Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Dame Helen Ghosh on Leading Balliol College | First Woman Master
Dame Helen Ghosh, the first woman ever to serve as Master of Balliol College, Oxford, reflects on her eight years in the role as she approaches the end of her tenure.
In this interview with Voices from Oxford, she discusses what it has meant to lead one of Oxford's oldest and most distinguished colleges, founded nearly 800 years ago, and why being a woman in a senior leadership role has never defined her career. Drawing on her background in the civil service and her education at a women's college, she shares a candid and warm perspective on collegiate leadership, setting the tone of an institution, and the difference between running a college and running a corporation.
She also looks ahead, speaking about the exciting opportunities and challenges facing Balliol and the wider University, from AI to community engagement, and pays tribute to the college's remarkable alumni community.
Balliol College | University of Oxford | Leadership | Women in Academia | Higher Education
Dame Helen Ghosh on Leading Balliol College | First Woman Master
Dame Helen Ghosh, the first woman ever to serve as Master of Balliol College, Oxford, reflects on her eight years in the role as she approaches the end of her tenure.
In this interview with Voices from Oxford, she discusses what it has meant to lead one of Oxford's oldest and most distinguished colleges, founded nearly 800 years ago, and why being a woman in a senior leadership role has never defined her career. Drawing on her background in the civil service and her education at a women's college, she shares a candid and warm perspective on collegiate leadership, setting the tone of an institution, and the difference between running a college and running a corporation.
She also looks ahead, speaking about the exciting opportunities and challenges facing Balliol and the wider University, from AI to community engagement, and pays tribute to the college's remarkable alumni community.
Balliol College | University of Oxford | Leadership | Women in Academia | Higher Education
