Karen O’Brien

Professor Karen O’Brien joined Durham University as vice-chancellor and warden in January 2022. As the chief executive, she holds overall responsibility for the educational and research mission of England’s third-oldest university, reporting to its Council of Trustees. 

She has led the university through a significant period of strategic renewal, with a focus on key areas including research growth (particularly in the sciences), access and inclusion, financial sustainability, and sustainable development goals both within the region and the wider world. As vice-chancellor, she engages extensively in national higher education policy, including through her membership of the Russell Group Board. This year, Durham University was named The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year.

Before joining Durham, O’Brien served as head of humanities and a member of the senior leadership team at the University of Oxford. She spent much of her earlier career teaching and publishing research, holding academic posts at the universities of Warwick, Cardiff, and Cambridge. She has published widely on the literature and intellectual history of the Enlightenment, and her first book was awarded the British Academy’s Rose Mary Crawshay Prize. She is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, and other media networks.