University Chancellor
Help us find our new Chancellor
After six years of service, Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC has made the decision to step down from her role as Chancellor in July 2024.
The Chancellor is the ceremonial head of the University and acts as a figurehead and an ambassador of the University, working with the Vice-Chancellor and other senior staff to promote the University’s achievements regionally, nationally and internationally. The Chancellor should be guided in their work by the University’s goals contained in the University’s mission, values and strategy.
The appointment process for our next Chancellor commences with a four-week public nominations period, opening on Friday 5 April and closing on Friday 3 May 2024.
University staff, students and stakeholders are invited to submit their nominations using the online form. Nominations are strictly confidential and should not be discussed with nominees. To ensure fairness and efficiency of this process, nominations will only be accepted for formal consideration if a form is submitted.
Download the role description and person specification here (PDF, 114.7KB).
The Chancellor is appointed in accordance with the Regulations of the Board (DOCX, 97.7KB).
The Governance and Nominations Committee will consider the nominations received and will make recommendation for appointment to the Board of Governors. It is hoped that the University will announce its new Chancellor in the summer.
Nominations, expressions of interest and queries may be raised with the University Secretary (governanceservices@shu.ac.uk).
Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC
The Chancellor advances the interests of the University in all her spheres of influence. She is the figurehead of the University and as such appears at major public occasions such as degree ceremonies.
Baroness Kennedy is a leading barrister and internationally renowned human rights champion. She was installed as Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University in a ceremony at Cutlers’ Hall on Thursday 26 July 2018.
She has acted in many of the most prominent British criminal cases of the last 40 years, including the Brighton bombing attack on the British cabinet, the Guildford Four appeal and the Michael Bettaney espionage case. In 1997, she was made a life peer in the House of Lords.
Baroness Kennedy has a well-established relationship with Sheffield Hallam, as the patron of its world-leading Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice and recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in 2014.
She overcame many barriers to become the leading voice for equal opportunities in the legal profession for women. She has championed law reform, especially relating to sexual and domestic violence.
Baroness Kennedy is passionate about education for all and, as chair of the Further Education Commission into Widening Participation, she produced the Kennedy Report which led to changes in government policy in further education. The report was hailed as a turning point in efforts to close the education divide across the UK.
Her significant work for women in the legal profession has led to serious reforms on access and greater representation of women at senior levels in practice and in the judiciary. An advocate for the arts and literature, Baroness Kennedy served as chair of the British Council from 2004 to 2009 and as a judge for literary awards including the Man Booker Prize.
She is a frequent broadcaster, journalist and author. Her books include Eve Was Framed: Women and British Justice, and Just Law: The Changing Face of Justice and Why It Matters to Us All.