Professor May Tan-Mullins

Professor May Tan-Mullins is a political ecologist, higher education executive, and Provost and CEO of the University of Reading Malaysia. A passionate champion for global sustainability, her distinguished leadership career across Asia includes senior executive roles at international branch campuses, including James Cook University Singapore and the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), where she served as Chief Sustainability Officer, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Dean International, Dean of Graduate School, and Associate Provost for Global Engagement.

A leading authority on the political ecology of rising China, environmental justice, and climate resilience for marginalized communities, Professor Tan-Mullins bridges academic rigor with high-level policy impact. She has provided strategic consultancy to international organizations including the UNDP, the National Bureau of Asian Research, the Revenue Watch Institute, and the Chinese government, while delivering executive training on CSR and sustainability risk mitigation for Belt and Road Initiative projects.

Her contributions to global research and higher education have been recognized through prestigious international honors, including the Rockefeller Bellagio writing residency, as well as the West Lake Award from the Zhejiang Provincial Government and the Camellia Award from the Ningbo Municipal Government. She leads major international research consortia funded by ESRC-DFID and the Research Council of Norway- investigating post-disaster poverty alleviation and infrastructure dynamics across Asia- and serves on the Executive Committee of The Association of Southeast Asian Studies.