Doctor of Letters
A pioneering university leader and champion for accessibility in higher education.
Born in ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, Chris King attended Albert Road Juniors School and then Southern Grammar School for Girls. After graduating from Birmingham University, she moved to Preston Polytechnic, now the University of Central Lancashire, to complete a doctorate.
With academic interests spanning history and theology, her first research degree examined medieval English pilgrimage. Her doctorate explored the fate of a number of religious minorities, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses, in Nazi Germany.
She went on to become Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Design at Preston Polytechnic before moving to Staffordshire University, to take up the role of Vice-Chancellor. She was one of the first women in the UK to hold such a post.
A passionate advocate for equality and diversity, Chris has spoken, broadcast and published widely on related subjects. She was a founder member and past Chair of the Through the Glass Ceiling network of senior women managers, and co-author of a book by the same title.
As one of the longest serving Vice-Chancellors in the UK, she is a recognised champion for accessibility in higher education. Considered an expert on Nazi Germany, she has worked with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. She has published on the emerging field of ‘implicit religion’, including the cult that has grown up around the life and gravesite of Elvis Presley.
Chris was awarded a CBE for services to Higher Education. She is a Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. A great supporter of the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, the award of an honorary doctorate remains one of her most cherished moments.