The Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University is the

titular head A titular ruler, or titular head, is a person in an official position of leadership who possesses few, if any, actual powers. Sometimes a person may inhabit a position of titular leadership and yet exercise more power than would normally be expecte ...

of the university who is appointed on the approval of the

board of governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

. The duties of the chancellor include the conferring of degrees at graduation ceremonies and being an ambassador for the university both nationally and internationally. As chancellor they may also attend engagements at the university and outside promoting its work and research.

History

The Office of the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

was formed in 1992, when

Henry Egerton Cotton Henry Egerton Cotton (21 July 1929 – 1993), (also known as Henry E. Cotton) served as Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside from 1989 to 1993. He was also the First Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, serving in office from 1992 until hi ...

, LLD, JP, DL, who served as

Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside The office of Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside was created on 1 April 1974, taking over some duties from the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire and Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire. As Merseyside (north of the River Mersey) remains part of the Lancashire County ...

was appointed as the first chancellor, following the university's creation as a new generation university from being a

polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

. However the institution itself goes as far back to its foundation as Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts in 1823, making its claim in the third oldest university in England debate. In 1994,

John Moores, Jr John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DL, who was the eldest son of

Sir John Moores Sir John Moores (25 January 1896 – 25 September 1993) was an English businessman, telegraphist, football club owner, politician and philanthropist, most famous for the founding of the now defunct Littlewoods retail and football pools compa ...

whom the university is named after, and who served as chair of governors, was appointed second chancellor until the end of his term in 1999. It is a non-residential appointment. The leadership and everyday running of the university is installed in the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

, who is the chief executive. During the absence of the chancellor or vacant office, the duties are often undertaken by the Pro-Chancellor, who is also the chairman of the board of governors. Upon completing the term of office or stepping down, the holder is appointed Chancellor Emeritus of the university, retaining an informal ambassadorial position. A statue of Henry Cotton resides on the universities City Campus, outside the Henry Cotton Building in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. The building currently houses the Faculty of Health and Applied Social Sciences, and the School of the Built Environment. Dr.

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

became the fourth chancellor after being appointed to the honorary position on 14 April 2008 in a ceremony at

St George's Hall, Liverpool St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite Lime Street railway station in the centre of Liverpool, England. Opened in 1854, it is a Neoclassical building which contains concert halls and law courts, and is recorded in the Na ...

. He is most known for being in the rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. He completed his PhD in 2007 "''A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud''", using the university owned telescope to complete it. He is also

co-author Collaborative writing, or collabwriting is a method of group work that takes place in the workplace and in the classroom. Researchers expand the idea of collaborative writing beyond groups working together to complete a writing task. Collaboration ...

of the book: "''Bang! The complete history of the universe''" with

Sir Patrick Moore Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (; 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012) was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore was president of the Brit ...

who attended May's inauguration ceremony and

Chris Lintott Christopher John Lintott (born 26 November 1980) is a British astrophysicist, author and broadcaster. He is a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. Lintott is involved in a number of popular scien ...

. Brian May replaced

Cherie Blair Cherie, Lady Blair, (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Tony Blair. Early life and education Booth ...

, QC, wife of former Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, who stepped down from the office in 2006. Brian May himself stepped down at the end of his five-year term in 2013. At the end of March 2013, Sir Brian Leveson, the Lord Justice of Appeal for England and Wales took over the chancellors office following the term end of Brian May. His official inauguration ceremony took place at the

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...

on the afternoon of 20 May 2013.

List of chancellors

External links

Liverpool John Moores University

References

{{LJMU Liverpool John Moores University

History

List of chancellors

See also

External links

References