The University of Glasgow Chancellor, Dame Katherine Grainger, took part in a series of ‘Meet the Chancellor’ alumni events hosted virtually by the University on Thursday 3 December.  UofG Alumni from over 40 countries logged on to listen to our new Chancellor talk to Rachel Sandison, the University’s Vice-Principal, External Relations, about her life and sporting achievements.

Dame Katherine was appointed as University Chancellor in March 2020, succeeding Sir Kenneth Calman.  She is the first woman to hold the role.  She previously served as Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, from 2015 to 2020, and is the current Chair of UK Sport.

She has represented the United Kingdom at five successive Olympic Games, winning one gold and four silver medals for rowing, the most won by any British female Olympian.  She was voted the ‘Olympian’s Olympian’ in 2016.  

Dame Katherine studied for her LLB at Edinburgh, before returning to her home city of Glasgow to complete her MPhil with Professor Sheila McLean in the area of Medical Law and Ethics.  She later went on to undertake an LLD at King’s College London and was awarded her PhD and Gold Olympic medal in 2012. 

At the ‘Meet the Chancellor’ event, Dame Katherine talked about what drives her (‘being stubborn’) and her luck in finding two passions – sport and academic scholarship – to inspire her.  Wanting to see ‘how far I could go’ in any endeavour, she mentioned the importance of finding activities that provide a fresh challenge, whether as a sportswoman, as a scholar, or in her current role as Chair of UK Sport. She also pointed to the importance of resilience, and how the failures that she has experienced have been as important as her successes.  She encouraged young people to get out of the comfort zone and take new things on, without worrying about failing: ‘I generally believe we are all better than we think we are’.

Dame Katherine also talked of her gratitude at being able to give something back in her role as Chancellor.  She said that there was much work still to be done in the area of Diversity and Inclusion, which forms a focus of the University’s new strategic plan for 2021. 

Promising New Year’s resolutions for both herself and the University, Dame Katherine indicated that 2021 was likely to be a ‘special and emotional year’, with a renewed appreciation for everyday activities and time spent together.  She concluded the conversation by thanking everyone who had given so generously to the University of Glasgow’s COVID-19 Response Fund – and drew the evening to a close by raising a glass to Glasgow.

First published: 2 December 2020

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