University of Northampton appoints new Vice Chancellor

The University of Northampton is delighted to announce that Professor Anne-Marie Kilday will be its new Vice Chancellor from 1 August 2022.

Professor Kilday will succeed current Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer Professor Nick Petford DSc DL, who after 12 years at the helm, will step down this summer.

As Vice Chancellor, Professor Kilday will lead the development and implementation of a new strategy for the University of Northampton, spearheading initiatives that transform lives and inspire positive change through learning and research.

Professor Kilday started her academic career in Scotland working at the University of Strathclyde and then the University of Glasgow. She joined Oxford Brookes University in 2000 as a Lecturer in Early Modern History and progressed her career at the University securing various promotions from Principal Lecturer through to Dean. She was promoted into the senior leadership team becoming the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer and Impact in 2012 and then Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Experience & University Community, with institutional responsibility for all aspects of both student and staff experience. She is a Professor of Criminal History and has submitted to every Research Excellence Framework since the start of her career.

Speaking of her appointment, Professor Kilday said: “I am hugely honoured and incredibly happy to be joining the team at the University of Northampton in the role of Vice Chancellor. I will very much miss the students and all of my colleagues at Oxford Brookes, but I am looking forward to meeting everyone at Northampton and am ready to take on the challenges and seize the opportunities that will come our way.”

Mr Mark Mulcahey, Chair of the University’s Board of Governors, said: “We are delighted that Professor Anne-Marie Kilday will join us this summer. Through a rigorous and inclusive process, we have chosen a new Vice Chancellor that embodies our vision and sense of purpose.”

“In addition to being a highly accomplished educator and researcher, Professor Kilday has improved the university experience for staff and students in her current post and driven initiatives around equality, diversity and inclusion. Her dedication to the ideals of using higher education as a catalyst for positive social impact mirrors our own Changemaker ethos.  She is an aspirational leader with a proven record, and we look forward to working with her in this next phase of the University’s development.”

Mark added: “It has been my pleasure to work alongside Professor Nick Petford, and, on behalf of the University, I would like to thank him for his leadership which has taken us to a new fantastic campus and a revolutionary approach to delivering education.”

Professor Petford said: “It has been an honour to have served as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Northampton, and I would like to wish Anne-Marie, my colleagues, and all our students every success for the future.”