University of Oxford vice-chancellor lives rent free in Victorian mansion despite £400k salary

The vice-chancellor of Oxford University has been criticised for living rent free in a mansion, despite raking in a 400k annual salary.

The university covers the rent of the £3.5 million three-storey Victorian mansion, where the VC currently lives.

Professor Irene Tracey was awarded £573,000 in her first year in the role, including a £410,000 base salary and an accommodation payment of £100,000.

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The previous vice-chancellor, Professor Louise Richardson, was criticised in 2017 for her salary while living rent free in the mansion.

During her tenure, The Times found that the university spent £116,406 on refurbing the building for her arrival. This was almost double the amount spent on redoing the home for her predecessor Professor Andrew Hamilton.

The university told The Times that the vice-chancellor has a contractual requirement to reside at the property, which boasts a large period-style conservatory and a luxurious walled garden.

The vice-chancellor at the University of Cambridge has also been criticised for living rent free in a £5 million mansion while earning over half a million pounds per year in salary.

Professor Deborah Prentice also received a 16 per cent pay rise in 2024, the highest among all UK vice-chancellors. This included a £42,000 relocation fund and £22,550 for travel expenses, taking her total pay packet to £577,000.

The university insisted that this was essential to attract the top level of talent to the historic university.

Sir Peter Mathieson, the vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh has also been criticised for living rent free at the university’s expense on one of Scotland’s most expensive streets.

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The Tab Edinburgh found that the gas, electric and council tax bills of his £2 million New Town mansion are also covered by the university, which forked out over £8,000 on these expenses last year.

Similarly, Stirling’s Sir Gerry McCormac lives rent-free in a house on campus, despite earning £414,000, after pay rises of £119,000 in just two years.

Staff and students previously described the increase as “appalling” and “disgusting,” dubbing him “Greedy Gerry”, according to The Tab Glasgow.

It is common for vice-chancellors to live in properties paid for by the university, with the heads of Durham and Leicester, among others, also receiving the benefit.

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