Professor Richard Grayson joins Birkbeck, University of London as Executive Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences

Professor Richard Grayson will join Birkbeck as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in September 2026.

As the Executive Dean, Richard will be responsible for leading all aspects of the Faculty, which spans sixteen subject areas across:

• The School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
• The School of Historical Studies
• The School of Social Sciences
• The Birkbeck Centre for Counselling

In addition to steering teaching, research and student recruitment and retention, Richard will also oversee the Faculty’s move into a newly refurbished home, consolidating it under one roof for the first time since it was formed in 2023.

Richard brings a wealth of experience and expertise in higher education management, teaching, and research to Birkbeck. He joins from Oxford Brookes University where he was initially Head of the School of Education, Humanities and Languages and is currently Dean of Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Prior to Oxford Brookes, Richard spent eighteen years at Goldsmiths, University of London, initially in the Politics Department and then History, heading both at different times for a total of ten years. He has also taught at the universities of East Anglia, Oxford, and Buckingham and at the Open University.

Prior to academia, Richard had a career in national politics, as director of a think tank and then in policy development and speechwriting. His undergraduate study was at the University of East Anglia, and he took his doctorate at The Queen's College, Oxford University.

Professor Grayson’s research interests are in twentieth century history.  His first two monographs were on inter-war British foreign policy and these were followed by two monographs and several publications on Ireland’s First World War and the Irish Revolution, focused on West Belfast and Dublin. A fifth monograph, to be published in the autumn, is on County Cork. He has also published on subjects ranging from Mods and Rockers in the 1960s to the history of the Channel Tunnel project. His co-authored research on education policy in the Netherlands led to the introduction of the ‘pupil premium’ for disadvantaged children in schools in England.

Outside academia, Richard runs the visually impaired cricket team for Hertfordshire, the Herts Comets. He is a season ticket holder for both Queens Park Rangers and the Northern Ireland men’s national team, and a member of the council of the National Trust. He was born and brought up in Hemel Hempstead, where he lives now.

Professor Richard Grayson said: “I am hugely excited to join Birkbeck as Dean, particularly given its 200-plus year commitment to widening participation. I am strongly committed to excellence in teaching and research, and I am looking forward to developing the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences’ already thriving teaching and research environment. I am also relishing the chance to work in London again, which I believe to be the world’s greatest city. I know that Birkbeck is at heart of the London’s educational and cultural life, and I want it to grow as part of that.”

Professor Sally Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London said: “I am delighted that we have appointed Professor Richard Grayson to head up our Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Birkbeck is proud of its long history of and expertise in teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences, which form a critical part of our offer as a multi-faculty university providing a high quality, University of London education, that students can fit around their busy lives. I look forward to welcoming Richard to Birkbeck and working with him to help ensure that Birkbeck’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences continues to be one of the best in the country.”