A list of people related to the University of Kent.

Officers Several positions did not technically exist prior to the formal incorporation of the University by approval of its Charter on 4 January 1965. However several were appointed beforehand as nominal "officer designates", performing the same duties. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was not formally installed as Chancellor until 30 March 1966.Graham Martin, From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 32

Chancellors 1963–1968 Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent 1970–1990 Jo Grimond (later Baron Grimond) – see University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, 1970 1990–1995 Sir Robert Horton 1996–2006 Sir Crispin Tickell 2006–2014 Sir Robert Worcester 2014–2024 Gavin Esler 2024–present YolanDa Brown

Vice-Chancellors 1963–1980 Geoffrey Templeman 1980–1994 David J.E. Ingram 1994–2001 Robin Sibson 2001–2007 Sir David Melville 2007–2017 Dame Julia Goodfellow 2017–2024 Karen Cox 2024–present Georgina Randsley de Moura (Acting Vice-Chancellor)

Pro Chancellors

1960–1971 Wykeham Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis 1971–1977 Sir Paul Chambers 1977–1984 Robin Leigh-Pemberton 1984–1993 Reverend David Say 1993–1999 John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne 1999–2005 Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield

Title changed to:

Chair of the Council 2005–2011 Valerie Marshall 2011–2014 John Simmonds 2014–present Sir David Warren

Visitors The Visitor of the university is the Archbishop of Canterbury ex officio. The following Archbishops have served:

1965–1974 Michael Ramsey (appointed Archbishop 1961) 1974–1980 Donald Coggan 1980–1991 Robert Runcie 1991–2002 George Carey 2002–2012 Rowan Williams 2013–2025 Justin Welby

Notable staff

Dominic Abrams – Professor of Social Psychology & Vice President of the British Academy Andy Alaszewski – Emeritus Professor of Health Studies Harry Bloom – South African former political activist, author (deceased) Upamanyu Chatterjee – author David Corfield – philosopher Elizabeth Cowie – professor of film studies at the University of Kent Frank Furedi – founder and chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), Professor of Sociology Robin Gill – Anglican priest and theologian Roy Goodman – freelance conductor, violinist and organist Matthew Goodwin – professor and researcher of British politics Abdulrazak Gurnah – writer Rosalyn Higgins – President of the International Court of Justice Rosemary Hunter – Legal scholar and researcher Professor of Law Michael J. L. Kirby – former Canadian Senator Elena Korosteleva – Professor and Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development University of Warwick Bill MacMillan – Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia Molly Mahood – literary scholar David McLellan (political scientist) Murray Smith – philosopher and film theorist; Professor of Film at the University of Kent Hamish Swanston, the first Catholic to head a Department of Theology at a British university since the Reformation David Turner – computer scientist, designer of the Miranda programming language Sarah Turner – filmmaker, and Director of Research, School of Music and Fine Art Glenn White – astronomer John Zarnecki – space scientist and principal on the Huygens probe

Notable alumni

All bachelor's degrees unless stated otherwise

Academia

Anuwar Ali – (PhD) – economist, exponent of higher education, second Vice-Chancellor and President of Open University Malaysia Jo Fox – Director Institute of Historical Research University of London Adrian Franklin – Professor of Sociology at the University of Tasmania Colin Hughes – Emeritus Professor of Microbiology University of Cambridge, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Belinda Jack – Fellow and Tutor in French at Christ Church, Oxford at the University of Oxford Homa Katouzian – (PhD) – Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Oxford Robert Lethbridge – Former Master of Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge Lisa Roberts – (PhD) – Vice Chancellor University of Exeter Ralph Townsend (MA) – former Headmaster of Winchester College Patrick Collinson – Notable Elizabethan historian; (PhD) – former Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge Rupert Wegerif – Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge Fellow of Hughes Hall Lorraine Whitmarsh – environmental psychologist, Professor at the University of Bath

Theatre film and entertainment

Farah Zeynep Abdullah – Turkish actress and singer including film The Butterfly's Dream Heather Agyepong – Actor/performer, photographer, visual artist. Andrew Burt – actor – the original Jack Sugden in Emmerdale Daragh Carville – playwright and screenwriter including The Bay Jackie Clune – actor, singer, and comedian Alan Davies – comedian, actor, and author: work includes television QI, Bob & Rose and Jonathan Creek and book Just Ignore Him Richard Denton – producer and director of television documentaries including Comrades and Kingswood – a Comprehensive Lyn Gardner – theatre critic, children's writer and journalist, founding member of City Limits magazine Mark Gillis – actor, including for the Royal Shakespeare Company, writer / director including for the indie film Sink Stuart Hazeldine – screenwriter and film director including The Shack Kim Ismay – actor including Royal Shakespeare Company and singer Martina Laird - actor, activist, playwright. Actor Casualty, Royal Shakespeare Company Playwright Driftwood. Bruce Langley – actor, known for playing the role of Technical Boy on American Gods Rebecca Lenkiewicz – playwright and screenwriter including Ida, Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards 2015 and She Said (film) Laura Lexx – comedian and writer Matthew Morsia – fitness influencer, team member Gladiators Mark Simmons – stand-up comedian Megan Swann – magician, President of The Magic Circle Paul Telfer – actor, NCIS and Days of Our Lives Ramon Tikaram – actor, This Life and EastEnders Michelle Tsiakkas – professional dancer including Strictly Come Dancing series 22 Neal Purvis and Robert Wade – screenwriters of the film Let Him Have It and eight James Bond films including Casino Royale, Skyfall and No Time to Die Ariel Vromen – Israeli screenwriter and film director including The Iceman Tom Wilkinson – actor, including The Full Monty and Academy Award nominee for In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton.

