Former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan appointed as Cardiff University chancellor

Laura Trevelyan has been appointed as Cardiff University’s next chancellor.

She is a former BBC journalist and Cardiff University alumni.

Chancellor is the most senior honorary position at the university. Laura will preside at graduation, and carry out other ceremonial duties. Her appointment follows the death of former Chancellor Baroness Jenny Randerson, who died earlier this year.

Laura was once a Cardiff University student, receiving a post-graduate diploma in newspaper journalism, and explained how “Cardiff has shaped the course of [her] life”.

She said it was “hard to express how honoured and delighted” she was by the appointment.

After being asked to take on the role as Chancellor, she stated:  I can’t thank the University enough for bestowing this honour upon me. I cannot wait to serve Cardiff and be an ambassador for the institution which has given me so much.”

Laura had a successful 30 year career with BBC News, in which she reported live on a number of key moments in recent political history.

These include the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and the Capitol riots on 6th January 2021. Cardiff University also awarded Laura an Honorary Fellowship in 2022, for her services to international journalism.

Cardiff University vice-chancellor Professor Wendy Larner said she was “delighted that Laura has agreed to become our Chancellor.

“Laura is a highly respected international journalist and leading advocate for the Caribbean’s reparatory justice agenda. She is also no stranger to our university having honed her journalism skills with us and becoming an Honorary Fellow in 2022.

“I look forward to working with Laura and welcoming her back to Cardiff over the coming months.”

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Laura is also the co-founder of Heirs of Slavery, a group of British individuals whose ancestors profited from the enslavement of Africans in the Caribbean. The group encourage acknowledgement of the past regarding slavery, and urge governmental action on issues of reparatory justice. They have also worked with UNESCO on creating their first dialogue on the topic.

In March 2024, Laura returned to Cardiff University to speak on the topic of reparatory justice, when she hosted the inaugural Sir Tom Hopkinson lecture. In this lecture, she also paid tribute to her late tutor at the Cardiff School of Journalism, David English.

She acknowledged: “A more exacting yet encouraging figure than David would be hard to find.”

As well as her work in journalism and as an advocate for the reparatory justice agenda, Laura has written two books and is a trustee of the Gladstone Library in Wales.

Feature image credit: Instagram