University Principal Awarded Damehood

Professor Dame Sally Mapstone DBE FRSE was awarded a Damehood on 28 June at Windsor Castle by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in recognition of her services to Higher Education.

A damehood is awarded to those who have made a pre-eminent or nationally significant contribution to a particular field while demonstrating a sustained commitment.

The Prince, an alumnus of the University of St Andrews, and Professor Mapstone also had the chance to speak briefly about the Prince’s time at the university.

Professor Mapstone, who’s academic specialism in mediaeval and early modern Scottish literature and book history, was appointed Principal of the University in 2016.

Under Professor Mapstone, the University ranked above both Oxford and Cambridge in The Time and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 and top in the UK for student experience in the National Student Survey, the latter occurring 14 times in the last 16 years.

She is the first female President of the Saltire Society, the first UK university leader to receive a medal from the US Foreign Policy Association of America for international leadership in higher education, and chaired the International Advisory Board for the University of Helsinki.

Currently, Professor Mapstone is Chair of the Higher Education Policy Institute, Vice-Chair of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, a trustee of the Europaem, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She has written and edited eight books and had numerous articles and essays published throughout her career.

Professor Mapstone is Convenor of Universities Scotland, and will assume the role of President of Universities UK in August 2023.

Photo: Universities Scotland