Sir Michael Dixon has been elected the new Principal of Green Templeton College and will assume the position in September 2020.
Sir Michael has previously served as the Director of the Natural History Museum in London for over 15 years, having announced last year that he would retire from the post.
Whilst Sir Michael was Director of the Museum, its attendance almost doubled, from 3 million visits a year to 5.3 million. Sir Michael has also overseen the delivery of the museum’s Darwin centre, its biggest single development since the 1800s, which opened to the public in 2010 to widespread acclaim.
In 2014, the success of Sir Michael’s tenure as Director led to a knighthood in recognition for his services to museums.
Prior to his role as museum Director, Sir Michael worked for two decades in scientific, technical and medical (STM) publishing with John Wiley and Sons and Thomson Corporation and later served as Director General of the Zoological Society of London.
The college is a graduate community with a focus on business and management, health and medicine, and social sciences.
It has around 600 students from over 70 countries, with more than 300 fellows.
On his election, Sir Michael said: “I am delighted that the Governing
Body of Green Templeton College has selected me to be the next Principal. “I look forward to building on the
legacy of previous Principals in making the college a vibrant, stimulating community for research and learn- ing where fellows and students can thrive.”
Sir Michael will be replacing Professor Denise Lievesley, who has stepped down after five years as principal.
On her successor, she said: “Green Templeton is a vibrant international community focused on bringing academic research of the highest quality to bear on real-world problems.
“I have enjoyed my time as Principal immensely and will miss our magnificent students and staff. I am proud to pass the baton on to Michael and look forward to hearing about the continuing success of the college.”
