagnum): his PhD was the first demonstration of the impact of pollutant nitrogen (nitrates and ammonium) on a British terrestrial ecosystem.{{Cite journal|last1=Press|first1=M. C.|last2=Lee|first2=J. A.|title=Nitrate Reductase Activity of Sphagnum Species in the South Pennines|date=1982|journal=New Phytologist|language=en|volume=92|issue=4|pages=487–494|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.1982.tb03406.x|issn=0028-646X|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Woodin|first1=S.|last2=Press|first2=M. C.|last3=Lee|first3=J. A.|title=Nitrate Reductase Activity in Sphagnum Fuscum in Relation to Wet Deposition of Nitrate from the Atmosphere|date=March 1985|journal=New Phytologist|language=en|volume=99|issue=3|pages=381–388|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.1985.tb03666.x|issn=0028-646X|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Press|first1=M. C.|last2=Woodin|first2=S. J.|last3=Lee|first3=J. A.|title=The Potential Importance of an Increased Atmospheric Nitrogen Supply to the Growth of Ombrotrophic Sphagnum Species|date=1986|journal=New Phytologist|language=en|volume=103|issue=1|pages=45–55|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.1986.tb00595.x|issn=0028-646X}}
• Impacts of climate change on terrestrial Arctic ecosystems: community changes to temperature and nutrients are driven by the response of key species and their interactions.{{cite journal|last1=Potter|first1= Jacqueline A.|first2=Malcolm C. |last2=Press|first3=Terry V.|last3= Callaghan|authorlink3=Terry Callaghan|first4=John A. |last4=Lee|year=1995|title=Growth Responses of Polytrichum commune and Hylocomium splendens to Simulated Environmental Change in the Sub-Arctic|journal=New Phytologist|volume=131 |issue=4|pages=533–41|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.1995.tb03089.x|pmid= 33863118|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Press|first1=M.C.|last2=Potter|first2=J.A.|last3=Burke|first3=M.J.W.|last4=Callaghan|first4=T.V.|authorlink4=Terry Callaghan|last5=Lee|first5=J.A.|date=1998|title=Responses of a subarctic dwarf shrub heath community to simulated environmental change|journal=Journal of Ecology|language=en|volume=86|issue=2|pages=315–327|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2745.1998.00261.x|issn=0022-0477|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Bale|first1=Jeffery S.|last2=Masters|first2=Gregory J.|last3=Hodkinson|first3=Ian D.|last4=Awmack|first4=Caroline|last5=Bezemer|first5=T. Martijn|last6=Brown|first6=Valerie K.|last7=Butterfield|first7=Jennifer|last8=Buse|first8=Alan|last9=Coulson|first9=John C.|last10=Farrar|first10=John|last11=Good|first11=John E. G.|date=January 2002|title=Herbivory in global climate change research: direct effects of rising temperature on insect herbivores|journal=Global Change Biology|language=en|volume=8|issue=1|pages=1–16|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00451.x|bibcode=2002GCBio...8....1B|s2cid=86258707 |issn=1354-1013}}{{Cite journal|last1=Richardson|first1=Sarah J.|last2=Press|first2=Malcolm C.|last3=Parsons|first3=Andrew N.|last4=Hartley|first4=Susan E.|date=2002|title=How do nutrients and warming impact on plant communities and their insect herbivores? A 9-year study from a sub-Arctic heath|journal=Journal of Ecology|language=en|volume=90|issue=3|pages=544–556|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2745.2002.00681.x|issn=0022-0477|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Sloan|first1=Victoria L.|last2=Fletcher|first2=Benjamin J.|last3=Press|first3=Malcolm C.|last4=Williams|first4=Mathew|last5=Phoenix|first5=Gareth K.|date=2013|title=Leaf and fine root carbon stocks and turnover are coupled across Arctic ecosystems|journal=Global Change Biology|language=en|volume=19|issue=12|pages=3668–3676|doi=10.1111/gcb.12322|pmid=23846848|bibcode=2013GCBio..19.3668S|s2cid=6373101 }}
• Interactions between parasitic plants and their cereal hosts in sub-Saharan Africa: control and mechanisms of tolerance and resistance.{{Cite journal|last1=Scholes|first1=Julie D|last2=Press|first2=Malcolm C|date=2008|title=Striga infestation of cereal crops – an unsolved problem in resource limited agriculture |journal=Current Opinion in Plant Biology|language=en|volume=11|issue=2|pages=180–186|doi=10.1016/j.pbi.2008.02.004|pmid=18337158}}{{Cite journal|last1=Swarbrick|first1=P. J.|last2=Huang|first2=K.|last3=Liu|first3=G.|last4=Slate|first4=J.|last5=Press|first5=M. C.|last6=Scholes|first6=J. D.|date=July 2008|title=Global patterns of gene expression in rice cultivars undergoing a susceptible or resistant interaction with the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica|journal=New Phytologist|language=en|volume=179|issue=2|pages=515–529|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02484.x|pmid=19086183}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cissoko|first1=Mamadou|last2=Boisnard|first2=Arnaud|last3=Rodenburg|first3=Jonne|last4=Press|first4=Malcolm C.|last5=Scholes|first5=Julie D.|date=2011|title=New Rice for Africa (NERICA) cultivars exhibit different levels of post-attachment resistance against the parasitic weeds Striga hermonthica and Striga asiatica|journal=New Phytologist|language=en|volume=192|issue=4|pages=952–963|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03846.x|pmid=21883232|doi-access=free}}
