Prof. Alison Richard
British
Trustee
Professor Alison Richard, who was installed as the 344th Vice- Chancellor of the University of Cambridge on 1 October 2003, is the first woman to hold the position full-time.
The Vice- Chancellor is the principal academic and administrative officer of the University.
Career Snapshot
An anthropologist with a first degree from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate from the University of London, Professor Richard joined the faculty of Yale University in the USA in 1972.
She was appointed full professor in 1986, chairing the Department of Anthropology at Yale from 1986 to 1990, and later serving as Director of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, overseeing one of the most important university natural history collections in the USA.
She was appointed to the Franklin Muzzy Crosby chair of the Human Environment in 1998. Her academic leadership at Yale culminated in her appointment as Provost of Yale in April 1994.
The Provost is the chief academic and administrative officer after the President, and as Provost she oversaw major strengthening of Yale's financial position and significant growth in academic programmes.
During her tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Richard has supported major teaching and research initiatives across the landscape of academic disciplines and has placed particular importance on large-scale interdisciplinary activity putting fundamental science and scholarship at the service of society.
Another characteristic has been the great development of the role of alumni as advisers and ambassadors for Cambridge.
She has been appointed by the Prime Minister as a member of the National Council for Educational Excellence, and as a UK Business Ambassador.
As a researcher, Professor Richard is widely known for her work and writings on the evolution of complex social systems among primates. This work has taken her to Central America, Northern Pakistan and in particular Madagascar.
Formal Education
Professor Richard holds Honorary Degrees from Peking University, China (2004); University of Antananarivo, Madagascar (2005); York University, Canada (2006); University of Edinburgh (2006); Queen’s University Belfast (2008); Anglia Ruskin University (2008); Yale University (2009); Chinese University of Hong Kong (2009); and Ewha Womans University, Korea (2009). In 2005, she was appointed Officier de l’Ordre National (Madagascar).
Prof Richard’s first term of office expires in December 2012.
Professor Alison Richard, who was installed as the 344th Vice- Chancellor of the University of Cambridge on 1 October 2003, is the first woman to hold the position full-time.
The Vice- Chancellor is the principal academic and administrative officer of the University.
Career Snapshot
An anthropologist with a first degree from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate from the University of London, Professor Richard joined the faculty of Yale University in the USA in 1972.
She was appointed full professor in 1986, chairing the Department of Anthropology at Yale from 1986 to 1990, and later serving as Director of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, overseeing one of the most important university natural history collections in the USA.
She was appointed to the Franklin Muzzy Crosby chair of the Human Environment in 1998. Her academic leadership at Yale culminated in her appointment as Provost of Yale in April 1994.
The Provost is the chief academic and administrative officer after the President, and as Provost she oversaw major strengthening of Yale's financial position and significant growth in academic programmes.
During her tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Richard has supported major teaching and research initiatives across the landscape of academic disciplines and has placed particular importance on large-scale interdisciplinary activity putting fundamental science and scholarship at the service of society.
Another characteristic has been the great development of the role of alumni as advisers and ambassadors for Cambridge.
She has been appointed by the Prime Minister as a member of the National Council for Educational Excellence, and as a UK Business Ambassador.
As a researcher, Professor Richard is widely known for her work and writings on the evolution of complex social systems among primates. This work has taken her to Central America, Northern Pakistan and in particular Madagascar.
Formal Education
Professor Richard holds Honorary Degrees from Peking University, China (2004); University of Antananarivo, Madagascar (2005); York University, Canada (2006); University of Edinburgh (2006); Queen’s University Belfast (2008); Anglia Ruskin University (2008); Yale University (2009); Chinese University of Hong Kong (2009); and Ewha Womans University, Korea (2009). In 2005, she was appointed Officier de l’Ordre National (Madagascar).
Prof Richard’s first term of office expires in December 2012.
Alison Richard
