4th September 2025
Professor Stephen Blyth, Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, has been appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to be External Member on the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England and will step down as Principal of the College on 30 September 2025 to take up this role.
Since his arrival in 2022, Professor Blyth has reinforced the core academic mission of the College, enhanced the experience of its students, and helped strengthen LMH’s financial security and flexibility.
With his wife Fiona, he has strengthened the College’s alumni relations and overseen the most successful period of fundraising in the College’s history. In just three years, over £15m has been raised and the College’s endowment has exceeded £60m for the first time. During this period, LMH established endowment funding for six tutorial fellowships, including those in Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, helping to secure the College’s tutorial system for generations to come. Professor Blyth has also championed early-career researchers, the academic leaders of the future, and the College has been able to create four new posts for young researchers during his tenure.
Professor Blyth’s strong belief in LMH’s pioneering mission – to open up educational opportunities to those previously excluded, and to attract and support the most talented scholars regardless of background – has been central to his Principalship. He has overseen the establishment of the Centre for Research on Outreach and Access, a partnership between LMH and the Department of Economics, so that LMH continues to lead on reducing barriers to an Oxford education.
Professor Blyth has worked to ensure that students at LMH continue to flourish academically, personally and socially. He has placed particular emphasis on wellbeing, overseeing the endowment of the College’s Study Skills programme, and helping expand the financial support available to students. The additional philanthropic funding now available for those facing financial barriers has strengthened the College’s ability to support its students regardless of their socio-economic background.
Professor Blyth said, “It has been an honour to lead a college which since its foundation has opened up the transformative power of an Oxford collegiate education to those who had been previously excluded. LMH continues to play an important role in educating the citizen leaders of the future.”
Vice Principal, Professor Todd Huffman, expressed the College’s thanks to Stephen and Fiona for their contributions: “We are hugely grateful for Stephen’s leadership and commitment over the past three years. He has built strong relationships with our students, working to ensure that LMH continues to provide an environment where they can flourish in all aspects of their lives. Alongside this, he and Fiona have further strengthened our ties with alumni and demonstrated the transformative impact of philanthropy. This work has set us on a strong course for our ambitious upcoming anniversary campaign. We wish them every success for the future.”
The Governing Body will shortly appoint a Principal for an interim period and set a timeline for the search for Professor Blyth’s successor.