She would be the first woman to ever hold the post

Sandi Toksvig has made the shortlist of candidates vying to become the next chancellor of Cambridge University.

If successful, the QI host would be the first woman to hold the role in the  800 years since it was established.

In her supporting statement, said: "The first known chancellor of Cambridge was Richard of Wetheringsett, who served sometime between 1215 and 1232.

‘After that, we have had a plethora of other Richards, many Johns and an awful lot of Stephens. After over 800 years I wonder if it isn’t time for a change?’

Toksvig attended Girton College, where she studied   archaeology and anthropology and joined the Footlights comedy troupe. She was there at the same time as Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson and wrote and performed in the groups first all-woman show 

In 2023 she became a ‘bye-fellow’ at Christ’s College – a role that doesn’t have the same rights as a full fellowship in having a say in how the college is run, and received the Q+ Fellowship  Cambridge, which is aimed at funding research projects from LGBTQ+ alumni. Hers is the The Mappa Mundi Project, a digital resource documenting women’s position, achievements and struggles across the globe.

Other candidates to be Cambridge’s chancellor include anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, Lord Browne of Madingley, former chief executive of BP,  and Lord [Chris] Smith of Finsbury, the former Labour culture secretary, among others. All ten are listed here.

The role is largely ceremonial, but Toksvig said: ‘I would like to see the chancellor’s role as a unifying force for educational good. In the next decade academia across the world will face many challenges both from advancing technology and the politicisation of free speech. 

‘The chancellor’s role as a fearless advocate for the university has never been more important. Speaking up for Cambridge is something I know I can do’.

Voting will take place in Cambridge on July 12 and 16 July as well as online from  July 9 for graduates who have already registered.

Previous chancellors include Prince Philip, Stanley Baldwin, Thomas Cromwell and supermarket tycoon David Sainsbury, who has held the position since 2011. 

SANDI TOKSVIG’S STATEMENT IN FULL

The first known chancellor of Cambridge was Richard of Wetheringsett who served sometime between 1215 and 1232. After that we have had a plethora of other Richards, many Johns and an awful lot of Stephens. After over 800 years I wonder if it isn’t time for a change?

I graduated from Girton in 1979 with a first class degree in Law/Archaeology & Anthropology and two awards for outstanding academic achievement. Intent on being a human rights lawyer I was sidetracked into showbusiness where I have hosted hundreds of hours of radio and television, received many awards and been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. 

I have published 26 award winning books and written many plays performed both in the West End and abroad. I hold numerous honorary doctorates, am an honorary fellow at three Cambridge colleges and in 2014 received an OBE for my charitable work.

Communication skills are my strong suit. For forty-five years I have spoken up for the things that I believe in, such as equity, inclusion, rewilding, sustainability, and tackling online bias. I have a great deal of leadership experience for positive change as a figurehead of various organisations including the Women’s Equality Party (co-founder), President of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain and Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth (2012-2017). In this role I am particularly proud that I was able to engage directly with both staff and students as I balanced the leadership role with the ceremonial.

My journey at Cambridge continues. In 2023 I became the inaugural Q+ fellow representing the LGBT+ community. For the past 18 months I have been a bye-fellow at Christ’s College, Cambridge where I have been working on developing my own The Mappa Mundi Project. 

This is a multi­disciplinary piece of work aimed at tackling inequities in online information. Past attempts to correct gender and race bias have failed and Mappa Mundi seeks to find a new way forward. Education left in the hands of Al developers will leave the world with a horribly distorted view of itself so something needs to be done. 

In the last two years I have given many lectures and seminars at Cambridge and elsewhere on the subject including Eve’s Byte of the Apple, which you can see on YouTube as part of the annual Darwin College lecture series. My next talk is the annual Turing lecture at King’s College which will be entitled ‘Cutting Discovery on the Bias, the role of prejudice in learning’.

I have been delighted to work with many Cambridge departments from computer science and technology to sociology and education and would like to see the Chancellor’s role as a unifying force for educational good. 

In the next decade Academia across the world will face many challenges both from advancing technology and the politicisation of free speech. The Chancellor’s role as a fearless advocate for the university has never been more important. Speaking up for Cambridge is something I know I can do.

Published: 29 May 2025