Farewell message from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education)

Dear students,  

As we approach the end of the academic year, I want to take a moment to recognise you – Oxford’s incredible students. I step down as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) this summer after eight years. During that time, Oxford students have continually impressed me with your intellect, integrity, resilience, and thoughtful engagement. It has been such a privilege to watch you shape and enrich this University. You are what makes Oxford the remarkable place it is, and I am deeply grateful for all that you contributed.  

In these past eight years, the make-up of the student population at Oxford has undergone some significant changes. Today, we welcome more postgraduates, females and international students than ever before. Supported by sustained access initiatives, we are making progress to increase ethnic diversity and admit more students from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, progress in closing degree award gaps between male and female students and between black and white students has been uneven.  

I have always sought to ensure you feel supported during your time here, including making your welfare and wellbeing a priority and to create a more diverse and inclusive community. These efforts will continue to strengthen the University we are striving to build, with more to do to improve the experience of all students, for substantial and sustained progress.  

Financial assistance has also significantly expanded, particularly in light of rising living costs, and in turn, the number of students receiving substantial support from the University has increased.  

Oxford’s new Graduate Access Strategy is a key step in the University’s efforts to increase diversity and improve support for postgraduates. We have seen some pleasing progress in this area already, and are well placed to accelerate the pace of change in the very near future.  

The pandemic was significant for many, and to those of you that were here, thank you for working with us to meet this enormous challenge. We all learned a lot in that time, and a positive outcome was how Oxford moved ahead digitally, with developments in online learning and assessment. The pandemic also demonstrated how Oxford can come together, and we should all feel collectively proud to be part of the University who helped develop the vaccine and other treatments which together save millions of lives worldwide – an achievement made possible with the support of many of our students.  

I have always admired Oxford students’ strength of views and engagement in lively, constructive debate. Peaceful protest and respectful freedom of expression are part of student life, and I hope you will continue to challenge and learn from one another.  

While much of my day-to-day work is not immediately visible to students, my role has been to ensure the continuing excellence of the academic programmes we offer, and to support you from applying to Oxford through to your graduation – with your experience at the heart of everything. While academic excellence is fundamental to the University, I have always recognised that your experience extends far beyond your academic study, and it will be the work of my successor to ensure all students continue to feel supported, and that Oxford feels like a place you belong.  

I extend my very best wishes to you all – whether you are leaving Oxford as a finalist and graduating (congratulations!), or returning in the autumn, thank you for all you for being part of our University community. I look forward to seeing the impact each of you will go on to make beyond Oxford when the time comes.  

Oxford is a remarkable and academically demanding institution, and you should be proud of all you have accomplished and how you have grown as a student here. I certainly feel proud and privileged to have served as your Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education. 

Best wishes, 

Martin 

Professor Martin Williams 

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), University of Oxford, 2018-2025