Chancellor

The University of Nottingham appointed Crossbench peer and anti-slavery campaigner, Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE, as the University’s new Chancellor with effect from the 6 February 2020.

Baroness Young is an author, actor and peer. She became an independent Crossbench member of the House of Lords in 2004 where she works on legislation to eliminate modern slavery, and is the founding co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion and Sport, Modern Slavery and Human Rights.

Baroness Young has served on the boards of several national cultural organisations and chaired the Young Review and Agenda, addressing racial disproportionality and the vulnerability of traumatised women in the justice system, as well as being Co-Chair of the Foundation for Future London.

She has championed the role of public bodies, such as local authorities, NHS and government departments to produce statements on modern slavery in the same way as commercial companies, to explain the steps they are taking to rid their supply chains of forced and exploitative labour.

Baroness Young already has strong and active links with the University, having accepted an Honorary Professorship with the Rights Lab and the School of Politics and International Relations in 2018 and a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa in 2019. The Rights Lab is a University Beacon of Excellence where more than 100 researchers are working to help end global modern slavery by 2030. Here, she acts as adviser on research projects with policy impact and leads public engagement activities and policy events being run by the Rights Lab as well as acting in an advisory role on research projects where there could be policy impact.

Baroness Young succeeds Sir Andrew Witty, former Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoSmithKline, who served as Chancellor of the University of Nottingham from 2013 to 2017.

Chancellor's Inaugural Lecture