Hertford College welcomes new Principal Alexandra Freeman

17 March 2026

We are delighted to announce that Alexandra Freeman, Baroness Freeman of Steventon, has joined Hertford College as its new Principal.

Alex was elected Principal in November 2025 and took up office on 17 March 2026. She says:

‘I already feel that I am joining an incredibly supportive community after the warm welcome I’ve had from everyone over the months since my election. Thank you! My priority is to build on Hertford’s firm foundations to make sure that we provide the very best support to everyone who is part of the college family, to help them make a positive difference to the world. The overwhelming response to our recent Giving Day shows how much people value their time at Hertford, and wish that same experience for current and future generations. Alumni left such touching messages. In the words of one: “Hertford made me”. In turn, we make Hertford.’

Biography

Alexandra Freeman studied zoology at New College, followed by a DPhil at Linacre College before spending 17 years making natural history and science documentaries, mainly for the BBC. These included productions such as Walking with Beasts, Life in the Undergrowth and Trust Me, I’m a Doctor and awards including the Kavli Gold Award for Science Journalism.

She then returned to academia to become the Executive Director of the new Winton Centre for Risk & Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge. In 2024 she was made a crossbench peer in the House of Lords by the independent House of Lords Appointments Committee. She is also the creator of the not-for-profit publishing platform Octopus that aims to help improve the research culture by reforming scholarly publishing.