Deputy Vice-Chancellor heads to Cranfield
21 April 2021
Professor Karen Holford has been appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University.
Professor Holford’s appointment draws to a close a forty-year association with Cardiff University, firstly as an engineering student and, following roles in industry with Rolls-Royce and AB Electronics, returning to us as a lecturer and becoming a leading researcher and Professor, Head of School, Pro Vice-Chancellor, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
She also becomes the third member of the University Executive Board to successfully progress to a Vice-Chancellor position, following in the footsteps of Professor Elizabeth Treasure and Professor George Boyne.
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan said: “I shall be very sorry to lose Karen but am delighted for her and know that she will offer outstanding leadership at Cranfield.
“Her appointment represents a very significant achievement and is extremely well deserved in the light of her excellent work on the leadership team at Cardiff over the last nine years or so.
“On behalf of everybody at Cardiff I offer Karen my heartfelt congratulations and wish her all the best for the future.”
As well as a member of senior management, Professor Holford built Cardiff’s international reputation in acoustic emission research, in particular the experimental work in one of the best equipped facilities in Europe.
Professor Holford is a leading advocate of engineering and is part of several committees and organisations that actively encourage young people to consider a career in the field.
In 2006, she was named the Welsh Woman of the Year in Science and Technology, and in 2007 was awarded the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) Excellence award for her long-term commitment to supporting girls and young women in science and engineering.
In 2015 she became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and in 2016 was named as one of the UK’s top 50 most influential women engineers in the UK.
Professor Holford was awarded a CBE in 2018 for services to engineering and for the advancement of women in science and engineering.
Professor Holford will take up her new post on the 1st of August 2021.
Further information on plans to recruit a replacement will be made available shortly.