External University Council Members Appointed

Dame Mavis McDonald and Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB have been appointed to the Council of Cambridge University (UK). Each will serve for a period of four years. They'll join two existing external members of the Council, Lord Simon of Highbury and Nigel Brown, who have been appointed for a further two years, bringing the total number of external members serving on the Council to four.  

Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB is Director General and chief Executive of Ordnance Survey.  The first eleven years of her career were spent in publishing - initially for Longman Group UK Ltd and then as the Technical Director of GeoInformation International, a division of Pearson Professional Ltd.  She went on to hold a series of high profile management posts in the private sector before taking her current role in the public sector in 2000. She is an honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Chartered Geographer.

Dame Mavis McDonald has had a distinguished career as a civil servant for 39 years working mainly on housing, regeneration, community development, social exclusion and local government in the Department for Environment and its successors.  She was Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office from 2000 to 2002 and retired as Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in October 2005.  From 1999 to September 2008 Dame Mavis was a lay governor of Birkbeck College, University of London.  She is currently chairman of Catalyst Housing Group Ltd, a Trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Chair of the Public Sector Construction Clients Forum for the OGC.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Alison Richard, has welcomed the two new appointments: "Both Dame Mavis and Dr Lawrence have proven themselves exceptional leaders in their respective fields over the years and the University is fortunate to be able to welcome them as external members of the Council. Their expertise will be a good addition to the range of skills and experience among the Council's membership."

The decision to increase the number of external council members was made earlier this year by the University's governing body.