After 800 years, Oxford appoints its first woman vice chancellor
OXFORD University is to make history by having a woman in charge for the first time in a history dating back more than 800 years.
Terrorism expert Professor Louise richardson, 56, has been nominated as the next vice chancellor, the head of the day-to-day running of the university.
But her appointment, due to be rubber-stamped by Oxford’s ruling body, will be seen by some as controversial – and not just because the previous 300 vice chancellors have been men.
for Professor richardson, who grew up in Ireland, once said she would have joined the IRA ‘in a heartbeat’ in her teenage years.
She had to be stopped by her mother from joining a protest march a week after Bloody Sunday in 1972.
In her current role as vice chancellor of the University of St Andrews, Professor richardson has become known for her no-nonsense leadership style. Last year she stood up to then Scottish first Minister Alex Salmond by refusing to be pressured into toning down warnings she made about the adverse impact Scottish independence would have.
She will take up her role at Oxford next January in what fellow academics called a ‘breakthrough moment’.
Her appointment to succeed Professor Andrew Hamilton, despite no previous links to the university, will make Oxford the fourth member of the elite russell Group to have a woman in the top role, alongside Manchester, Imperial College and Liverpool. Professor richardson said yesterday: ‘It’s indicative of change in society generally, where we see more and more women in pre- eminent positions. The pace of change is accelerating. I look forward to being part of that process of change. Oxford is one of the world’s great universities. I feel enormously privileged to be given the opportunity.’
Professor Sally Mapstone, Oxford’s pro-vice chancellor of Education, said: ‘It’s fantastically exciting. It’s a breakthrough moment to have a female vice chancellor. It’s significant that a woman with no background at Oxford can get the top job.’
Professor richardson holds a BA in history from Trinity College, dublin, an MA in political science from UCLA and an MA and Phd in government from Harvard.
She lived and worked in the US for many years and is married to American doctor Thomas Jervon. They have three children.
She has experience of battling sexism – when appointed the first female vice chancellor at St Andrews, she was excluded from honorary membership of the then all-male royal and Ancient Golf Club, a traditional perk of the job. She criticised the club, which has since voted to admit women members.
‘Fantastic breakthrough’