The University is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Karen Cox as its sixth Vice-Chancellor and President on 1 August 2017.
Professor Cox is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Nottingham. She succeeds Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow who joined the University in 2007.
Professor Cox’s appointment was confirmed by the University Council on 20 January 2017. She joins the University of Kent at a time of significant success, which reflects significant growth in size and stature. A consistently excellent student experience and world-class research have secured the University a top 20 position in the UK league tables and a growing international reputation.
Commenting on the appointment, Sir David Warren, Chair of the University of Kent’s Council said: ‘Professor Cox has an exceptional track record, not only in academic terms but as an inspiring leader. I am sure that her extensive experience and strong leadership qualities will enable Kent to build on its already outstanding reputation in innovative and exciting ways. And I have no doubt that she will be a powerful ambassador for Kent regionally, nationally and internationally. I am delighted to be able to welcome her to the University.’
Professor Cox said: ‘I am pleased and honoured to be joining the University of Kent as its Vice-Chancellor and President. I am very much looking forward to getting to know staff and students, whether they are at the Canterbury and Medway campuses, the Tonbridge Centre, or at the academic centres in Brussels, Paris, Rome and Athens, and working with them to ensure that Kent goes from strength to strength.
‘Universities are facing a time of unprecedented change. However, as a highly successful and collegial institution, it is clear that Kent is well-positioned not only to respond to inevitable challenges but to seize new opportunities as they arise.’
A Professor of Cancer and Palliative Care and a Registered Nurse, Karen Cox is a former Head of the School of Nursing and former Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Nottingham. She is currently a Privy Council-appointed member of the Board of the Nursing & Midwifery Council. Her academic and research interests include patients and families’ experiences of cancer clinical trial involvement, cancer trial management and more recently, choice and decision-making in palliative and end of life care. Her work has been funded by Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Economic and Social Research Council and the NHS. She studied at King’s College London, Oxford Brookes and the University of Nottingham, and has been a Visiting Professor at Trinity College Dublin and Yale University.
