SOAS appoints new Chair of the Board of Trustees

Lord Dr. Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE has been appointed as the next Chair of the SOAS Board of Trustees.

Lord Hastings has had a deeply purposeful career across the public, private and non-profit sectors, working within education, philanthropy, justice and commercial business to support and develop communities around the world.  

Lord Hastings began his career as a teacher then worked across government agencies on policies to build racial equality, including as a Commissioner with the Commission for Racial Equality for nine years.

He is Chair of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Black Business Association and Chair of the Advisory Board of the Black Business Institute.

He was conferred with a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2003 for services to crime reduction; with Peerage to House of Lords in 2005 as an Independent Baron.

He is currently a Vice President at UNICEF UK and a trustee for the Africa Philanthropy Foundation.

On the appointment as Chair of the SOAS Board of Trustees, Lord Hastings said:  

“I am honoured to be joining SOAS as its Chair at this optimistic moment of student growth and a new strategic agenda which centres research, graduate studies and equitable international partnerships. SOAS has one of the world’s greatest archives for Asian, African and Middle Eastern research materials and collections that document the history, cultures and development of countries that were once seen as colonies or part of another world.

“Now in our interconnected world, we are mutual neighbours and have so much here to learn from each other… so I hope that in my time as Chair, we can fully ignite the thrill of learning, debate and positive enquiry, and relentlessly bring the adventures of all of our collective cultures to life in this vibrant global city.”

 Chair of the SOAS Board of Trustees Marie Staunton said:  

“It has been a privilege to chair SOAS and to leave it with a strong future and opportunity to make a significant contribution to addressing the global challenges of our time. I welcome Lord Hastings, and the impressive skills and expertise that he will bring to leading a renewed institution tackling global issues.”  

Director of SOAS Professor Adam Habib said:  

“Lord Hastings brings to SOAS a wealth of experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors, both nationally and globally. We look forward to Lord Hastings’ stewardship of our new strategic agenda as we consolidate SOAS’ place in the global academy and begin a positive disruption of global higher education for the 21st century.”

A former Head of Public Affairs at the BBC, Lord Hastings was their first head of Corporate Social Responsibility for 12 years. He also served as the Global Head of Citizenship for KPMG for 13 years and was Trustee of the Vodafone Group Foundation for 11 years stepping down in 2019.

He is the Co-Founder of My Brother’s Keeper – an in-depth, ongoing, in-prison service and support network building better outcomes for insiders.   Lord Hastings will assume the role of Chair from January 2022 following from the renowned humanitarian Marie Staunton.

Lord Dr. Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE served as the Chancellor of Regents University London from 2016 to October 2021. He is Professor of Leadership at the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Centre at Huntsman Business School in the USA and on the Concordia Leadership Council. In 2019 he was the first ever recipient of the Stephen R Covey Leadership Award for a life built on principles and effective leadership in business and public life.   He received the UNICEF Award in 2005 for Services to Africa’s Children; a Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of Kent, Canterbury in 2014 in recognition for his leadership at KPMG, the BBC and for his work in international development and corporate responsibility.  

SOAS University of London specialises in the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The institution was listed in the top 25 in the UK in the World Reputation Rankings 2021, according to the Times Higher Education, and it rose ten places for Arts and Humanities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2022, making it 12th in the UK.   In the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2021, which measures an institutions’ success in delivering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SOAS was listed in the top 50 universities in the world and seventh in the UK for the United Nations SDG number 1: No Poverty.