Image: European Parliament / Flickr

Warwick appoint first woman as Chancellor

Lady Ashton has recently been appointed as Warwick’s first ever female Chancellor following a decision made by the university’s Senate and Council within the past week.

She will take up the position from the January 1 2017, succeeding Sir Richard Lambert who was Warwick’s Chancellor until the end of the last academic year.

Through an impressive ministerial career, Lady Ashton has worked on a wide range of issues and policy areas. She holds various awards and honours for her achievements.

These include Stonewall Politician of the Year 2006, for services to the LGBT community, a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG) in 2015 which is the highest foreign policy honour given by the Queen.

Lady Ashton was first appointed to the House of Lords in 1999 and served from 2001 as Minister in the Department of Education, with responsibilities for children with special educational needs.

She then served from 2004 in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, with responsibilities such as human rights and equality legislation.

She then served as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Queens Privy Council until 2008 when she was appointed Trade Commissioner of the European Union following her work on passing the Lisbon Treaty.

Her work with the EU over the following years led to her appointment as High Representative for Foreign Policy and then Vice President of the European Commission.

The Baroness Ashton said: “(I am) deeply honoured to be able to make my small contribution to the work of such an increasingly renowned university.”

Sir George Cox, Chair of the University of Warwick’s Council commented: “Lady Ashton has had a remarkable career embracing many areas and issues which are highly relevant to the University of Warwick and its values. As one of the first generation of her family to have attended university, she is passionate about the transformational power of education as a driver of social mobility.”

Comments (1)

  • …Are you kidding me… She is a throwback from the days of Tony Blair, one unelected sinecure to another, no talent, no discernible reason as to why or how she was ever given any of them. If I had to accept my award from her I’d have protested on stage. This woman is completely farking useless – here’s what a senior EU diplomat had to say about her: “Absent. And even when she’s present there is a sense of absence”.

    The fact that your “tuition” fees are paying her bloated salary for doing nothing other than poking Russia with a stick and spending most of her time as high representative of the EU M.I.A is a slap in the face. Seriously.

    Can someone, anyone, please explain to me how on earth Warwick gave her this post? I had good memories of Warwick and they’ve been ruined by this.

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