Tom Bloxham named new Chancellor for The University of Manchester

05 Jun 2008

Tom Bloxham has been elected Chancellor of The University of Manchester in a recent ballot and will take office from 1 August 2008 for a period of seven years.

The property developer was elected in the ballot of University staff, alumni and General Assembly members, who were eligible to participate in the election. Voting began in May and ended on June 4. The electorate comprised of 40,000 registered members of the University’s alumni, as well as 11,000 current staff and the members of the University’s General Assembly.

Tom Bloxham will now be installed as Chancellor at a special ceremony at the University in the autumn.

Since 2004, the role has been carried out jointly by broadcaster and journalist Anna Ford, the first woman Chancellor in the Victoria University of Manchester’s history, and Sir Terry Leahy, the Chief Executive of Tesco and former Chancellor of UMIST. This was the first election of a Chancellor since the establishment of the University of Manchester in 2004, and alumni from as far afield as America, Australia, Malaysia and Hong Kong cast votes in the ballot.

The Chancellor is the officer of the University fulfilling the function of non-executive Chair of the General Assembly and presides over Congregations of the University for the conferment of degrees.

Tom Bloxham, 44, is chairman and co-founder of Urban Splash, the innovative property developer that has received 237 awards to date for architecture, design and business success. The company is responsible for regeneration projects in Manchester and Liverpool, and is expanding across the country with offices in Birmingham, Bristol and Bradford.

He graduated in 1986 in politics and Modern History and in 2007 received an Honorary Doctorate from The University of Manchester. He was appointed MBE in 1998 for his services to architecture and urban regeneration and has also been a trustee of the Big Issue charity, the Big Step. Tom chairs Arts Council England (North West) and sits on the Arts Council England.