First female dean for Christ Church, Oxford
Professor of ecclesiastical history to head Oxford college while review into its future takes place
An Oxford University college will be led by a female dean for the first time in its 500-year history as it tries to move on from a feud with its former head. Christ Church, which counts 13 prime ministers among its alumni, will be led by the Rev Canon Sarah Foot from July. She succeeds the Very Rev Martyn Percy, who quit after he was accused of scandalous behaviour, unsound judgment, mental incapacity and sexual harassment in a battle with the college’s governing body.
AN OXFORD University college will be led by a female dean for the first time in its 500-year history as it tries to move on from a feud with its former head.
Christ Church, which counts WH Auden and 13 prime ministers among its alumni, will be led by the Rev Canon Sarah Foot from July. Her appointment was approved by the King on the recommendation of Rishi Sunak.
The professor of ecclesiastical history will serve as dean until an independent review of the college’s governance is completed. She succeeds the Very Rev Martyn Percy, who left his post last April after he was accused of scandalous behaviour, unsound judgment, mental incapacity and sexual harassment during a four-year battle with the college’s governing body. In one alleged incident, Dr Percy was said to have stroked a woman’s hair for 10 seconds in a secluded part of Christ Church Cathedral. He denied all of the allegations.
The college spent more than £6.6million in legal fees and public relations costs in the four-year dispute with the former dean, whose supporters claim he was the victim of a vendetta by Christ Church’s governing body.
Dr Percy has said that during the dispute he suffered a breakdown and “came close” to considering suicide. He left after the college agreed to a payoff.
The college has commissioned an independent governance review, led by Dominic Grieve KC, which is ongoing.
Prof Foot plans to serve as Dean until any governance changes are implemented, which Christ Church said was likely to be a “lengthy process”. Any changes to the governance and statutes of Christ Church would require the approval of the university, the Church of England, the Privy Council and Parliament. The college said that a new leader would then take Christ Church forward under new statutes.
Prof Foot is an expert on women in religion, medieval monasticism and the early history of the Church of England. She is currently working on a study of the life and work of Saint Bede.
The Cambridge-educated professor has been acting head of house at Christ Church since Dr Percy left.
Prof Foot said: “Together, we must make a success of the governance review process. This is vital. It will give our colleagues the structures that they need to do what matters most to all of us: offering teaching and research, and a Cathedral liturgy, of the highest quality.”
Last year, the Charity Commission accused Christ Church, which has charitable status, of “mismanagement” and “misconduct” after it revealed how much it spent on its action against Dr Percy. The commission found that the trustees “failed to manage the charity’s resources responsibly”.
In response, a spokesman for Christ Church said: “In very complex and constantly changing circumstances, trustees made decisions which, having taken professional advice, they judged to be in the best interests of Christ Church. Many of the costs were incurred as a result of Dr Percy’s refusal to settle with a governing body which had lost trust and confidence in him.”
Christ Church is made up of the Cathedral of the Diocese of Oxford and a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The dean chairs both the governing body and chapter of Christ Church and is responsible for the running of Christ Church Cathedral.