At her final degree ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral, honorary graduates, colleagues, former staff and friends have gathered to mark Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow’s 10 years of service as Vice-Chancellor and President and to wish her well on her retirement.
To mark Dame Julia’s final graduation ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral on Friday 14 July, 22 former honorary graduates of the University were in attendance, including Chair of Children in Need, Dr Stevie Spring, physicist Sir John Enderby, former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Dame Ursula Brennan.
During Professor Dame Julia’s time at the University, student numbers have increased from 16,000 in 2007 to over 20,000 in 2016, and she has successfully steered the University through massive changes in higher education, including the rise in tuition fees, and the wider political landscape, such as the EU Referendum result.
Furthermore, Professor Dame Julia’s focus on ensuring the University delivers a high-quality teaching and learning environment helped secure a gold rating in the government’s first Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) awarded in June.
The TEF is just the latest in a series of criteria and benchmarks against which the University is measured where it has performed strongly since Professor Dame Julia became Vice-Chancellor:
- Ranked 22nd in the Guardian University Guide 2018, 23rd in The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2017 and 25th in the Complete University Guide 2018
- Ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, with world-leading research in all subjects and 97% of its research deemed to be of international quality
- In the National Student Survey 2016 Kent achieved the fourth highest score for overall student satisfaction, out of all publicly funded, multi-faculty universities.
She has also overseen a series of building and improvement works across both Canterbury and Medway campuses, such as the Colyer-Fergusson, the Wigoder Law Clinic, the refurbishments on the Historic Dockyard and, most recently, Sibson, the largest academic building the University has ever built.
Reflecting on her time at the University, Professor Dame Julia praised all those she has worked with, saying hard work and support from across the University, both from academics and professional service staff, have been crucial to delivering the successes that have been achieved during her time.
Despite retiring from her role as Vice-Chancellor on 31 July, Professor Dame Julia will remain active in her field of expertise as she was recently appointed the next President of the Royal Society of Biology.
The University is preparing to welcome Professor Karen Cox who will become the next Vice-Chancellor and President on 1 August. Professor Cox is the current Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Nottingham and a Privy Council-appointed member of the Board of the Nursing & Midwifery Council.