Oxford to have first female boss in history, Louise Richardson

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Oxford has appointed its new Vice Chancellor – Professor Louise Richardson, who will be the first female VC in Oxford’s history.

Current Vice Chancellor of St Andrews, Richardson will take over from Andrew Hamilton in January. She’s previously worked at Harvard, also having degrees from Trinity Dublin and UCLA.

Her nomination has to be approved by the University’s parliament, but when it is she will become the 272nd Vice Chancellor in Oxford’s history.

A political scientist, her subject speciality is terrorism and security studies, having written books about terror in the wake of 9/11.

Richardson said: “Oxford is one of the world’s great universities. I feel enormously privileged to be given the opportunity to lead this remarkable institution during an exciting time for higher education.

“I am very much looking forward to working with talented, experienced, and dedicated colleagues to advance Oxford’s pre-eminent global position in research, scholarship, and teaching.”

Her appointment will move Oxford into a small group of women-run universities: The Times Higher Education magazine says that only one in seven of the world’s top 200 institutions has a female head.