Rachel Mills

Rachel joined King’s in August 2022 as Senior Vice President (Academic) a new leadership role in the Principal’s senior team. She leads the academic activities across the College, linking together education and research ambitions to maximise impact and effectiveness of these efforts. She is responsible for shaping the academic vision and future plans for the College, while supporting external impact and partnerships. In particular, she has oversight of Faculty business planning and campus master planning and she sponsors a range of projects that aim to improve the experiences of the King’s community.

Rachel previously carried out a wide range of leadership roles in the sector, most recently as Provost at the University of Sussex. Prior to this, she worked at the University of Southampton for nearly 30 years, including over 15 years in leadership roles such as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences and previously the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Head of School of Ocean and Earth Science and Director of Graduate School of the National Oceanography Centre Southampton. As the Southampton Sustainability Champion, she led the co-creation and implementation of the new University strategy with the student and wider community. She was the Executive sponsor of the Technicians Commitment, a lead for the University-wide Career Development of Researchers Working Group which implemented the Concordat for early career researchers at Southampton, and has worked consistently to improve access to STEM subjects for minoratized groups. She is a strong advocate for the power of mentorship to change individual lives and transform organisations.