Rector of Exeter College, University of Oxford (2004-2014)
Frances Cairncross became Rector of Exeter College in October 2004. Previously, she was on the staff of The Economist for 20 years, most recently as management editor. She was on the staff of The Guardian from 1973 to 1984, and prior to that spent periods on the financial staff of The Times, The Banker and The Observer. She chaired the Economic and Social Research Council for six years until 2007 and was President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (2005-06). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy, UCLA and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Ms Cairncross read Modern History at St Anne’s college, Oxford, and holds an MA in Economics from Brown University, Rhode Island. She holds honorary degrees from Trinity College Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, City, Loughborough and Kingston Universities.