• Impacts of parasitic plants on ecosystem structure and function: hemiparasites are keystone species and ecosystem engineers, shaping community structure through impacts on decomposition and nutrient cycling.{{Cite journal|last1=Hartley|first1=S. E.|last2=Green|first2=J. P.|last3=Massey|first3=F. P.|last4=Press|first4=M. C. P.|last5=Stewart|first5=A. J. A.|last6=John|first6=E. A.|date=2015|title=Hemiparasitic plant impacts animal and plant communities across four trophic levels|journal=Ecology|language=en|volume=96|issue=9|pages=2408–2416|doi=10.1890/14-1244.1|pmid=26594698|issn=0012-9658|url=http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/id/eprint/18454/1/__network.uni_staff_S2_jpartridge_14-1244.pdf }}{{Cite journal|last1=Quested|first1=Helen M.|last2=Cornelissen|first2=J. Hans C.|last3=Press|first3=Malcolm C.|last4=Callaghan|first4=Terry V.|authorlink4=Terry Callaghan|last5=Aerts|first5=Rien|last6=Trosien|first6=Frank|last7=Riemann|first7=Petra|last8=Gwynn-Jones|first8=Dylan|last9=Kondratchuk|first9=Alexandra|last10=Jonasson|first10=Sven E.|title=Decomposition of Sub-Arctic Plants with Differing Nitrogen Economies: A Functional Role for Hemiparasites|date=2003|journal=Ecology|language=en|volume=84|issue=12|pages=3209–3221|doi=10.1890/02-0426|issn=0012-9658}}{{Cite journal|last1=Press|first1=Malcolm C.|last2=Phoenix|first2=Gareth K.|date=2005|title=Impacts of parasitic plants on natural communities: Tansley review|journal=New Phytologist|language=en|volume=166|issue=3|pages=737–751|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01358.x|pmid=15869638|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Fisher|first1=James P.|last2=Phoenix|first2=Gareth K.|last3=Childs|first3=Dylan Z.|last4=Press|first4=Malcolm C.|last5=Smith|first5=Stuart W.|last6=Pilkington|first6=Michael G.|last7=Cameron|first7=Duncan D.|date=2013|title=Parasitic plant litter input: a novel indirect mechanism influencing plant community structure|journal=New Phytologist|language=en|volume=198|issue=1|pages=222–231|doi=10.1111/nph.12144|pmid=23356534|doi-access=free}}
• Factors that control the regeneration of dipterocarp seedlings in Southeast Asian tropical rainforests.{{Cite journal|last1=Massey|first1=Fergus P.|last2=Massey|first2=Kate|last3=Press|first3=Malcolm C.|last4=Hartley|first4=Sue E.|date=2006|title=Neighbourhood composition determines growth, architecture and herbivory in tropical rain forest tree seedlings: Neighbourhood effects on S. leprosula|journal=Journal of Ecology|language=en|volume=94|issue=3|pages=646–655|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01127.x|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Bagchi|first1=Robert|last2=Press|first2=Malcolm C.|last3=Scholes|first3=Julie D.|date=January 2010|title=Evolutionary history and distance dependence control survival of dipterocarp seedlings|journal=Ecology Letters|language=en|volume=13|issue=1|pages=51–59|doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01397.x|pmid=19849708}}{{Cite journal|last1=Bagchi|first1=Robert|last2=Philipson|first2=Christopher D.|last3=Slade|first3=Eleanor M.|last4=Hector|first4=Andy|last5=Phillips|first5=Sam|last6=Villanueva|first6=Jerome F.|last7=Lewis|first7=Owen T.|last8=Lyal|first8=Christopher H. C.|last9=Nilus|first9=Reuben|last10=Madran|first10=Adzley|last11=Scholes|first11=Julie D.|date=2011|title=Impacts of logging on density-dependent predation of dipterocarp seeds in a South East Asian rainforest|url= |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=366|issue=1582|pages=3246–3255|doi=10.1098/rstb.2011.0034|issn=0962-8436|pmc=3179629|pmid=22006965}}

Press was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for "services to higher and technical education".{{London Gazette|issue=63571|supp=y|page=N10|date=1 January 2022}} He was appointed a deputy lieutenant (DL) of Greater Manchester in 2024.{{London Gazette|issue=64538|page=19970|date=11 October 2024}}

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Category:1958 births

Category:Living people

Category:Academics of the University of Birmingham

Category:British ecologists

Category:People associated with Manchester Metropolitan University

Category:Alumni of Westfield College

Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester

Category:Academics of the University of Manchester

Category:Academics of the University of Sheffield

Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Category:Presidents of the British Ecological Society

Category:Deputy lieutenants of Greater Manchester