Lord Woolf announced as next Chair of UCL Council

The Rt Hon The Lord Woolf, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales , has been named as the new Chair of UCL Council.

Lord Woolf, a UCL alumnus, is to join UCL Council as Vice-Chair on 1 October 2004, and will take over as Chair of Council from Lord Young of Graffham on 1 October 2005.

The 25-member Council is the governing body of UCL. It has a mix of internal and external members, and meets regularly to review the strategic direction of the University.

Welcoming the appointment, UCL Provost & President Professor Malcolm Grant said: "I am delighted by this appointment of one of our most distinguished alumni to chair the UCL Council. This is a vitally important office, and Lord Woolf will bring to it his wide learning, broad vision and sturdy independence. I look forward to working closely with him for the future development of this great university."

Lord Woolf said: "This is an exciting time for UCL, and I am particularly looking forward to coming back to the university and working to support its ongoing programme aimed at maintaining its status as one of the world's leading universities. I enjoyed my time here as a student hugely, and I am pleased to now be returning in this challenging role, with the ambition of ensuring that UCL achieves the recognition that its superb teaching and research deserve."

Lord Young, Chair of UCL Council, said: "I am delighted that Council has chosen Lord Woolf to succeed me as Chair of Council from the 2005 academic year.  We face considerable challenges in the years ahead and UCL could not be in better hands than the combination of Lord Woolf and our Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant."

Notes for Editors

1. Lord Woolf was born in Newcastle in May 1933 and educated at Glasgow Academy and Fettes College Edinburgh, then at University College London where he graduated in Law in 1954. He was called to the Bar, Inner Temple , in 1954 and became a Bencher in 1976. After a period as First Treasury Counsel, he was appointed to the High Court Bench in 1979. He became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1986 and, in 1990, carried out an inquiry into prison disturbances following the Strangeways riots, completing Part II of the inquiry with Judge Tumim. The report of the inquiry was published in 1991. Lord Woolf was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in 1992. He conducted the inquiry into Access to Justice between 1994 and 1996, publishing his final report in July 1996. He was appointed Master of the Rolls in the same year and Lord Chief Justice in 2000.

2. Founded in 1826, University College London (UCL) was the original University of London and the first university in England to open higher education to all who could benefit from it. Today, UCL is a multi-disciplinary, world-class institution, true to its egalitarian tradition and mission, and committed to excellence in teaching and research - with an annual turnover of £480 million, more than 18,000 students and 7,500 staff.