Today I step down from being Head of the Faculty of History at New College of the Humanities (NCH), having been in the role for five years, since September 2011. As Head of Faculty and a member of the Academic Board, I was jointly responsible for the academic governance of NCH, and, as one of the first two academics at NCH, I established and recruited the founding history faculty, developed College policies and procedures, and was responsible for overseeing the design and validation of the NCH BA in History with a minor subject, and NCH MA in Historical Research and Public History. In 2016 – my last year of leading the Faculty – more than 50% of graduating students obtained a First Class degree (externally marked). I feel like I’ve led and managed the faculty successfully through an important start-up phase and that, as this phase comes to a close, it is time for the next chapter to be written by a fresh hand.

So, after five years, I’ve decided to step down from the headship – whilst remaining full-time as a Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at NCH – in order to concentrate on my research and teaching. I’m currently preparing a big book, The Voices of Nîmes: Women, Sex and Marriage in Early Modern Languedoc, for OUP, and my teaching comprises lectures and tutorials on British history 1450-1689, European history 1500-1800, and public history (I designed, teach, and examine BA and MA modules on ‘Sixteenth-Century England’, ‘Public History’, ‘Cross-Cultural Encounters in the Early Modern World’, ‘Britain and the Wider World’, and ‘History, Heritage, and Memory’ (the latter two co-designed, and team-taught and examined)). Plus there’s that new series on Elizabeth I to write and film.

I am delighted to announce that Dr Lars Kjær, Senior Lecturer in Medieval History, will succeed me as Head of Faculty. I know that he will provide exemplary leadership, and I bless him and wish him well in the role. I look forward to serving under, and supporting him in, his Headship.