List of University of Kent people

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.

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

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
• Michael North - Economics Teacher at Westcliff High School for Boys
• 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
• 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
• James Buckley-Thorp – Founder and Chief Executive Officer Bequest
• 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
• 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
• Mastura Mohd Yazid – Member of Parliament for Kuala Kangsar district and Deputy Minister in the Malaysian Government
• Munira Mirza – (MA) (PhD) – former Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit
• Maria Mezentseva (MA) – Member of the Ukrainian Parliament
• Chris Mole – former Labour Member of Parliament for Ipswich
• Raychelle Omamo – Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs
• Abena Oppong-Asare – Labour Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead – Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.
• Taiwo Owatemi – Labour Member of Parliament for Coventry North West – Lord Commissioner of the Treasury.
• Suren Raghavan (MA) (PhD) – Sri Lankan politician, former Governor of Northern Province, now National List MP for the Parliament of Sri Lanka
• Blake Stephenson – Conservative Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire.
• Dan Tehan – (MA) – Australian politician, former Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in the Morrison government
• Emily Thornberry – Labour Member of Parliament for Islington South and Finsbury Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
• Robin Tilbrook – leader and founder of the English Democrats
• Tom Vandenkendelaere – (MA) (PhD) – Belgian Member of the European Parliament
• Peter Whittle – former Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party
• Alex Yam – Mayor of North West District and Member of the Singapore Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC
• Fu Ying – (MA) – Chinese former Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Law and administration

• Sir David Akers-Jones – (MA) former acting Governor of Hong Kong, 1986/87
• Ursula Brennan – Order of the Bath – former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice
• Jonathan Cohen – High Court Judge, Family Division.
• Ivo Daalder – President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, former United States Permanent Representative to NATO
• Luke de Pulford – Human Rights Campaigner – recipient of the Benemerenti Medal
• Sir Chris Ham – former Chief Executive King's Fund.
• Irwan Hambali – (MSc) Police commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Force
• Sarah Harrison (civil servant) – Chief Operating Officer for the Cabinet Office.
• Alastair John Naisbitt King – Chairman Naisbitt King Asset Management – Lord Mayor of London 2024 – 2025
• Mark Lucraft – former Chief Coroner, now Recorder of London, Lead Judge at the Old Bailey.
• Pippa Mills – formerly Chief Constable West Mercia Police now Assistant Commissioner Metropolitan Police
• Shan Morgan – Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Government
• Damilola Odufuwa – Founder of Nigerian Feminist Coalition and Microfinance specialist. One of Vogue's 12 Women leaders who changed the World in 2020.
• Sir Hugh Orde – former Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
• Joanna Roper – British Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Lucy Scott-Moncrieff – Human Rights and Mental Health lawyer – Past President Law Society of England and Wales
• Dame Glenys Stacey – Chair Office for Environmental Protection – formerly Chief Executive Ofqual

Nobility

• Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma – a peer and second cousin of King Charles III, son of John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne
• Lady Amanda Patricia Victoria Knatchbull – daughter of John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne and cousin to Charles III
• Sir Jonathan Cohen – grandson of Lionel Cohen, Baron Cohen, great-great-grandson of financier Lionel Louis Cohen
• Joshua Leakey – recipient of the Victoria Cross, member of the Leakey family, relative of Lieutenant General Arundell David Leakey

Sports

• Paul Ackford – former England Rugby and British and Irish Lions rugby player, The Sunday Telegraph sports journalist
• Adam Ball – former England Under 19 Cricket Captain who played for Kent County Cricket Club
• Natasha Brennan – Women's Rugby Union player – Won the gold medal with the 2014 Women's World Cup England Rugby team.
• David Fulton – cricketer, former captain of Kent County Cricket Club
• Adebola Oluwo - Professional footballer. Central defender for Salford City FC EFL League division 2.
• Wayne Otto – British Karate Champion – Winner of multiple gold medals at Karate World Championships
• Jamie Reeves – (MA) – semi-professional footballer who won the FA Vase twice; pundit on the ESPN Star Sports coverage of the Premier League
• Susannah Townsend – Great Britain, England and Canterbury field hockey player, Gold medal winner 2016 Summer Olympics, Bronze medal winner 2020 Summer Olympics

Military

• Joshua Leakey – known for courageous actions in the Afghanistan campaign in 2015; recipient of the Victoria Cross (did not graduate – left in the first year to join the British Army)

Miscellaneous

• Madeline Argy – Podcaster, Influencer
• Chris Broad – YouTuber
• Tom Frame – (MA)- Australian Christian minister of religion, historian, author, and social commentator
• Akaliza Keza Gara – Rwandan IT activist
• Rachael House – artist
• Philip Howard – Michelin starred chef – The Square and then Elystan Street
• Leon McCarron – Northern Irish adventurer, author, filmmaker, broadcaster. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Yale World Fellow 2024.
• Duro Olowu – Fashion Designer
• Martin Poll – Canon Chaplain of St George's Chapel Windsor Castle
• Stephen Shaw -(MA) – Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales
• Johnny Yeo – artist and portraitist – his paintings are included in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London

Honorary doctorates

• Andrea Arnold, film director, doctorate of arts
• Giles Clark, conservationist (Big Cat Sanctuary), doctorate of science
• Iain Dale, radio broadcaster (LBC) and political commentator, doctor of the university
• Michael Morpurgo, author and playwright, doctorate of letters
• PinkPantheress, singer and producer, doctorate of music

References