Literature Michael Baigent – (MA) – co-author of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail Valerie Bloom – poet Debjani Chatterjee – poet Fred D'Aguiar – novelist, playwright, poet, and academic Abdulrazak Gurnah (MA) (PhD) – academic and novelist including Paradise and 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Jane Harper – author The Dry Sir Kazuo Ishiguro – novelist, Man Booker Prize winner for The Remains of the Day and 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Screenwriter of Living (2022 film) E. L. James – author Fifty Shades of Grey and film producer Fifty Shades of Grey David Mitchell – novelist Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas and Utopia Avenue Sarah Waters – novelist Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet David Wingrove – science fiction writer Frederick Kambemba Yamusangie – novelist Musaemura Zimunya – Zimbabwean contemporary author John Lewis-Stempel – farmer and writer

Media

Rosie Boycott – journalist, former editor of The Independent and Daily Express Janusz Bugajski – host of Bugajski Hour on several Balkan TV channels Ian Collins – radio presenter and TalkRADIO host Oliver Double – comedian and comedy historian Gavin Esler – former BBC Newsnight presenter and BBC North America Editor Shiulie Ghosh – former ITV news presenter Fi Glover – BBC Radio 4 presenter including The Listening Project Charlotte Green – BBC radio presenter David Horsey – (MA) – Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mark Mardell – Presenter The World This Weekend BBC Radio 4, former BBC North America and Europe Editor Matt Preston – Australian television presenter and food journalist Carolyn Quinn – BBC Radio 4 political presenter Paul Ross – journalist and presenter, former editor and presenter The Big Breakfast William Sitwell – former editor of Waitrose magazine now Telegraph columnist and Masterchef presenter Charlotte Smith – Presenter Countryfile and Farming Today Peter White – BBC Radio 4 presenter of You and Yours and BBC Disability Affairs Correspondent Patrick Wright – journalist, academic and author Sahar Zand – British-Iranian journalist, television presenter and documentary maker

Music

YolanDa Brown – saxophonist, composer, broadcaster, philanthropist; double MOBO "Best Jazz" winner. Chair BPI music. Jon DaSilva – DJ and Record Producer – House and Dance music – pioneer at The Haçienda Manchester. Ana Free – Portuguese singer songwriter. Barbara Gaskin – singer – recorded No 1 hit single "It's My Party" with Dave Stewart Ellie Goulding – singer / songwriter (dropped out – did not graduate) albums include Lights Steve Hillage – guitarist (dropped out – did not graduate) Lami Phillips – Nigerian singer / songwriter and actress Tiwa Savage – Nigerian singer / songwriter

Business Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss – CEO Rock Creek, Former Chief Investment Officer World Bank, Carnegie Corporation of New York Great Immigrants, Great Americans list 2020 Ghanim Bin Saad Al Saad - Qatari Businessman and Chairman of GSSG Holding Zameer Choudrey, Baron Choudrey – Chief Executive Bestway Group Wayne Garvie – President International Production at Sony Pictures Television Tristia Harrison – Chief Executive Officer TalkTalk Group Max Hole – former Chairman and Chief of Global Operations Universal Music Carolyn McCall – Chief Executive Officer ITV Charles Wigoder – Executive Chairman Telecom Plus

Politics

Abdullah Md Zin – (PhD) – minister in the Malaysian government Abbas Araghchi – (PhD) – Foreign Minister of Iran Azizan Abdul Razak – Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the Malaysian state of Kedah Gareth Bacon – Conservative Member of Parliament for Orpington – Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton – (MA) – former Government Whip in the House of Lords Judith Blake, Baroness Blake of Leeds – former Labour Leader of Leeds City Council Wayne Caines – Minister of National Security Government of Bermuda Ronald D. Coleman – (Year abroad) – former United States Representative for Texas Baron Collins of Highbury – former Labour Party General Secretary - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords. Kaya Comer-Schwartz – Deputy Mayor of London for Policing and Crime – former Labour Leader of Islington Council in London Chris Davies – (MA) – former Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for North West England Mark Drakeford – former First Minister of Wales Tamsin Dunwoody – former Labour Member of the National Assembly for Wales for Preseli Pembrokeshire; former minister in the Welsh Assembly Government Natalie Elphicke – former Conservative / Labour Member of Parliament for Dover Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine (MA) – Liberal Democrat peer Allison Gardner – Labour Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent South. Sheila Gilmore – former Labour Member of Parliament for Edinburgh East Stephen Gethins -(MA) – SNP Member of Parliament for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry Kostis Hatzidakis – (MA) – Minister for the Environment and Energy in the Greek Government Dame Ann Hercus – (MA) – New Zealand politician and diplomat Jane Hutt – Minister for Social Justice – Senedd Kamarudin Jaffar – Member of Parliament of Malaysia for Bandar Tun Razak constituency and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Charles Larsonneur – Deputy representing La Republique En Marche! for Finistère in the French National Assembly David Lepper – former Labour Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion Eunice M. Tembo Luambia Zambian ambassador to the UN in Geneva James MacCleary – Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Lewes