Jan Royall shares priorities if elected as Oxford chancellor

Ms Royall, who served as chief whip in the House of Lords and then as leader of the House from 2008 until 2010, announced she would be running for the esteemed role last month.

An election will be held for the role for the first-ever time to decide the new chancellor following 80-year-old Lord Chris Patten’s decision to retire later this year.

More than 250,000 Oxford graduates and former staff members will be able to vote online for the role which has only been held by three people since 1960.

Several ex-politicians have thrown their hats into the ring this year including former PM Theresa May as well as Lord William Hague and Lord Peter Mandelson.

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The principal of Somerville College said she applied after her colleagues encouraged her to run for the role.

"At first I said, don't be ridiculous, it's not for people like me," she said.

"Then I thought - hell, why isn't it for people like me? 

"I might as well give it a whirl. This is a place that I feel passionate about, I’ve been here for seven years and I’ve lived and breathed it throughout that time."

When Ms Royall was asked what her top priorities would be for the university if elected, she said: “There are many things – I think more people need to know about the impact this great university has in our city, in our county, in our region, in the country and in the world.

“It is the most fantastic university.

"We’ve got to think about the present, we’ve got to think about the future, we’ve got to maintain that status.

"We need to have more innovation, more partnerships with business, more partnerships with people in the community."

Speaking on the accessibility of the university, MS Royall said: "When I first came, at that time there was a lot of work to be done on diversifying our intake, to try to ensure that students wherever they are, wherever they come from in the country, whatever their background, that they should have the confidence to apply to Oxford if they have the academic ability.

“We needed to break down those barriers, and I think we’ve done that quite a lot - we’ve been hugely successful in encouraging and enabling more kids from up and down the country to come to Oxford, because we recognise that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not."

Ms Royall believes the next challenge is to encourage more UK graduate students to come to Oxford.

Jan Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Image: Principal and Fellows of Somerville College) "The vast majority of our graduate intake are from overseas, which is great – of course, they are very very welcome," she said. 

“But it would be very good if we could encourage more graduate students from this country to come to Oxford.

“We've got to break down a few barriers there."

She added: "It’s giving people the confidence to apply, because still a lot of graduate students think 'I’m not clever enough to come to Oxford', but yes they are. They need to know more about the system here, they need the confidence to apply."

She also believes that there needs to be more more scholarships for graduate students.

"They need to know that there are enough scholarships available to support them while they are here," she said.

"That’s needed for every discipline – we need more scientists, more medics, more social scientists, but there is an acute shortage of scholarships for people in the humanities."

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If elected, Ms Royall will become the first female chancellor, and when asked what this she thinks this would mean for the university, she said: “We’ve got a woman vice chancellor, the second which is fantastic. I think it would be great to be the first woman chancellor, for many people you have to see one to be one.

“That happens with women, that happens with black and ethnic minorities, so I think the more women you see at the top, the better, for the whole university sector and for young girls throughout the country.

“I’m a working class kid who went to local schools.

Jan Royall with students from Oxford University (Image: Principal and Fellows of Somerville College) "If she can do it, so can I – I think that’s an important message."

Ms Royall said 'one has to have hope' ahead of the election and acknowledged 'there could be some great people at the top' and that she thinks 'the university will be in safe hands'. 

Ms Royall was one of the founders of the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economic Partnership, which launched two years ago and works to create a more equal and sustainable region that creates opportunities for people within the county.

Jan Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Image: Principal and Fellows of Somerville College) "When I came to Oxford, I thought this was a really wealthy place," she said. 

"However, I soon found out that despite the fact that the city and the county are very wealthy, there are great disparities in wealth. It seemed to be crazy that there was such deep inequality.

"I thought, we need to have a more inclusive county and recognising that the university and the county are mutually independent - for one to thrive, the other one has to thrive."

The partnership brings together business, civil society, the university and the health trust to try to ensure there are real opportunities for all of the people in the county to thrive. 

Ms Royall said a 'good, solid base' is needed to 'thrive', which is why she decided to take part in the CEO Sleepout on Thursday (October 10) night, which raised money and awareness about homelessness. 

The full list of those running to be chancellor of Oxford University is expected to be revealed soon.