Harvard Professor Stephen Blythe has been announced as the new Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, starting in Michaelmas Term 2022.
In a statement released by LMH, Blythe said that “I am honoured to have been elected by the Governing Body as the next Principal and am delighted to be joining LMH. I look forward to working together with the Fellowship to support, strengthen and champion the pioneering academic mission of the college.
“I admire LMH’s bold initiatives in recent years and its achievements in diversifying access to an Oxford education. Founded with the goal of opening education and career opportunities to the previously excluded, LMH is a distinctive academic community which transforms lives and tackles pressing challenges facing higher education.”
Professor Blythe is currently a Harvard Professor of the Practice of Statistics. As an undergraduate, he studied Mathematics at Cambridge’s Christ College, where he was 3rd Senior Wrangler. He also holds a PhD in statistics from Harvard University. After graduating, he taught as a lecturer in Mathematics at Imperial College London, before transitioning to roles in finance.
Having held positions as Managing Director of both Morgan Stanley New York and Deutsche Bank London, in 2006 he returned to Harvard, taking a leadership role at the Harvard Management Company (HMC). HMC is responsible for the management of the University’s endowment of approximately £30 billion, which is the world’s largest. In 2014 he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of HMC, while continuing to teach in his capacity as Professor of the Practice of Statistics.
In their statement, LMH emphasised that “As endowment chief, professor and alumni leader, [Blythe] has been committed to reducing barriers to higher education, increasing access and developing academic talent regardless of background.”
Blythe will replace the current interim Principal, Professor Christine Gerrard.
Image Credit: Herbi1922 / CC BY-SA 4.0
