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St Hugh’s College welcomes new Principal, Michele Acton

St Hugh’s College is delighted to announce that Michele Acton has joined the College as its new Principal, following the retirement of Lady Elish Angiolini LT DBE PC KC after 13 years of dedicated service to the College.

Michele joins the College from the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) where she was Chief Executive – a post she had held since 2019. Her leadership at the RSM followed 12 years as Chief Executive of Fight for Sight, which she helped transform into a leading national fundraising charity for medical research into eye health. Michele started her career in investment banking. She was educated in Lincolnshire and her native Derbyshire, primarily at state schools, and studied PPE at Trinity College, Oxford.

The College’s Senior Fellow, Professor Adrian Moore FBA, who chaired the election process commented, ‘We are thrilled that Michele has joined the College as our new Principal. Her successful leadership experience, her passion for education and research, and her combination of warmth and strategic vision are exactly the qualities that St Hugh’s needs as it looks towards the 150th anniversary of its foundation in 2036.’

Michele Acton said, ‘I am delighted to be joining St Hugh’s College as its 10th Principal. It is an honour to follow in the footsteps of my eminent predecessors who have helped the College become not only a centre of academic excellence but also such a friendly and inclusive community. Reducing the barriers to an Oxford education was the principle upon which the College was founded and it is one I will work hard to uphold, as well as helping to shape the next chapter in the College’s development.’