Professor Judith Buchanan elected next Master of St Peter’s College

Professor Buchanan, who is currently Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of York, will take over on 1 October from Mark Damazer CBE, who is due to step down on 30 September 2019 after nine years at St Peter's.

A former Fulbright Scholar and Wilkinson Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford, Judith Buchanan has an academic background both in early modern literature and in the study of film, and is a leading authority on Shakespearean performance histories and on silent cinema. She works frequently with external partners across arts and heritage sectors nationally and internationally, and is a committed advocate for the value of work and conversations that move between academic and non-academic spheres.

She moved from Oxford to the University of York in 2000 where she has worked in various capacities since. She was appointed Professor of Film and Literature in the Department of English and Related Literature in 2011, Director of the Humanities Research Centre in 2012, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities in 2017. As Dean, she manages and represents the eight departments and multiple interdisciplinary centres of the University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities. She sits on various international boards in support of academic-based projects and is a Commissioner on the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission.

Professor Judith Buchanan said: 'I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed as the next head of house of St Peter’s to succeed Mark Damazer, whose contribution to the life and standing of the college has been so strikingly strong. St Peter’s is a college with verve, momentum and heart. Its academic performance is excellent and its community life wonderfully vibrant. I look forward to contributing energetically to the next phase of its life and work.'

Professor Christopher Foot, Vice-Master, commented: 'We are delighted by Professor Buchanan’s election as the next Master. She will bring to St Peter’s a wealth of experience and leadership in higher education, and we are confident that the college will be in the hands of someone who understands its values and ambitions, and who has the skills, energy, and vision to ensure that it will continue to act as a place where people from all backgrounds can fulfil their potential.'

Mark Damazer CBE said: 'I am thrilled that the Governing Body has chosen Professor Buchanan to become the new head of St Peter’s. She is superbly qualified to lead the college and will bring to it a huge range of skills honed by her considerable academic achievement and experience. I wish her all the very best.'

Judith and her husband Kostja, son Douglas (17) and daughter Frederike (“Freddie”) (15) currently live in York. She loves music, theatre, cinema, dance, football and tennis.

Professor Judith Buchanan has been elected as the next Master of St Peter's college's. Image credit: Alex Holland