Sir Rick is himself a Rhodes Scholar (Rhode Island & Merton 1970) who has had a distinguished career as an historian and a widely respected leader in Higher Education. He is no stranger to Oxford having served as Rector of Exeter College from 2014 until September 2024, having been Chair of Oxford’s Conference of Colleges and a Pro Vice Chancellor, and having remained closely engaged with Rhodes House.
Born and raised in the United States, Rick took his undergraduate degree at Brown University. He took a second undergraduate degree as well as (after completing a Master’s degree at Princeton) a DPhil in Victorian social history during his time at Oxford. In 1979 he was appointed Lecturer at the University of Glasgow where he later was awarded a Personal Chair, became Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and then Vice Principal. In 2000 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, and four years later was appointed Principal and Professor of Social History at King’s College London.
Between 2007 and 2009 Sir Rick was also President of Universities UK, the representative organisation for the heads of all UK universities. A dual citizen of the UK and the USA, he was knighted in 2010 for services to Higher Education.
Sir Rick is serving as Interim Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of The Rhodes Trust during 2025 while the Board conducts a global search to identify the next permanent Warden.