Dr Michael Spence AC Appointed UCL President and Provost

We are delighted to announce that Dr Michael Spence AC (1988, Law), Catz alumnus and former Fellow of the College, has been appointed to the position of President and Provost of University College London.  He will succeed Professor Michael Arthur, who will be stepping down from the role in January 2021.

After gaining a degree in English, Italian and Law from the University of Sydney, Dr Spence took a DPhil in Law  at St Catherine’s College.  Following this, he became a Fellow in Law in 1992 and specialised in intellectual property theory.  He served as head of the Law faculty and later as head of the Social Sciences division at Oxford University while simultaneously completing a postgraduate diploma in Theology.

Since 2008 Dr Spence has been Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Sydney.  Under his leadership, the university has been ranked highly in global league tables for graduate employability, research and teaching.

Victor Chu CBE, Chair of Council at UCL, explained that “Dr Spence is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding university leaders in the world, and we are delighted that he has accepted the role as the next President and Provost of UCL.  We were impressed by his unique achievements and track record. Under Dr Spence’s leadership, the University of Sydney has been transformed and is regarded as one of the top universities in the world.”