Professor Graham Virgo has been elected as the new master of Downing College. He will be the 19th master of the College. 

Virgo was previously senior pro-vice-chancellor of the University. In this role, he led the University response to the pandemic, taking responsibility for key policies surrounding online learning and exam arrangements.

Virgo also undertook major initiatives, including the creation of the Foundation Year programme, the launch of the Stormzy Scholarship for UK black students and changes to provision for mental health and wellbeing. Virgo also addressed issues of sexual misconduct in his time as pro-vice-chancellor, admitting in 2018 that there was a “significant problem” within the University.

In 2019, he caught the attention of the national press.  The Telegraph reported that Virgo claimed that black students were reluctant to apply to Cambridge because of a lack of Afro-Caribbean hairdressers in the city. Virgo later refuted this claim to Varsity after the controversy, saying instead that there was "no question at all about linking that to barriers” to applying.

Virgo read Law at Downing in the mid-1980s, before heading to Christ Church, Oxford to get his Civil Law degree. He returned to Downing in 1989 as a Law fellow. Over the years Professor Virgo has held numerous roles within Downing College, including tutor, director of studies and senior tutor – a role he held for a decade. He is currently the senior fellow.

Professor Virgo said: “It is a delight and honour to me that I have been elected the 19th Master of Downing College. After nearly 40 years here, first as an undergraduate and later as a fellow, I know the transformative effect that Downing has on its students. I look forward to working with fellows, students, staff and alumni to ensure that the College continues to transform and is accessible to all who show the potential to thrive and excel.”

He also committed to ensuring the Downing community is “diverse and inclusive” and emphasised his aspiration to “academic influence”.

Virgo will take office on the 1 October 2023.