University Officers
The roles and responsibilities of senior University personnel.
Chancellor
Lord Hague of Richmond
Lord Hague of Richmond was elected as the new Chancellor of Oxford University in November 2024. The admission ceremony took place on 19 Feb 2025.
Vice-Chancellor
Professor Irene Tracey
Professor Irene Tracey, CBE, FRS, FMedSci
Pro-Vice-Chancellors with portfolio
Education: Professor Freya Johnston
Professor Freya Johnston began as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) on 1 September 2025. She took her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in English at Trinity College, Cambridge; as an undergraduate, she also studied German literature at the Free University in Berlin. She was appointed Enid Welsford Junior Research Fellow at Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1999 and then served as Fellow and Director of Studies at Christ’s College, Cambridge before moving to the University of Warwick in 2004. Three years later she came to Oxford, where she is Professor of English and Hazel Eardley-Wilmot Tutorial Fellow at St Anne’s College.
Professor Johnston has served as Associate Head (Education) of the Humanities Division (2023-5), Dean of St Anne’s College (2023-5), Junior Proctor (2020-21), Director of Graduate Studies in English (2014-17), and Deputy Chair of Faculty Board (2013-14). Her research centres on literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, especially the works of Samuel Johnson and Jane Austen. She is co-editor, with Seamus Perry and Christopher Ricks, of the quarterly journal Essays in Criticism (Oxford University Press).
As Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), Professor Johnston is responsible for the University’s strategies and policies for teaching, learning, admissions and student support.
Research: Professor Patrick Grant
Patrick Grant took a Bachelor of Engineering degree at Nottingham University, and a D.Phil in Materials in Oxford. He has been Vesuvius Professor of Materials since 2004, was Deputy Head of the Mathematical Physical and Life Sciences Division form 2012-14, and Head of the Department of Materials from 2015-2018. A Chartered Engineer, he is also a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Professor Grant's current areas of interest include supercapacitors and batteries, three-dimensional printing, and alloys for power generation. He was a founding academic of the Begbroke Science Park and is a non-executive director of Oxford University Innovation. As Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) he works closely with Oxford colleagues to create an environment conducive to world leading applied and curiosity-driven research, and with external funders to secure resources to realize our joint research ambitions.
Strategic Initiatives: Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg
Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg FRS FMedSci took up the post of Pro-Vice Chancellor (Strategic Initiatives) in 2025. In this role, she leads the development, implementation, and monitoring of strategic initiatives that bridge functional boundaries and drive transformation within the University.
Professor Johansen-Berg also serves as the Associate Head (Research and Innovation) in the Medical Sciences Division. She is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, where her research group investigates brain plasticity in the context of learning and recovery from brain damage.
From 2015-2025 she served as Director of the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, a multi-disciplinary research institute using brain imaging technologies to bridge between laboratory neuroscience and human health. Prof Johansen-Berg is a Fellow at St Edmund Hall. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2024 and Academy of Medical Sciences in 2021.
External Engagement: Professor Alexander Betts
Professor Alexander Betts became Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement, Sport, and Community) in June 2025. He is Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs, and a Senior Fellow of Brasenose College. He initially trained at Durham University, before coming to Oxford in 2003, where he completed his MPhil and DPhil. His research focuses on the political economy of refugee protection, with a geographical focus on Africa and Europe.
He was previously the University's Local and Global Engagement Officer (2023-25), Associate Head of the Social Sciences Division (2019-23), and Director of the Refugee Studies Centre (2014-17). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, has published twelve books, and previously worked for the UN Refugee Agency. As Pro-Vice-Chancellor, he is responsible for the University's global, national, and local engagement, and its sport strategy.
Planning and Resources: Professor Mark E Smith
Professor Mark E Smith CBE became Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources) in June 2026.
Professor Smith studied Natural Sciences at Churchill College, Cambridge, before completing a PhD in Physics at the University of Warwick. Following research appointments in Germany and Australia, he held academic positions at the Universities of Kent and Warwick, where he was appointed Professor of Magnetic Resonance in 2002. His research has focused on the development and application of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to inorganic materials, and he has published more than 390 journal papers.
Alongside his research career, Professor Smith has held a number of senior leadership roles across the higher education sector. At the University of Warwick he served in several executive positions, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Vice-Chancellor. He went on to serve as Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University from 2012 to 2019 and as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton from 2019 to 2026.
Professor Smith has contributed extensively to national higher education and research policy through appointments including Senior Independent Member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Council, Chair of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), board member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and member of the Board of Jisc. He serves as Chair of Advance HE and as a Council member of Research England.
He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to research and higher education.
Pro-Vice-Chancellors without portfolio
- Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome, LT, DBE, FRS, FRSE, FRAI, FRSB President of St John’s College
- Professor Judith Buchanan, Master of St Peter’s College
- The Very Revd Professor Sarah Foot, FRHistS, FSA Dean of Christ Church
- Dr Sir Michael Jacobs, Warden of Keble College
- Professor Jonathan Michie, President of Kellogg College
- Professor Helen Moore, President of Corpus Christi College
- Professor Jennifer Payne, Warden of Merton College
- Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, FRS, FREng, FBCS Principal of Jesus College
- Professor Sir Aziz Sheikh, OBE, FRSE, FMedSci Head of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
- Professor Lord Lionel Tarassenko, CBE, FREng, FMedSci President of Reuben College
Registrar's Office
For information on contacting the Registrar's Office, please see our University administration pages.
Registrar
- Gill Aitken MA (Oxon), CB
Deputy Registrar
- Dr Stephen Conway
Academic Registrar
- Dr Saira Shaikh
Proctors and Assessor
- Senior Proctor: Professor Andrew Farmery
- Junior Proctor: Professor Caroline Warman
- Assessor: Professor Jeff Tseng
- Pro-Proctor to the Senior Proctor: Professor Fernanda Pirie
- Pro-Proctor to the Senior Proctor: Professor Kate Saunders
- Pro-Proctor to the Junior Proctor: Professor Kate McLoughlin
- Pro-Proctor to the Junior Proctor: Dr Melinda Letts
Bedels and Verger
- Bedel of Divinity: vacant
- Bedel of Law: Caroline Barnes
- Bedel of Medicine: Molly Ross
- Bedel of Arts: Andrew Darley
- Quintus Bedel: Dave Horner
- Sextus Bedel: Roger Nascimento
- Verger: Alan Slater
Other
- High Steward: Rt Hon Lord (Robert) Reed
- Public Orator: Dr Jonathan Katz
- Deputy Steward: Bernard Taylor CBE, DL
- Clerks of the Market: Jeffrey Hackney and Colin Thompson