Rhodes Trust appoints new interim Warden

The Rhodes Trust has appointed an interim Warden/CEO. The Warden acts as CEO of the Rhodes Trust and the Rhodes Scholarship. A statement from Sir John Bell, Chairman of the Trustees of the Rhodes Trust, sent to Rhodes Scholars and Alumni around the world, is below:

Dear Scholars & friends of the Rhodes Trust,

I am pleased to let you know that the Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Sir Richard Trainor KBE FRHistS as Interim Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of The Rhodes Trust.  Taking over from Dr Elizabeth Kiss as she steps down on 1st January, Sir Rick will serve the Trust in this role during 2025 while the Board conducts a global search to identify the next permanent Warden.

Sir Rick is himself a Rhodes Scholar (Rhode Island & Merton 1970) who has had a distinguished career as an historian and a widely respected leader in Higher Education.  He is no stranger to Oxford having served as Rector of Exeter College from 2014 until September this year, and having been Chair of the Conference of Colleges and a Pro Vice Chancellor.  He has remained closely engaged with the Trust in recent years, including providing much appreciated support to Elizabeth and the team in welcoming and hosting distinguished visitors to Rhodes House.  

Born and raised in the United States, Rick took his undergraduate degree at Brown University.  He took a second undergraduate degree as well as (after completing a Master’s Degree at Princeton) a DPhil in Victorian social history during his time at Oxford, where he was a graduate student of Nuffield and a Junior Research Fellow of Wolfson.  In 1979 he was appointed Lecturer at the University of Glasgow where he later was awarded a Personal Chair and became Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and then Vice Principal.  In 2000 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, and four years later was appointed Principal and Professor of Social History at King’s College London. Between 2007 and 2009 Sir Rick was also President of Universities UK, the representative organisation for the heads of all UK universities.  A dual citizen of the UK and the USA, he was knighted in 2010 for services to Higher Education.

Accepting his appointment as Interim Warden, Sir Rick said: “I look forward to serving the Trust, helping to prepare the way for the next permanent Warden in succession to Elizabeth Kiss.  The Rhodes Scholarship had a transformational effect on my life.  It will be an exciting privilege for me to assist the Trust in maintaining the Scholarships, and associated Fellowships, as a preeminent influence on the lives of recipients and a major force in Oxford and in the world at large.”

The Trustees are enormously grateful to Elizabeth for her visionary leadership since she took office as Warden in 2018 and we recognise that she will be much missed by Scholars, staff and friends of the Trust.  In the coming months the Board will reach out to representatives within the Scholar and wider Trust community to consult on the recruitment process for the next permanent Warden.  We have every confidence that Sir Rick will ensure continuity of purpose during this period of transition. 

Best wishes

Sir John Bell
Chairman, Board of Trustees

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