The Chancellor is the titular head of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and President of the

General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...

, by whom they are elected. The office is intended to be held for life. Their principal duty is to confer degrees upon those presented to them by the Senate, although this role is usually carried out by 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 and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

, the appointment of whom is the Chancellor's second-most important duty. The current Chancellor is Dame Katherine Grainger, the first woman to hold the office.

History

From the University's establishment in 1451, the office was held by the

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of ...

, except in the case of Lord Blantyre, who held all the powers of the Archbishop as 'Lord of Glasgow'. This trend ceased with the appointment of the Duke of Hamilton as Chancellor in 1642, although resumed from 1661 to 1692 for a subsequent run of seven archbishops, from Andrew Fairfoul to John Paterson. Five of the eight Chancellors in the past hundred years have been alumni of the University. The Earl of Roseberry, a former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, was educated at Oxford; Sir Daniel Macauley Stevenson did not attend university but was a generous benefactor of the University; and Sir Donald MacAlister, who studied at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

served as Principal between 1909 and 1929. Sir William Kerr Fraser had also been Principal prior to his appointment and, other than the most recent two chancellors, is the only holder in the past hundred years not to have died in office.

List of chancellors

* William Turnbull (1451) * Andrew de Durisdere (1456) * John Laing (1474) *

Robert Blackadder Robert Blackadder was a medieval Scottish cleric, diplomat and politician, who was abbot of Melrose, bishop-elect of Aberdeen and bishop of Glasgow; when the last was elevated to archiepiscopal status in 1492, he became the first ever archbisho ...

(1483) *

James Beaton James Beaton (or Bethune) (1473–1539) was a Roman Catholic Scottish church leader, the uncle of David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. Life James Beaton was the sixth and youngest son of John Beaton of Balfour ...

(1508) * Gavin Dunbar (1524) *

James Beaton II James Beaton (1517 – 24/25 April 1603) was a 16th-century archbishop of Glasgow. He served both pre- and post-Reformation therefore representing both a Catholic Archbishop and a Protestant Archbishop. Life He was the son of James Beaton ...

(1551–1560) *

John Porterfield John Porterfield (fl. 1571–1571x3) was a Scottish prelate in the sixteenth-century. A mysterious figure, he emerges in 1571 as the successor to James Beaton II as Archbishop of Glasgow. He was described by Robert Keith as "a kind of titul ...

(1571) * James Boyd (1572) * Robert Montgomery (1581) * William Erskine (1585) *

Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Blantyre Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Blantyre (died 8 March 1617) was a Scottish politician, administrator, and judge. Life He was the son of Sir John Stewart of Minto and Margaret Stewart sister of James Stewart of Cardonald Educated with James VI unde ...

(1587) *

John Spottiswoode John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland, Lord Chancellor, and historian of Scotland. Life He was born in 1565 at Greenbank in ...

(1603) *

James Law James Law (ca. 1560 – 12 November 1632) was Archbishop of Glasgow. Entering the church after graduation from university, he rose to the position of Bishop of Orkney, reorganising the diocese, before rising to hold the position of Archbishop o ...

(1615) * Patrick Lindsay (1633) * James Hamilton, 3rd Marquess of Hamilton (1642) *

John Thurloe John Thurloe (June 1616 – 21 February 1668) was an English politician who served as secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell and held the position of Postmaster General between 1655 and 1660. ...

(1658) *

William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn ( gd, Uilleam Coineagan) (1610–1664), was a Scottish nobleman, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and a cavalier. He was also the chief of Clan Cunningham. The eldest son of William Cunningham, 8th Earl of ...

(1660) *

Andrew Fairfoul Andrew Fairfoul (1610–7 November 1663) was the first post-Restoration Archbishop of Glasgow, from 1661 until his death in November 1663. He became Chancellor of the University of Glasgow after his consecration as Archbishop. Life Fairfoul ...

(1661) * Alexander Burnet (1664) * Robert Leighton (1672) * Alexander Burnet (1674) * Arthur Ross (1679) * Alexander Cairncross (1684) * John Paterson (1687) *

John Carmichael, 1st Earl of Hyndford John Carmichael, 1st Earl of Carmichael (28 February 1638 – 20 September 1710), known as Lord Carmichael between 1672 and 1701, when he was created the 1st Earl of Hyndford, was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He succeeded his grandfather, J ...

(1692) *

James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose James Graham, 1st Duke and 4th Marquess of Montrose (April 16827 January 1742) was a Scottish aristocratic statesman in the early eighteenth century. Life He was the only son of James Graham, 3rd Marquess of Montrose and Lady Christian Leslie ...

(1714) *

William Graham, 2nd Duke of Montrose William Graham, 2nd Duke of Montrose by Pietro Longhi William Graham, 2nd Duke of Montrose (27 August 1712 – 23 September 1790) was the son of James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose, and his wife, Christian Carnegie. He married Lady Lucy Manner ...

(1743) *

James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1781) *

James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose, KT, PC (16 July 1799 – 30 December 1874), styled Marquess of Graham until 1836, of Buchanan Castle in Stirlingshire (re-built by him in 1852–8) and 45 Belgrave Square in London, was a British Conserva ...

(1837) * Sir William Stirling-Maxwell of Pollock (1875) *

Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry, (born Walter Francis Montagu-Scott; 25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 18 ...

(1878) *

John Hamilton Dalrymple, 10th Earl of Stair John Hamilton Dalrymple, 10th Earl of Stair, KT (1 April 1819 – 3 December 1903), styled Viscount Dalrymple from 1853 until 1864, was a Scottish peer and politician, who served as Governor of the Bank of Scotland for thirty-three years. Bio ...

(1884) *

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important ...

(1904) * *

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death o ...

(1908) * Sir Donald MacAlister, 1st Baronet (1929) * Sir Daniel Macaulay Stevenson (1934–1944) *

John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, (23 September 1880 – 25 June 1971), styled Sir John Boyd Orr from 1935 to 1949, was a Scottish teacher, medical doctor, biologist, nutritional physiologist, politician, businessman and farmer who was awarde ...

(1946) * * Sir Alexander Kirkland Cairncross (1972) * * Sir William Kerr Fraser (1996) * * Professor Sir Kenneth Calman (2006) * * Dame Katherine Grainger (2020) * :* denotes alumni

References

External links

University of Glasgow :: Facts and Figures :: Chancellor

University of Glasgow :: Story :: The Chancellor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chancellor Of The University Of Glasgow *

History

List of chancellors

See also

References

External links