Karen Cox is a British registered nurse and academic. She is currently the Vice Chancellor of University of Kent. She was a Professor of Cancer and Palliative Care, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham.[1] She was one of the main drivers behind the 'Project Transform' there, which was highly controversial and led to a public apology of the university to its staff.[2]

Since 1 August 2017, she has served as the sixth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent.[3] During her tenure the University's rank has fallen 26 places in the UK University league tables, and the Gold rating in the UK Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) awarded in 2017 [4] was downgraded to Silver in the 2023 assessment. [5] She has overseen the controversial proposed closure of nine courses [6], later finalised to include Art History, Anthropology, Health and Social Care, Music and Audio Technology, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and the University's prestigious Journalism course. [7] This has received widespread criticism from students and the local and academic communities, with a petition being raised against the proposed closures.[8]

In April 2024 Cox announced she would be standing down from her position as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Deputy Vice-Chancellor". The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Project Transform: learning the lessons".
  3. ^ Bogan, Posie (23 January 2017). "Professor Karen Cox to be new Vice-Chancellor and President". University of Kent. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  4. ^ https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/polir-news/2017/06/27/kent-achieves-gold-rating-in-teaching-excellence-framework/
  5. ^ https://tef2023.officeforstudents.org.uk/
  6. ^ "Nine courses could be 'phased out' at university facing financial problems". Kent Online. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  7. ^ https://www.kent.ac.uk/student/kent2030/course-changes#outcomes
  8. ^ "Another UK university shuts down its music department". Slipped Disc. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  9. ^ "University vice chancellor resigns". Kent Online. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.


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