Dame Anne Pringle has been elected Chancellor of the University of St Andrews on 24 February 2026. She secured a majority of votes in an election also contested by Dame Barbara Woodward, Lord Mark Sedwill, and Lady Alex Walmsley. Pringle is the first woman to hold the office in the university’s more than 600-year history. She succeeds Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, who died last year. Born in Glasgow, Pringle studied at St Andrews and graduated with an MA (Hons) in French and German in 1977. She later became the first woman to serve as the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Russia from 2008 to 2011, and earlier served as Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2001 to 2004. Following her diplomatic career, she held leadership and governance roles across business, culture and academia. From 2016 to 2020, she served as Senior Governor of the University Court at St Andrews.
LSE has appointed Jane Cunliffe as the School’s next Chief Operating Officer (COO) on 10 March 2026. Cunliffe joins LSE from the UK Department for Education, where she has served as Chief Operating Officer since 2022. Before that, she held senior roles across several UK government departments. These include the HM Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office. Earlier in her career, Cunliffe was Chief Financial Officer at Oxfam GB. She oversaw finance, legal and governance functions and helped guide the organisation through the Covid-19 period. Cunliffe also holds several non-executive roles. She is a board member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at St Mungo’s. She has also served as a trustee at The Howard Partnership Trust.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) held its HKU@Shanghai event series from 28 February to 1 March 2026 to celebrate the University’s 115th anniversary and announced four strategic bases in Shanghai. The event brought together representatives from the Shanghai municipal government, universities, and the research community. Several Nobel laureates and Fields Medalists also attended. HKU said Shanghai is a major hub for economic, financial and technological innovation, making it an important location for the university’s expansion. During the event, HKU announced four strategic bases in Shanghai: Zhangjiang Base, Caohejing Base, HKU Shanghai Headquarters, and Bund SOHO Base. These bases will serve as platforms for academic exchange, technological innovation, and industry collaboration.
On March 2, 2026, US President has nominated Jim O’Neill as director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), potentially making him the first leader of the agency without a science or engineering background. The nomination has been sent to the US Senate for confirmation. O’Neill previously served as deputy secretary at the US Department of Health and Human Services and briefly as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has also worked in technology investment and was chief executive of the SENS Research Foundation. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, both in the humanities. If confirmed, he would become the first NSF director without an advanced degree in science or engineering. The NSF director role has been vacant since Sethuraman Panchanathan stepped down in April 2025.
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