University of Edinburgh Principal and Vice-Chancellor Peter Mathieson received a knighthood for his service in higher education.
The award was listed in King Charles III’s first New Year Honours list, published on 30 December.
His knighthood was one of three awarded in Scotland, recognising his ongoing leadership of the University of Edinburgh, his earlier career at the University of Hong Kong, and his engagement in COVID-19 research.
In 2014, Mathieson started a controversial tenure as president of the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
Students, alumni, and former presidents of HKU condemned Mathieson and the university’s Governing Council for withholding the position of deputy Vice-Chancellor from pro-democracy professor Johannes Chan.
A staff survey following the incident revealed that 78 per cent of staff did not believe Mathieson effectively protected academic freedom, though Mathieson argued his backing of Chan was overruled by HKU’s Governing Council.
The controversy contributed to his premature departure from Hong Kong in 2017.
Before he became Vice-Chancellor at HKU, Mathieson had a long teaching career, beginning in 1995 at the University of Bristol as a professor of renal medicine.
Mathieson became principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh in 2018.
Current estimates show he is the highest paid figure in Scottish higher education, with a salary and benefits totaling more than £340,000 a year.
Under Mathieson’ tenure, the University of Edinburgh was ranked the 15th best university in the world in the 2023 QS World University Rankings.
This is the highest score Edinburgh has received in the QS World Rankings, and a significant rise from when Mathieson’s tenure began, where the University was ranked 23.
The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with Mathieson’s Vice-Chancellorship.
The Edinburgh Futures Conversation on Global Health hosted leading experts, such as Dr Anthony Fauci and Dr Natasha Zhong, to discuss health protocols regarding the pandemic.
The university’s Roslin Institute also provided significant data to track the spread of COVID-19 throughout Scotland.
In other areas of health science, the Advances Care Research Centre (ACRC), a multi-disciplinary research programme in fields ranging from medicine to social sciences, was created in 2020.
Partnering with Newcastle University and University College London, ACRC aims to link researchers studying later-life care across UK universities.
Then-HKU Vice-Chancellor Peter Mathieson speaks at a 2015 press conference – “File:Professor Peter Mathieson 2015.jpg” by IBHK is licensed uncer CC BY 3.0.
