Wales’ longest serving university vice chancellor is standing down after 23 years. Professor Medwin Hughes is leaving his role at the University of Wales Trinity St David during a career which included taking the helm when UWTSD was formed through mergers and the effective disbanding of the University of Wales.
Professor Elwen Evans, KC, who led the prosecution team in the April Jones case and the defence team in the Gleision mine disaster case, has been appointed to replace him. She becomes the first woman female Vice Chancellor of UWTSD and the University of Wales.
Currently Pro Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean for Swansea University’s faculty of humanities and social sciences Professor Evans said she was “deeply honoured” to take on the new role at UWTSD.
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The head of UWTSD is one of the most highly-paid public sector workers in Wales with an annual basic salary of £240,000 a year, without pension, according to the university’s latest financial details.
UWTSD was formed in 2010 through the merger of the University of Wales Lampeter and Trinity University College Carmarthen. The following year the University of Wales was effectively abolished after BBC Wales revelations of a visa scam at a partner college in London - it was then rebranded in a merger with the former Trinity St David and Swansea Metropolitan colleges.
Professor Hughes was previously principal of Trinity University College, Carmarthen and Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales, Lampeter. In October 2011 he became Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales amid the scandal regarding its overseas validation process.
Professor Evans, who becomes the first female leader of the UWTSD and predecessor institutions, said: “I feel deeply honoured to have been appointed to the role of Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales and University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
“I look forward to working with colleagues, students and governors within the University and external partners to ensure the continued success of both prestigious institutions.”
She starts her role as Vice Chancellor Designate next month (June), taking over from Professor Hughes as Vice Chancellor in September. A Cambridge law graduate Professor Evans was called to the Bar in 1980 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2002.
During her career as a barrister Professor Evans chose to practice mainly in Wales. She sits as a Crown Court Recorder and was head of Iscoed Chambers for more than 15 years, before her appointment to Swansea University in 2015.
As head of the College of Law and Criminology at Swansea University she was responsible for establishing the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law. A native Welsh speaker she has been honoured by Gorsedd y Beirdd for her services to Law in Wales and was a Commissioner on the Commission on Justice in Wales.
The news of Mr Hughes' retirement follows announcements that Cardiff University Vice Chancellor Professor Colin Riordan and Cardiff Metropolitan University Vice Chancellor Professor Cara Aitchison are leaving.
Congratulating Professor Evans on her appointment the Venerable Randolph Thomas, Chair of the Universities’ Councils said: “I’m delighted that Professor Elwen Evans, KC, has been appointed to the role of Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Professor Evans has enjoyed an eminent legal and academic career and we look forward to her leadership of these historic institutions”.
Professor Medwin Hughes said: “She joins institutions that have never been afraid of change. The transformative journey of both the University of Wales and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David has the wellbeing of the nation at its heart.”
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