Dame Mary Archer appointed new Chancellor of the University of Buckingham

Dame Mary will be succeeding Lady Tessa Keswick, who has been Chancellor since 2014.

Discussing her new appointment Dame Mary Archer said:

“I have long admired the University for its pioneering and student-oriented approach, and I am deeply honoured to become its Chancellor as it expands its Medical School and other faculties and moves towards its landmark 50th anniversary.”

Chair of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for ten years from 2002 to 2012, Dame Mary was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to the National Health Service.

Dame Mary started her career as a physical chemist and taught chemistry at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

From 2005 to 2008 she led a pioneer NHS-funded initiative to create patient decision aids for patients with prostate conditions, and later she introduced an information and advice service for bladder cancer patients in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and across the Anglia Cancer Network.

She was a founder director of Cambridge University Health Partners and chaired Imperial College Health Partners External Advisory Board from 2013 to 2017. She currently chairs the Centre for Personalised Medicine at Oxford.

In 2015, The University of Buckingham opened the UK’s first independent, not-for-profit medical school since the 1940s, and applications have continued to rise ever since, with a 38% increase this year for its undergraduate degree. The 4.5-year (GMC-accredited) MB ChB programme is designed to train highly ethical, honest and compassionate doctors who will put the patient first.

Vice-Chancellor, Sir Anthony Seldon, added:

“The University has been blessed by a very distinguished series of Chancellors, including Lady Thatcher and most recently Lady Keswick. Dame Mary’s work will prove particularly inspiring to our medical students, whom we always encourage to innovate in their field and adopt cutting edge approaches.”

Dame Mary is also Chair of the Science Museum Group and its allied museums. As well as being a Companion of the Energy Institute, she is the Patron of the National Energy Foundation and President of the UK Solar Energy Society. She has written and contributed to various volumes of work concerning solar energy.