Judith Judd is our new Chair of Council

The former editor of the Times Educational Supplement has been chosen as our new Chair of Council.

Judith Judd will take over from David Currie who has stepped down after seven years as a member of Council, including four years as Chair.

Council is the University of Essex’s governing body and is responsible for overseeing the management and administration of the University including strategic planning, finance including the annual budget, estates management, staffing, health and safety, and oversight of the Students' Union. There are 25 members of Council with the majority of members drawn from outside the University.

Judith, who lives in Cambridge and has served on Council for eight years, said: "More students than ever before are studying at Essex and we want to give them the best possible experience while they are here. We are about to open new student accommodation and, later this year, our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics building.

"The University’s links with business are also developing rapidly. Next year, we shall open an Innovation Centre that will help us to give even better support to start ups.

"We are always looking for ways to build on our success. During the next 12 months, the University will be drawing up an ambitious strategy for the next decade."

Judith was Editor of the Times Educational Supplement until 2007. Before that she was Education Editor at The Independent and education correspondent at The Observer. She was a board member of Whole Education, a partnership which believes all young people should have a fully-rounded education. She is a patron of The Education Media Centre.